These updates come with macOS Sonoma – t3n – the digital pioneers

Apple unveils macOS Sonoma at WWDC 2023. (Photo: Apple)

The focus of the keynote speech at Apple’s WWDC 2023 conference was, of course, the eagerly anticipated entry into a new hardware category. For the first time in a long time, Apple chief Tim Cook announced “something else”: the result was the Vision Pro augmented reality glasses.

Apple had less room in its presentation for updates to iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and macOS Sonoma. And the innovations themselves are rather unsurprising. However, some useful functionality is certainly available – even with macOS Sonoma.

With the release of the new operating system for Macs, Apple introduces so-called interactive widgets. It can be distributed freely on the desktop. As new to the iPad, Mac users can use it to perform smaller functions in widgets without having to open the app.

If you often have to present work or products in video conferencing, you might be looking forward to Mask Moderator. This new video effect allows rendering over shared content – at any size.

This should make the introducing persons more presentable. Everything should work in different video conferencing applications. In the future, visual feedback such as balloons, cardboard, and hearts should also be triggered in video chats with a hand signal, such as two thumbs up.

Apple has also updated its Safari web browser. According to Keynote’s presentation, Safari is the fastest browser in the world. Proof of that Apple delivery not for that. The new ability to create corresponding profiles is interesting to everyone who uses Safari professionally and privately.

In addition, you can now create web applications from your favorite websites that work like normal applications. Apple will also add a Private Browsing mode in Safari later this year. This is intended to increase protection against tracking and fingerprints.

Optimizing games on a Mac is less suitable for the office than it is for a private environment. The new Game Mode gives games the highest priority over the CPU and GPU. By doubling the Bluetooth sampling rate, the goal is to reduce the delays of wirelessly connected devices such as Airpods and game controllers.

Oh yeah: As previously expected, you no longer need to say “Hey Siri” to activate Siri. Then a simple use of “Siri” is quite enough.

macOS Sonoma will be available as a free software update for Mac users in fall 2023. Developers can already try out the new OS version in developer mode. A public beta will be available in July.