Throughout this week’s WWDC 21 event, Apple unveiled some of the new features that the upcoming macOS 12 Monterey update will have. This macOS Monterey update, named after the city of Monterey in California, will be the 18th major release of Apple’s desktop operating system. The previous major release was the macOS Big Sur, which was released back in November of last year. We’ll go over what this update will have to offer, certain devices that will be left out of it, and the timeframe of the release.
What’s New
Shortcuts: One useful tool that’ll be introduced in macOS Monterey are shortcuts. Similar to how the iPhone and iPad has the Shortcuts app, Macs will have their own app. Shortcuts can help automize tasks on your computer, and you’ll be able to run shortcuts from compatible iPhones and iPads on your computer. Apple’s upgraded AirPlay will give you the power to stream media from your iPhone or iPad, to a iMac or MacBook.
FaceTime & Messages: Both FaceTime and Messages will have new sharing features including SharePlay and Share with You. Share with You adds more accessibility to the items you can share with people in Messages. SharePlay lets you watch videos on Apple TV, and listen to music on Apple Music while on a FaceTime call. People on the call can control the media that’s playing, and view app windows on your computer, but for now there’s a limited amount of apps that will support SharePlay.
Safari & Photos: Apple’s signature Safari web browser will be getting a new look with macOS Monterey, including a tab group feature that lets you organize tabs into groups, similar to Google Chrome. Safari will also have the ability to adopt color schemes of any website you’re on and will shift schemes in real time when switching between tabs. The start pages can be synchronized across all Apple devices. Another upcoming feature that Google already had, is Live Text, which pulls text from photos in the Photos app, and gives you the ability to copy, paste, or search the text in the photo.
Universal Control: Probably the most talked about new feature coming to macOS Monterey is Universal Control, where users can switch between Mac and iPad devices using a single mouse and keyboard. By using Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and the Handoff feature, up to three devices can be connected wirelessly, as long as they stay 30 ft within each other. You’ll be able to drag and drop files between devices, only having to use the cursor from your Mac device. You can also use Universal Control through USB connection as long as you make your iPad trust your Mac.
Eligible Devices
Unfortunately, not all Macs will be able to run macOS Monterey. Below are the Macs that can run macOS Monterey.
- MacBook, 2016 and later
- MacBook Pro & Air, early 2015 and later
- Mac mini, late 2014 and later
- iMac, late 2015 and later
- iMac Pro, late 2017 and later
- Mac Pro, late 2013 and later
While some of the Mac devices mentioned above will be able to run macOS, not all of them will be able to run some of the features the update will offer. Here are the devices that will not be compatible with AirPlay and Universal Control.
| AirPlay | Universal Control |
| MacBook Pro & Air, 2018 and later | MacBook & MacBook Pro, 2016 and later |
| iMac, 2019 and later | MacBook Air, 2018 and later |
| iMac Pro | iMac, 2017 and later |
| Mac Mini, 2020 and later | 27-inch iMac, late 2015 and later |
| Mac Pro, 2019 and later | iMac Pro |
| Mac Mini, 2018 and later | |
| Mac Pro, 2019 and later |
Expected Release Date
Registered Apple Developers can get the beta of this new macOS right now. General users will be able to test out the beta in July through Apple’s public beta program. But the full release of macOS Monterey won’t come out until the fall, similar to how macOS Big Sur came out in November last year. If you’re going to try out the beta just be careful of possible bugs, as it’s not the final version of the update.
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