At WWDC today, Apple announced the latest updates to its desktop and laptop operating systems. It’s called macOS Sonoma. This update adds features introduced in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, including an upgraded Messages app and a new predictive autocorrect feature. But perhaps the biggest announcement concerns the game.
Apple says that Apple Silicon has made it possible to bring new gaming experiences to the Mac platform. macOS Sonoma has a new Game Mode that prioritizes CPU and GPU usage for games to provide more consistent frame rates. Doubled the Bluetooth sampling rate for better support for PlayStation and Xbox controllers.
The new Game Porting Toolkit for developers is designed to significantly reduce the time required to port games from PC to Mac. Specifically, the Metal API’s shaders and graphics code include a “simpler conversion process”.
To put the focus on this new game into perspective: metal gear solid Writer Hideo Kojima made the announcement on stream. Death Stranding: Director’s Cut We will be moving to macOS later this year. The developers are also actively working to bring future titles to macOS.
Apple is focused on building productivity tools into macOS Sonoma. The Stage Manager has been revamped to improve the somewhat choppy startup on previous macOS versions by making navigating between apps (and windows) easier and faster. Video overlays let you add AR effects to your videos, such as when sharing your screen. These features are available in all meeting apps like Zoom, Teams, etc. You can now share passwords and passkeys with individuals or groups from iCloud Keychain. According to Apple, this feature is end-to-end encrypted for security.
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Safari has added a new Profiles feature that allows you to have different profiles with separate Favorites, Cookies, Extensions (and other settings).
Widgets were previously only available in Notification Center. Now you can split them up and place them wherever you want on your desktop. (In a way, it’s reminiscent of OS X in the early 2000s). For example, the weather and stocks can always be permanently set on the desktop. When you focus on the new app window, it disappears slightly from view.
MacOS Sonoma arrives this fall and takes advantage of all the hardware capabilities of the new 15-inch MacBook Air, M2 Ultra Mac Studio and M2 Ultra Mac Pro.
