What's macOS Monterey?

The macOS Big Sur operating system introduced big improvements to the look of macOS. Monterey focuses more on changes to the content. We'll highlight a few for you.

• FaceTime
• Focus
• Universal Control
• iCloud+
• Exclusively for Apple Silicon

An iPhone user probably knows Portrait mode. Your face is nicely in frame, while the rest of your surroundings is blurry. This function is now also available in FaceTime. This way, you can keep your messy room out of view. You can also have FaceTime calls with people who don't have an Apple device. Send a link to your friends and you can tell each other everything via Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. Nothing to talk about? Via SharePlay, you can also share movies or music. This way, you can still follow the same series remotely.

Don't you want to receive distracting messages while you work? With Focus, you can set up which messages you want to receive and when. The function 'do not disturb' blocks all notifications, but you can set up your own preferences. This can be 'working', 'sleeping', or 'driving'. It's also possible to set up exceptions. This way, you'll still receive messages from your partner or from that news app you can't live without. People who aren't an exception will automatically get a notification that you don't want to be disturbed.

With Universal Control, you can control up to 3 Apple devices with 1 keyboard, mouse, or trackpad. This works completely automatically. You can drag your mouse from the screen of your MacBook to the screen of your iPad or iMac. It's also possible to drag images from screen to screen. For example, easily drag a drawing from your iPad to the document on your MacBook directly.

To use this, you need at least macOS Monterey 12.3 and iPadOS 15.4.

You can browse the internet anonymously with 'iCloud Private Relay'. Your Mac will send encrypted data, so others can't read it. It's also impossible to make a profile of the user based in IP address, location, and browser activity. 'Hide my email address' creates unique and random email addresses that lead to your inbox. Newsletter providers won't find out your real email address.

Apple is in a transfer phase. All new Mac models get Apple Silicone chips instead of Intel processors. Because many people also use Intel Mac models, the new macOS is available in 2 versions. These are for Mac models with Intel processors or for the Apple Silicon. Some new functions are only available on models with the Apple Silicon M1 chips. Examples are:

• FaceTime Portrait mode.
• Detailed maps in the Maps app.
• Spatial audio support for all AirPods models.

There's much more, of course.

• 'Live Text' recognizes text on photos. You can copy this text, find the definition of a word, or translate it into another language.
• AirPlay. You can send audio or video from an Apple device to your Mac, or use your Mac as an AirPlay 2 speaker.
• Messages. All photos and link that you receive via Messages end in the 'Shared with you' environment of the accompanying app.
• Notes. You can quickly take a note by moving your cursor to the interactive corner.

And there are hundreds more small or large changes.