If you’ve only been keeping one eye on the goings-on at WWDC, you might be forgiven for thinking it’s all about Apple Vision Pro this year. Software forms the foundation of Apple’s annual event, however, and macOS Sonoma – named after the world-famous wine-making region – promises some interesting updates for Mac users. Here are six stand-out features coming to macOS Sonoma.
Slo-mo screen savers
MacOS Sonoma will feature new screensavers that show scenes from around the world in stunning slow-motion footage, including the likes of Monument Valley and the Hong Kong skyline. Not only that, but these beautiful animations will seamlessly settle into your desktop when you log in.
Widgets come to the fore
Apple is going big on widgets right across this year’s software updates. In macOS Sonoma, they’re stepping out of their usual tucked-away location in Notification Centre and onto your home screen, where they can more easily provide glanceable information. Just drag them onto your desktop to pin them in place. They’ll fade into the background when you open an app to help you focus.
Video conferencing gets some presentational pizzazz
Apple is giving video conferencing on Mac a boost. When screen sharing, your face can be overlayed on top of the content, whether in a small floating bubble or in a large, weather presenter-style view with everything else in the background. You can also launch reaction effects with a gesture, and this even works with third-party apps like Zoom.
Safari getting more private and granular
Safari will now lock your private browsing windows when you’re not using them, as well as blocking known trackers and removing URLs. Elsewhere, you can share passwords and passkeys with groups. Profiles can also be applied, allowing you to keep cookies, history, extensions, Tab Groups, and Favourites separate.
Web apps come to macOS
Similar to how you can add website to your Home Screen in iOS and have them function like apps, Safari in macOS now supports the creation of progressive web apps. Add any site (e.g. Pinterest, as seen below) to your app dock and it’ll open in its own simplified browsing window, for a faster and more app-like way to view content.
Gaming gets a boost
Apple seems to be taking gaming more seriously than ever, with a new dedicated Game mode giving games prioritization on your Mac’s CPU and GPU, and keeping background tasks to the minimum. Game mode also dramatically lowers audio latency for AirPods and reduces input latency with Xbox and PlayStation controllers by doubling the Bluetooth sampling rate.
Death Stranding demonstrates game porting push
Apple is providing the Game Porting Toolkit to make bringing games across from other platforms easier for developers. To demonstrate the company’s push to increase the number of Mac ports, Apple introduced Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima to the stage to announce that Death Stranding Director’s Cut will be coming to Mac, bolstered by Apple Silicon and Apple’s Metal 3 3D graphics API.
Like iOS 17, iPadOS17, and watchOS 10, macOS Sonoma will be launched publicly in September following a beta testing period.