Apple’s latest operating system for Macs, macOS Ventura, brings some useful updates and new features. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore all the key changes and upgrades Ventura has to offer.
Stage Manager
One of the most noteworthy new additions in Ventura is Stage Manager, an improved window and app management system. Stage Manager automatically organizes open apps and windows so they don’t overlap, allowing for easier multitasking. It also enables new features like the ability to group apps together in sets and quickly switch between app sets with just a click.
Key Features
- Automatic window organization – apps and windows won’t overlap
- App sets – group apps together in sets for improved workflow
- Fast switching between app sets
- Focused app stays prominently in the center
For those that frequently have multiple apps and windows open at once, Stage Manager will help streamline and tidy up your workflow. The automatic organization ensures you have a clean working area at all times. And being able to quickly switch app sets allows for better task switching and productivity.
Continuity Camera
Continuity Camera is a useful new feature that allows you to use your iPhone as a webcam for your Mac. Simply place your iPhone near your Mac and it will connect wirelessly via Continuity to become a webcam in apps like FaceTime, Zoom, WebEx, and more.
Key Features
- Use iPhone as wireless webcam on Mac
- Works through Continuity, no setup required
- iPhone camera automatically recognized in Mac video apps
- Supports Center Stage – automatic panning and zooming
- Designed for great video quality and lighting
This provides a much better webcam experience compared to most built-in Mac webcams. You get the high-quality cameras on the latest iPhones, Center Stage auto-framing, and features like portrait mode. For frequent video callers, Continuity Camera is a simple but highly useful upgrade in Ventura.
Handoff in FaceTime
Handoff is now supported in FaceTime calls, making it easier to transfer calls between devices. If you start a FaceTime call on your iPhone, you can seamlessly hand it off to your Mac with just a click. The call transfers instantly without dropping.
Key Features
- Move FaceTime calls instantly between iPhone and Mac
- Works through Handoff – devices signed in with same Apple ID
- Calls transfer seamlessly without dropping
- Supports both video and audio calls
- Handoff supported on iOS 16 and Ventura
This allows you to effortlessly transfer FaceTime calls as you switch between using your iPhone on the go and Mac at your desk. It helps make FaceTime calls feel more integrated across all your Apple devices.
Collaboration in Messages
iMessage on Ventura now makes collaboration better with some handy new features in Messages. You can edit sent messages, unsend recently sent messages, and mark conversations as unread. These features help you communicate more effectively.
Key Features
- Edit recently sent messages
- Undo send – unsend a message you just sent
- Mark conversations as unread
- Shared photo library – seamlessly share photos with family members
- Improved search in Messages
Being able to edit, unsend, or mark messages as unread makes iMessage more flexible and gives you better control. And the new shared photo library makes sharing photos with family seamless and automatic. Overall, Messages is now a more collaborative and efficient communication tool.
Passkeys
Passkeys are a new passwordless sign-in method supported in Ventura. Instead of using vulnerable passwords, passkeys use Touch ID or Face ID for secure and fast authentication. They are synced across devices with end-to-end encryption.
Key Features
- Passwordless sign-in using Touch ID or Face ID
- More secure – protected by public key cryptography
- Faster authentication with biometrics
- Synced across devices through iCloud Keychain
- Works across apps and websites
Because passkeys eliminate vulnerable passwords, they offer improved security against phishing attacks, data breaches, and other threats. They also enable faster sign-in using biometrics. As more apps and websites adopt passkeys, signing in will become much more secure.
Safari Shared Tab Groups
Tab sharing is now possible in Safari with shared tab groups. You can share tabs with friends and see the tabs others have shared with you within Safari. This makes it easy to collaborate and share web content.
Key Features
- Share tabs or tab groups with others
- See tabs shared by others in Safari
- Perfect for planning trips, shopping, research projects
- Shared tab icon indicates tabs shared by others
- Start FaceTime call from shared tab group
Having shared tabs makes it very convenient to plan trips or shop together, collaborate on work or research projects, and more. Safari is now a much more collaborative browsing experience thanks to tab sharing.
Live Text in Video
Live Text now works in video, allowing you to interact with text in video frames just like you can in images. You can copy, translate, lookup definitions, and more with just a click on text in paused video frames.
Key Features
- Live Text OCR works in video, not just images
- Copy, translate, lookup definitions of text when video paused
- Works in Photos, Quick Look, Safari, and other apps
- Powerful computer vision capability extended to video
- Huge accessibility benefit – read text aloud from videos
This takes Live Text up another level, bringing the same powerful capabilities to video content. Whether you want to copy text from tutorials and lessons or make videos more accessible, Live Text in video is an impactful update.
Visual Lookup
Visual Lookup is a new feature in Ventura that allows you to select any image and instantly search the web for it. Visual Lookup uses computer vision technology to identify objects, scenes, landmarks and more in images.
Key Features
- Select any image and search web for it
- Uses computer vision to identify objects, scenes, text
- Works in Photos, Safari, Screenshot and more
- Great for identifying plants, animals, locations
- Handy for researching objects by image
This makes it incredibly easy to get more information about any image you find on the web or elsewhere. Visual Lookup is like having a supercharged reverse image search built right into your Mac.
System Settings
Ventura introduces an updated, streamlined System Settings design that makes finding settings and preferences much more efficient. It has a fresh look with logical sections and organization.
Key Features
- Redesigned interface with logical sections
- Easier to navigate and find settings
- Fresh new look and improved organization
- More coherence across Apple platforms
- Improved search to easily find preferences
Between the interface overhaul and improved search, System Settings makes customizing your Mac a much smoother experience. The redesign brings welcome improvements that were long overdue.
Gaming Features
For gaming, Ventura adds some nice capabilities like better Metal 3 support and Game Center dashboard improvements. These optimize performance and expand Apple’s gaming ecosystem.
Key Features
- Updated Game Center dashboard
- SharePlay support in Game Center
- Improved Metal 3 gaming performance
- Continuity Camera works in some games
- Supports Nintendo Joy-Cons
The updates aren’t revolutionary, but bring helpful enhancements for Mac gamers. Improved Metal 3 utilization will push graphics performance forward. And Game Center additions like SharePlay make gaming more social and connected.
Weather and Clock Apps
Ventura adds new Weather and Clock apps to Mac for the first time. These apps offer useful at-a-glance information and match the design of their iOS counterparts.
Key Features
- New Weather app on Mac – current conditions, 10-day forecast
- New Clock app with world clocks, timers, stopwatch
- Beautiful design matches iOS 16 Weather and Clock
- Glanceable weather info on your Mac desktop
- Useful new apps fill key gaps on Mac
While fairly simple, the new Weather and Clock apps are nice upgrades. It’s very convenient to quickly check weather forecasts right on your Mac. And the Clock app provides easy access to timers, stopwatches, and world clocks for anyone that needs them.
Mail Improvements
A few quality-of-life enhancements come to Mail in Ventura, like scheduling emails to send later and automatic reminders to come back to messages. Mail also gains robust undo/redo support.
Key Features
- Schedule emails to send later
- Mail will remind you to follow up on messages
- Robust undo and redo capabilities
- Search improvements
- Better reliability and performance
Being able to schedule emails for later is something many users have wanted for a while. And robust undo/redo makes it much easier to fix mistakes or test variations of a message before sending. Overall Mail gets some small but beneficial updates.
Spotlight
Spotlight receives some upgrades like Quick Actions to do tasks right from search results. There are also improvements to finding photos, documents, and more.
Key Features
- Quick Actions – convert currencies, create PDFs
- Better results for finding images
- Improved document search
- Enhanced reliability
- Web Image search
Being able to do Quick Actions without leaving search streamlines common tasks. And refinements like better photo results make Spotlight more versatile and effective. The improvements may seem minor but boost Spotlight’s capabilities.
| macOS Ventura Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Stage Manager | Window management system for improved multitasking and focus |
| Continuity Camera | Use iPhone as wireless Mac webcam via Continuity |
| Handoff for FaceTime | Move FaceTime calls seamlessly between iPhone and Mac |
| iMessage collaboration | Edit and unsend messages, mark unread, shared photo library |
| Passkeys | Passwordless authentication using Touch ID and Face ID |
| Safari shared tabs | Share and collaborate on tabs or tab groups |
| Live Text in video | Interact with text in video frames just like images |
| Visual Look Up | Select image and instantly search web for it |
| Redesigned System Settings | Streamlined settings with logical organization |
| Gaming improvements | Better Metal support, expanded Game Center features |
This table summarizes some of the major new features and updates coming in macOS Ventura, from productivity enhancements like Stage Manager to Continuity Camera and Handoff upgrades. Apple is bringing welcome improvements to many aspects of the Mac experience.
Conclusion
macOS Ventura delivers important updates and new features across the board for Macs. It has something for everyone – streamlined multitasking, expanded Continuity, passwordless authentication, handy new apps, and more. Anyone with a compatible Mac will benefit from upgrading to Ventura for a smoother and more capable experience.
Key highlights include Stage Manager for less cluttered multitasking, Continuity Camera for Mac video calls, Messages collaboration tools like editing and unsending messages, the introduction of passkeys for improved login security, shared tabs and Live Text in Safari, redesigned System Settings, and new Weather and Clock apps. Gaming and Mail also see worthwhile improvements.
With substantial enhancements in areas like productivity, connectivity, communication, and security, Ventura is one of the most impactful Mac software updates in years. It delivers the kinds of thoughtful refinements Apple is known for while also moving the Mac forward with innovative features like Stage Manager and passkeys. The future of the Mac looks bright with Ventura.