Also new to Safari is the ability to separate the browser via profiles, so you can create one profile for work and another for your personal life. It splits up your history, extensions, cookies, tab groups and favorites and you can easily switch back and forth.
You can now also create web apps, allowing you to turn your favorite websites into an app-like experience that you can place in the Dock. Instead of opening a browser window, these web apps launch and behave like traditional macOS apps when you click on them. You can receive notifications from them and even segment them in tools like Stage Manager.
Additionally, Apple makes it easier to share passwords with shared accounts. When you create a group, everyone can add and edit passwords and share them via iCloud Keychain (with end-to-end encryption).
More with news
Video: Apple
As with iOS 17, Apple has also made some new upgrades to the Messages app. Building on inline replies first introduced in iOS 14, you can swipe right to quickly reply to a specific message instead of having to long-press each time.
Searching in messages has been improved. When you search for something, results are now broken down into categories like people, keywords, photos, and links, making them easier to find. There’s also a one-time passcode cleanup feature that automatically deletes one-time passcodes via AutoFill – helping you clean up your conversation list. The company is also making great strides in stickers. Any stickers you create with iOS or iPadOS (including Live Stickers created with Live Photos) are now available on your Mac.
Game mode
Video: Apple
Gaming on an M Series Mac? You’ll appreciate the new Game Mode feature for graphics-intensive titles. This ensures that the Mac gives high priority to the CPU and GPU when gaming, providing a smoother experience with consistent frame rates. It also reduces audio latency when using AirPods and reduces input latency with supported PlayStation and Xbox controllers.
Security functions for communication
Photo: Apple
To prevent people from unexpectedly viewing sensitive images in Messages, AirDrop, FaceTime messages, and third-party apps, users now have the option to turn on a sensitive content warning. This way, photos and videos containing nudity are blurred. You have the option to choose whether you want to see them and block the contact who sent them. By expanding communication safety features for children in iOS 15, parents and guardians can also obscure sensitive videos (in addition to photos) that their children send or receive. The feature also works with the Photos app when opened in Messages.
New screen savers
Video: Apple
If you love the pre-installed screen savers that come with your Mac, you’ll be happy with the new options. There are slow-motion videos from locations around the world, including Arizona, California and Hong Kong. The login prompt has also been moved to the bottom of the screen so it no longer interferes with the image on your display.
An improved typing experience
Courtesy of Apple
It’s no secret that Apple’s autocorrect isn’t the most accurate. And whether you use an iPhone, an iPad, or a Mac, it can be an extremely frustrating feature. Using “advanced on-device language models,” autocorrect fixes typos more accurately. Auto-correct words are now also temporarily underlined, making it easier to keep track of what’s changed as you type. With a new inline text prediction feature, you’ll also see single and multi-word predictions based on your input so you can complete the message faster.
Accessibility features
Photo: Apple
MacOS Sonoma includes a variety of new accessibility features for visual, cognitive and language support. Features include phonetic suggestions that appear when dictating and editing text using voice control. animated images (like GIFs) that can be paused in Safari or Messages; Live Speech, which allows users to type messages that are read aloud during FaceTime and phone calls; the option to adjust text size in Mac apps; and the ability to connect Made for iPhone hearing aids to your Mac (available on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro 2021, Mac Studio 2022, and Mac computers with the M2 chip).
Transcripts with Apple Podcasts
If you use Apple’s Podcasts app, you can now listen to a podcast episode and read the transcript on your Mac at the same time. You can also use the transcript for specific lines and keywords. It is currently available for podcasts in English, Spanish, German and French.
Notes app upgrades
If you’re struggling to keep track of all your notes, you’ll be relieved to know that Apple has added the option to link them together. You no longer have to scroll through the app to find what you’re looking for. You now also have access to new text styles, including block quotes (which set off a section of text with a quote bar) and monostyle text (with inserted text and a visible background). For more layouts and formatting tools, you can also open a specific note in the Pages app.
New emoji
Photo: Emojipedia
With macOS 14.4, you now have new emojis to choose from, including a phoenix, broken chain, shaking head, brown mushroom, and more. There are also four new family emojis, six person emojis that are now available in both directions (e.g. “Person walking facing right”), and four non-gender-specific family emojis.
Additional functions:
- Memories: Putting together a shopping list? Reminders automatically sort the items you add by category. Additionally, your settings are saved when you change the grouping of items. And a new column view organizes sections into columns on your screen.
- Find mine: You can add up to five additional people to your Find My Network accessories or AirTags. The added people can follow the item on the map or play a sound to pinpoint the item’s location.
- Siri: The days of “Hey Siri” are over. All you have to do is say “Siri” to trigger the voice assistant. This feature is only available for Macs with an M-series chip.
- Photos: In addition to recognizing people, the photo app can (finally) also automatically recognize cats and dogs.
- Visual search: Use the Look-Up tool to get more information about the subject of a photo. For example, if it’s a photo of food, you can use the feature to find recipes for similar dishes. You can also use Visual Lookup on paused video frames.
- Home app: With the new Activity History feature, you can now see who locked or unlocked the door (and when), as well as recent activity for contact sensors, garage doors, and your security system.
- Apple Music: You can invite friends to join a playlist, giving them the ability to add, remove, or rearrange songs.
- Improved Autofill for PDFs: You can fill PDFs in preview with the advanced autofill feature. It recognizes fillable fields – like your name, address, and email address – and automatically fills in the information for you.
- Catch-up arrow: Whether you’re in a group chat or a private conversation, coming back to tons of new messages is overwhelming. A new “catch up” arrow takes you to the first new message with a single tap – so you no longer have to scroll up to find it yourself.
- AppleCare & Warranty: You can now check your coverage for all devices signed in with your Apple ID in Settings.
- Safari favorites bar: You can now choose to only show icons for your favorite websites. All you need to do is right-click on the specific site and uncheck the “Show Title” option. It will then automatically appear as a symbol.
- Updates in News for Business: In News, you can now sign up to receive updates like flight alerts, order status, fraud alerts, and more.