macOS Monterey announced: new Safari, Universal Control, Live text, Focus, FaceTime improvements, and more

Apple has announced macOS Monterey at WWDC 2021 with a brand new version of Safari, major new FaceTime improvements, Universal Control, Live Text, Focus, and various enhancements to Messages, Notes, Apple Maps, and Privacy. The update also features iCloud+ with new features like Privacy Relay and Hide My Email, and also brings support for Shortcuts app and AirPlay to Mac.

macOS Monterey features

Safari

• Safari has a brand new design in macOS Monterey. It completely changes how tabs work by adding an address bar to each tab and making them compact. This gives more space for the website on the screen. The tabs also change color based on the website’s colors.
• Tab groups allow users to organize and save websites into groups. These tab groups also sync with other Apple devices such as iPhone and iPad, and can also be shared via email.

Shortcuts

• Shortcuts app is finally available on Mac. It works exactly how its iOS counterpart works and allows users to use pre-built actions to quickly create their own automation.
• The Shortcuts Editor is designed for Mac so users can customize shortcuts specific to macOS, and even integrate their shortcuts with the menu bar, finder, and Spotlight.
• Users can also import their existing Automator workflows into the Shortcuts app.

Focus

• Focus lets users create various ‘profiles’ so they can set their status to do not disturb and filter out notifications accordingly.
• The status is synced to other Apple devices and even to the Messages app so that senders are made aware that you are busy. However, they can still bypass the message and contact you.

Notes

• Quick Note lets users create notes for any app or website and create links to certain text portions of the website or sections of an app.
• Tags allow users to organize their notes in a better way.
• Mentions let users tag their friends in notes.
• Activity view shows the revision history for any particular note.

Universal Control

• Universal Control lets users use their Mac keyboard and trackpad or mouse to move between an iPad or another Mac and control it.
• Users can drag and drop files easily between multiple devices.
• This requires zero setup and requires users to be logged in with their Apple ID.

AirPlay to Mac

• Users can now AirPlay from their iPhone or iPad to their Mac.
• The Mac can even be used as an AirPlay speaker.

Other features

• New FaceTime features and SharePlay also work on macOS Monterey, similar to how they work on iOS 15 and iPadOS 15.
• Shared with You is also available in macOS Monterey.
• Live Text uses on-device machine learning for image recognition and text detection in photos.
• iCloud+ is available with a new Hide My Email feature as well as iCloud Private Relay.
• AirPods Pro and AirPods Max get spatial audio support but only with Macs that have an M1 chip.

macOS Monterey is now available as a developer beta, while a public beta will be available next month. The final version of macOS Monterey will be released later this fall to all users.