macOS 13 Ventura is finally here after being unveiled way back in June. The free update includes a range of improvements for Mac users.
Here are four reasons to install Ventura today.
macOS Ventura offers glimpse of Mac’s future
Image: Apple
macOS is a mature operating system and doesn’t get a significant redesign very often. Ventura isn’t a huge revamp but it does take the first step toward one of those major changes. This is the debut of Stage Manager, which Apple seems to setting up as the user interface of the future for Mac and iPad.
Like the current macOS UI, Stage Manager puts applications into floating, resizable, overlapping windows. But it adds new methods for organizing windows.
Most notably, a user can make collections of open windows from a variety of apps and move those collections into thumbnails on the left side of the screen ready to be reopened later.
Stage Manager is optional and must be activated to use.
Continuity Camera improves video calls
Photo: Apple
MacBooks have front facing cameras but, well, they stink. And Mac mini has no camera at all. So Apple dreamed up Continuity Camera.
“With Continuity Camera, you can use iPhone as your webcam,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of software engineering, during WWDC22 in June. “It’s powered by the advanced capabilities of the iPhone camera system, letting you do things that were never before possible with a webcam.”
And Continuity Camera can provide a top-down view of your desk even though the iPhone camera is facing forward, not downward.
Plus, moving calls between devices is a snap. macOS Ventura lets users easily switch a FaceTime call between iPad, iPhone or Mac.
Useful iPhone apps jump to macOS Ventura
Image: Apple
The Weather and Clock apps from the iPhone come to the Mac with Ventura. Their layout has been optimized to take advantage of the big screens that Macs offer.
Better communication via Apple Mail
The Mail app has received a significant update in macOS Ventura with the ability to undo sending an email, schedule emails for a future date and time, set reminders, follow-up suggestions and more.
Apple also promises that the mail search function is faster and more accurate.
While texts generally aren’t as important to Mac users as email, the new version of Messages lets users edit texts within 15 minutes of sending them. Ands unsend them, too.
Get macOS Ventura now
And there’s a lot more packed into the new macOS version. System Settings has been redesigned to work like the iPad version with a new sidebar. And there’s iCloud Shared Photo Library, Safari now offers Shared Tab Groups, and Messages now supports SharePlay.
macOS 13 Ventura is available for all 2017 and newer MacBooks and iMacs, 2018 Mac mini, 2019 Mac Pro and later.
Anyone with a compatible Mac can download the upgrade now. Go to Apple menu > About This Mac. Then click Software Update. Alternatively, you can install the new version from the App Store. (Note: At the time of writing, Apple had not yet updated the version of macOS Monterey in the App Store. But it should happen soon.)
Rajesh Pandey contributed to this article.
