Apple’s big update for Macs, macOS Catalina, is finally out today bringing with it a host of new features, apps, privacy improvements, and much more.
Developers just received the gold master version of macOS Catalina last week, but today’s launch was a bit of a surprise. Anyone that has a compatible Mac can grab the new update from the Mac App Store for free.
macOS Catalina makes some huge changes to the iTunes app by divvying up some of its functions to new apps for Music, TV, Podcasts. Apple also completely redesigned the Reminders app, similar to the new one in iOS 13.
Porting apps from iPad to Mac is easier for developers with macOS Catalina thanks to Apple’s Project Catalyst. This should hopefully increase the number of Mac apps, which have been pretty lacking over the years.
Apple combined Find My iPhone with Find My Friends. It’s available on Mac and iOS. Even devices that are offline can be found using Bluetooth beacons that are relayed through other Apple devices that are online. If your Mac has a T2 security chip it is getting Activation Lock too to protect it from thieves.
Sidecar is another major new feature in the update. With iOS 13 and macOS Catalina, you can now use your iPad as a second monitor on some of the newer Macs. Apple Arcade is available on Mac with the update too. If you already started your subscription on an iOS device you can now play titles on the Mac as well.
