Apple is working a bunch of new features into macOS Sequoia, including a slew of upgrades powered by Apple Intelligence.
This is Apple's own in-house spin on AI, and it's one of the biggest upgrades coming with macOS Sequoia. But while Apple Intelligence could easily be the most exciting new feature of macOS Sequoia, it's not the only one.
I had a chance to watch Apple unveil macOS Sequoia live in Cupertino, and I think there were a few key upgrades that might have been easy to miss in the marketing blitz that surrounds WWDC 2024. From iPhone Mirroring to audio transcriptions in Notes, don't overlook these cool features when Sequoia arrives later this fall.
iPhone Mirroring
I carry an iPhone and use Windows 11 PCs pretty regularly, so you can understand how highly I prize MacBooks' capacity to quickly share files and data with my iPhone via AirPlay. It's seamless and easy in a way that no Windows phone-linking app can match, and now macOS is getting even chummier with iPhones.
Thanks to a new macOS Sequoia feature called iPhone Mirroring, you're able to access your iPhone in a virtual window right from your Mac desktop. It seems to work just like a virtual machine would on your PC, where you use your Mac's touchpad and keyboard to navigate your iPhone remotely.
There are all sorts of cool applications this unlocks, which I love. Obviously it makes using an iPhone and Mac together more useful since now you can see iPhone notifications on your Mac, click on them and immediately launch the relevant app on your iPhone in a virtual window on your Mac. You can use your iPhone remotely, like a wizard, but personally I'm most curious to know if I can play iPhone games with a mouse and keyboard via my Mac.
Image Playground
There's a new image generator that Apple is building into macOS Sequoia, and it's called Image Playground.
Image Playground has its own app, but it will also be available for use inside other apps like Messages. It works like other image generation apps: You ask for what you want, choose a style (the app will start with Animation, Illustration or Sketch) and Apple Intelligence will generate it for you.
I'm sure Image Playground won't be nearly as good as other image generation apps at launch since the competition has had so much time to develop, but the key thing I appreciate about Image Playground is that everyone with an iPhone or Mac will have it.
That means it will be much easier to use generated images in messages and emails, which means a lot more fun sending messages back and forth with my loved ones on macOS Sequoia.
Notes upgrades
I do a lot of writing and take a lot of notes on both my iPhone and MacBooks, so the Notes app is high in my rotation.
Maybe that helps explain why I'm so excited that Apple is upgrading the app on macOS Sequoia with a handful of cool Apple Intelligence upgrades, including audio transcription and math-solving capabilities.
I record a lot of interviews for work and report on financials occasionally, so I'm keen to avoid the pain of typing up interviews and doing tiresome basic math like currency conversion. With the new Notes upgrades in macOS Sequoia, Apple could have solved some of my biggest work headaches using AI.
Outlook
Now that Apple has hopped aboard the AI (sorry, "Apple Intelligence") bandwagon, macOS is poised to undergo its most significant shift yet.
But it could be more of a gradual evolution than the lurching frenzy with which we watched Microsoft cram AI tools into Windows, which may be to Apple's benefit. If the company can ensure this AI injection goes off smoothly, we could see AI-generated text, images and help become commonplace on Macs and iPhones.
If macOS Sequoia's AI features are as good as they promise, this could be the beginning of a future where AI is more of a help than a hindrance. And if Apple can make it easy and simple to use, it may give macOS Sequoia a leg up against the future of Windows.
