5 macOS Ventura Features That Will Really Change the Way You Use Your Mac

Apple’s next major update for the Mac operating system is called macOS Ventura. It’s expected to be released this fall, with a beta available for developers now and for the general public in July. You might be wondering if you should upgrade or not – after all, Ventura has plenty of new features to browse. To help you decide, here are five Ventura features that will change the way you do things on your Mac.

Mail: better search and cancel messages

During my research for this article, I remembered an email containing information that I thought I could use. So I looked for it and eventually found it, but it took a while. Experiences like this make email a burden, even though it is an important means of communication.

Help is on the way, though. Apple is finally updating the search feature in Mail to make it easier to find the email you need. In macOS Ventura, Mail’s search box now shows recent emails, attachments, links, photos, and more. This should make it easier to find that particular email.

This is just one of many new features in Mail. There’s also tracking, which puts emails at the top of your inbox, and the ability to schedule when you want an email sent. Reminders can be set up to resurrect an open email so you can respond to it later. And Mail will have an Undo Send feature, where you’ll have 10 seconds to resume a message. Overall, Mail takes a big step forward in making email less cumbersome and easier to communicate with.

Continuity Camera: A Better FaceTime Experience

Mac hardware has one glaring problem: a camera that doesn’t meet the demands of Mac users, with its poor image quality and lack of features. Even the updated cameras of the iMac, 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, and Studio Display are decent.

The iPhone, on the other hand, has excellent cameras, including the front camera. And with macOS Ventura, the Mac can take advantage of the iPhone 11 camera and use it in a feature called Continuity Camera. Once set up, you’ll be able to instantly and wirelessly connect iPhone to the Mac and use it in FaceTime, Zoom, WebEx and other video conferencing apps, which means people you meet can stop teasing you about it. of your photo quality.

If you often record videos of yourself, Continuity Camera has a feature that will literally add a new dimension to your creations. The Desk View feature is able to capture you and the desk space in front of your screen at the same time. You will be able to do hands-on demonstrations without having to worry about camera setup, which will make your videos much more dynamic and impress everyone during a video conference.

The Continuity Camera has another feature called Studio Light, which requires an iPhone 12 or later. This feature lets you look good in front of the camera by using the iPhone flash as a light. No more hiding in the shadows!

Apple

Safari Passkeys: No More Passwords

The internet is an infinite resource, but the number of accounts, usernames, and passwords you need to create to use them also seems like an infinite resource. And why did it take so long to implement something more secure than the password, like biometric verification?

We’re about to make a breakthrough with the new Passkeys feature in macOS Ventura’s Safari. Passkeys replace the passwords entered by Touch ID on a Mac, and on an iPhone or iPad, you can use Face ID. No more chasing that unique password you created for each Internet account. (You used unique passwords during all account, right?

Passkeys create a digital key for each account, and that key is submitted when you authenticate it via Touch ID or Face ID. There’s no way to mistakenly hand over a password to a hacker, and they’re not web-logged, so they won’t be in any security leaks. And Apple is working with the FIDO Alliance to make Passkeys work on non-Apple devices.

Apple

Focus: helping you get things done

There’s so much you can do on your Mac, but it’s up to you to find the discipline to focus on the task at hand. Apple is trying to help out with its Focus feature in macOS, though. In Ventura, Focus has a new feature for Filters, which helps put Apple apps into specific modes you set, showing you only relevant information.

For example, if you create a Focus mode called Work, you can configure Calendar to show only your work appointments, Messages to only allow conversations from your Work list in the Contacts app, and Safari to only allow you to work on a specific tab group. You will also be able to schedule Focus to set a mode at a certain time of day.

If you have something to do now, Focus will help you focus. (Another new feature to help you focus is the ability to play background sounds like white noise or rain on the Mac.) If Focus seems a bit extreme, you can always turn it off with a few clicks in Control. Center.

Live text: video support

In macOS Monterey, Apple introduced Live Text, the ability to select text from an image and then copy it, search the internet, translate it, and more. Apple expands Live Text in macOS Ventura by adding support for videos. You will be able to pause a video, select on-screen text and perform the same functions as before.

It’s a great tool when you’re researching, creating content, or your interest has just been piqued by something you see while watching your favorite YouTuber.