macOS Sequoia is here and with it comes several new and improved features. The list is pretty long and there are several hidden options across the OS. But I will focus on 6 primary features here that you will want to use on a daily basis. Here’s why you must update to macOS Sequoia quickly when it arrives.
Table of Contents
1. New Continuity Features
iPhone mirroring is here, folks. A pretty cool and also useful feature. You must update your MacBook to macOS Sequoia and iPhone to iOS 18 for this to work. Here is how it looks:
Here is what you can do with iPhone Mirroring:
- Control apps like Phone, iMessage, streaming, and even games
- Navigate the screen
- Use two-finger gestures to scroll up/down and sideways.
- Click at the bottom to close the currently open app
- Drag and drop files from iPhone to Mac and vice versa
- Pinch to zoom on your photos in the Gallery app
- Scroll social media feeds
- You can check and also interact with all your iPhone notifications on Mac from the Notification Center
- StandBy mode is enabled on iPhone when it is in mirroring mode so you can still see notifications on the lock screen
- Rearrange the home screen using the jiggle mode to add/remove apps and widgets
Here are things you can do with it:
- Can’t control iPhone’s camera remotely using Mac. I am guessing this is done to prevent spying.
And finally, here is how iPhone mirroring works.
2. Apple’s Definition of Intelligence
You know this one was coming. Apple’s keynote was all about AI and how it will change the way you use and interact with your MacBook running macOS Sequoia. A handful of MacBooks will support AI. Ensure you cut the list. Here is a taste of what you will get:
- Image Playground – use text prompts to generate images on the fly, use concepts (templates), use people or characters, use existing photos and add generated elements to it, and more
- Genmoji – create new and unique emojis using prompts
- Writing Tools – rewrite, summarize, style, and proofread existing text, use ChatGPT to create original content, and more
- Siri – Apple’s home-grown personal assistant can now understand and remember context, take in-app actions, and ChatGPT integration
I think it is worth getting a ChatGPT Plus subscription if you are deep into the Apple ecosystem.
3. Better Window Tiling
I don’t know about you but I use window tiling, even on my small Mac Air 13-inch display. It helps me with research while I am drafting articles for our awesome audience.
macOS takes window tiling and makes it better with macOS Sequoia. For example, dragging the window to the edge of the screen will automatically resize it. There are some new keyboard shortcuts unless you are like me and using Raycast which messes up the shortcuts. One new keyboard shortcut – hold the Options button while dragging the window to preview the tiling options available.
Multiple displays are now supported so you can use tiling on two or more screens.
4. Safari Goes Thanos Mode – Snap Away
Safari has a cool new feature that turns you into Thanos. Yes, there needs to be balance. There are way too many ads on any given page and sometimes, there are unneeded elements that just appear on top of the content you are reading.
Safari will remove all those distractions with the snap of your finger. You can remove any image, video, element, and pretty much anything. Enable Distraction Control and click on the element you want gone.
Below is an image of Safari on iPhone running iOS 18 but Safari on macOS has the same feature. We haven’t got the update yet.
Other features Safari gets with macOS sequoia:
- Highlights – web page, music, video, and location-specific key information
- Dim background while watching a video to remove distraction
5. RCS – Do You Have Android Friends
Google wanted to end the blue bubble and green bubble fight and extended an olive branch called RCS. Apple has responded in kind by implementing RCS in their Messages app. You can now send and receive rich media files like images, videos, and attachments between Android and iOS phones.
Here is how it looks on the iPhone but the same feature works on the macOS Message apps too, thanks to the rich ecosystem Apple has built.
Other notable features include reacting with emojis, scheduling messages to send later, new text formatting options like bold, italics, underline, changing font size and type, and even more.
6. Freeform – Freely Design and Sketch Anything
Freeform is available on the iPhone but it was meant to be used on a bigger screen. That means either your MacBook or iPad. Freeform is a new app that comes preinstalled with macOS Sequoia on all MacBooks that support it.
Freeform is an empty board that you can fill with your thoughts in the form of sketches, drawings, and media files like text, audio, video, images, and more. Some examples include mood or visualization boards.
I wish there were some examples or templates to choose from.
Why Not macOS Sequoia
You ask why? I ask why not? There are plenty of reasons to update to macOS 15 also codenamed Sequoia. There is Apple Intelligence, an improved Notes and Reminders app, a better Photos app, and so much more.
Plus, these are the features that we know about. Most big tech companies like to include several small, and often hidden, features and settings that they want users to find out on their own. As macOS Sequoia rolls out, more people will discover these features and talk about them. You don’t want to miss them.
