macOS Monterey

macOS Monterey is the 21st major release of Apple's operating system for Mac computers, officially known as macOS 12.

It was announced at WWDC 2021 and released on October 25, 2021. Monterey built upon the major redesign of its predecessor, Big Sur, by focusing heavily on continuity, collaboration, and automation across the Apple ecosystem.

Key Features of macOS Monterey (v12)

Monterey introduced several powerful features designed to make working across multiple Apple devices seamless and enhance video conferencing:

Universal Control

The headline feature, though it launched slightly after the initial release (in v12.3).

• Seamless Device Flow: Allows a single mouse, trackpad, and keyboard to be used across multiple nearby Macs and iPads. You simply move the cursor off the edge of one device's screen and onto the next—no setup or configuration required.

• Drag-and-Drop: You can drag and drop content, like files and photos, between the devices effortlessly.

FaceTime Collaboration

Major audio and video enhancements to make video calls more natural and collaborative:

• SharePlay: Allows users on a FaceTime call to share experiences in sync, like watching movies or TV shows together (via Apple TV+ and other services) or listening to music (via Apple Music).

• Spatial Audio: Voices are positioned spatially on the screen, making them sound like they are coming from the direction of the speaker.

• Voice Isolation: Uses machine learning to minimize background noise and prioritize the user's voice.

• FaceTime Links: Users can create and share links to FaceTime calls, allowing Android and Windows users to join the call from their web browser.

Productivity and Automation

• Shortcuts App: The automation app from iOS and iPadOS was brought to the Mac, allowing users to automate multi-step tasks and make their own workflows. It is positioned as the eventual successor to Automator.

• Quick Note: A system-wide feature that lets you instantly capture a thought or idea by moving the cursor to a hot corner (by default, the bottom-right). Quick Notes can include links from any app or website and sync across all devices.

• AirPlay to Mac: Allows content (movies, presentations, music, or screen mirroring) to be AirPlayed from an iPhone or iPad to the Mac's screen—turning the Mac into an AirPlay receiver.

• Erase All Contents and Settings: Added a streamlined option in System Settings to factory reset the Mac without needing to fully reinstall the operating system (similar to iOS/iPadOS).

New Core Features

• Live Text: Uses on-device machine learning to detect, copy, and interact with text within images, photos, and even Safari (e.g., copying a phone number from a photo of a business card). Note: This feature requires an Apple Silicon (M1 chip or newer) Mac.

• Focus: An expansion of the "Do Not Disturb" feature, allowing users to create custom profiles that filter notifications based on their current activity (e.g., Work, Sleep, Personal).