Photo by Caitlin McGarry/GizmodoMacOS OS is the most neglected of all Apple OSes. How many people have found that when they boot up their Macs, the update reminders go away for days, weeks, or even months. Instead of waiting to complete the task, they click on remind me later. It would be a lot. I admit that I used to blog about Macs in the days before.AdvertisementMacOS 12 works so well with iOS 15, that you can update your Mac if your iPhone is updated. Many features are carried over from one device into the next, making them feel like an extension of each other.MacOS Big Sur was the iOS-ification for the Macs aesthetic. MacOS Montereys top software features were lifted directly from the iPhone and can be used across all Apple devices. Shortcuts, Apple's automation app that allows users to change the home screen icons of iOS 14 has just been ported to the Mac. It was first released on the iPhone in 2018. FaceTime receives a major upgrade with SharePlay, which allows you to watch videos, screen-sharing and listen to music with your contacts. Focus profiles can be created to manage notifications across all devices. Safari has a new look. It's not as ugly on the Mac as on the iPhone, but it still conveys the same vibe. You can AirPlay content from your iPhone to an Apple TV or iPhone, but not to a Mac until now. It works.One of my biggest disappointments with macOS Monterey is that Universal Control, which is one of Apple's few Mac-specific upgrades this year has not yet been added to the beta. Although I don't usually get excited about new Mac features, this one allows you to control multiple iPads and Macs with one mouse/trackpad/keyboard. I've been trying to figure out how to position the iPad Pro and Mac in a dual-display configuration of my dreams. Do I move horizontally or vertically? I even considered setting up an iPad stand next to my iMac. It is still empty and waiting.Although I won't be talking about Universal Control here, I will tell you how it feels to use macOS Monterey. Monterey is an excellent, complimentary upgrade for iPhones running iOS 15.How to Install macOS MontereyMacOS Monterey is now open for public beta. Anyone can try it. It has been stable on my M1 iMac for a while. It is important to back up all your files and be prepared for bugs when installing beta software. I also recommend that you use it on a device that you don't rely on every day.AdvertisementA Mac compatible with Monterey is also required. These are: MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, MacBook Pro (early 2015 or later); MacBook (late 2015 or later); iMac Pro; 2017 and later; iMac Pro; Mac Pro (late 2013, and later); Mac Mini (late 2014 or later).If you're still feeling brave, and you have a compatible Mac computer, go to Apples Beta Software Program and sign up with your Apple ID. Follow the instructions to install Monterey.AdvertisementLet's get to it.iOS 15's Flagship Features for the MacAirPlay and Shortcuts are available on the Mac just like the iPhone. Photo by Caitlin McGarry/GizmodoAdvertisementI've detailed how iOS 15 features such as FaceTimes SharePlay, Focus and Focus work in my iOS 15 preview. They are equally useful on the Mac in Monterey but you may use them differently. Focus, Apple's notification-wrangling method, is not as effective on the Mac than on the iPhone. This is because my interaction with notifications is very different from my iPhone. My Mac doesn't really have a Work Focus profile. It is primarily used for working. I don't get many dings via messaging apps other than Slack (constantly and forever), and I only allow notifications from Messages or Calendar. This is all to say that the Mac isn't a screen I am addicted to so Focus isn't as important.The new FaceTime features on the Mac are fun too, but screen-sharing is a bit finicky. I couldn't access the controls to share my screen or my window. I was also unable to turn off screen sharing when I wanted. These are minor bugs that I anticipate will be fixed before the official release.AdvertisementFaceTime Portrait Mode can be a bit aggressive with curly hair but it isn't something I hate. Screenshot by Caitlin McGarry/GizmodoWhile I use FaceTime on my iPhone and iPad, Portrait Mode with the iMacs 1080p front facing lens is really impressive, and I intend to use it for all future video calls. Portrait Mode will now be available in third party video-conferencing apps. It is not only compatible with FaceTime, but also on M1 Macs. I sincerely apologize to my colleagues and friends for being so extra.AdvertisementCool new Maps is a Shared With You feature that allows you see content your friends sent to you in relevant apps (say a web link or song link in Apple Music), and many more iOS features have been added to the Mac. This makes the two devices appear more connected than ever. Although they are not revolutionary for the Mac, they make it easier to find the right screen from the other. That is precisely the point of Monterey.The New Safari is a Little Less Annoying for the MacThe Safari redesign in iOS 15 or iPadOS 15 is terrible, but it's much better on the Mac. The address bar does not jump up and down depending on what you type in, unlike on the iPhone. While I hated the color-matched tabs in Safariconfusingly when it was first launched, they made it seem as if my browser was switching between Light Mode or Dark Mode depending on which page I was viewing. You can turn this feature off.AdvertisementAlthough the redesigned Safari looks good on Mac, I find the disappearing button to reload annoying. Screenshot by Caitlin McGarry/GizmodoIt is a little odd that my tabs are located in the same place as the address bar. This can lead to a lot of clutter. But Tab Groups allows you to organize tabs into categories, and then switch between them. This feature can now be accessed from the new Safari sidebar. It keeps things very simple.AdvertisementWhile the button to reload the page appears to have disappeared, you can hover your cursor above the More menu (behind ellipses to right of search bar) and it will appear once again. This is a clever trick but it's also frustrating because of the question: Why? This solves what problem? This is what I expect Safari to do. Because Kinja isn't supported in Safari, Chrome on the Mac is my primary browser. So, Safari woes are limited to iPhone and iPad.AirPlay is fine, but I want universal controlApples AirPlay 2 allows you to easily cast content from an Apple device with a larger screen. It is used to cast videos to my Apple TV and music to AirPlay compatible speakers. Other Continuity features such as Handoff make it easy to forget that AirPlay is not possible from an iPhone or Mac.AdvertisementI was initially apprehensive about this feature. AirPlaying a song to my Mac is not something I use. I can just open Apple Music or Spotify and it will work. It's silly to AirPlay a YouTube video to your Mac, since I can easily navigate to YouTube from my browser. AirPlay is possible with certain Macs. Apple highlighted the use iPad sketching apps that allow you to AirPlay drawings to a Mac directly in real-time. While I was able to draw a little on my iPad Pro, I also mirrored my screen to an iMac. It worked great and there was no lag.Although there is no Fitness+ Mac app available, you can AirPlay workouts directly from your iPhone. Photo by Caitlin McGarry/GizmodoAdvertisementFitness+, Apple's on-demand workout program, is a more common use for AirPlay on Macs. If you wish to view the videos on your Mac from your iPhone, you can cast them to it. This worked flawlessly for me, even though the AirPlay settings were somewhat shaky. The class I selected offered me the option of AirPlay audio but no video.AirPlay can be used to transfer content between Macs, but I haven't tried it yet. Although I am not a fan of betas, it seemed like a disaster waiting for me to put a dev beta on both my work Mac and my personal Mac. This will be tested alongside Universal Control, so keep checking back. AirPlay is not suitable for older Macs that you want to serve as second displays. Your Mac must be at least 2018 in order to benefit from the Mac-to Mac AirPlay functionality.AdvertisementAirPlay is a great tool that can be used in certain situations. It's a great feature that Mac users have access to. That's it!All the little thingsIt seems that Monterey has more features than any macOS release. Shortcuts will be a great way to automate your Mac. If you are already using Automator, however, you can start to ease your way by importing scripts into Shortcuts.AdvertisementQuick Note allows you to hover your cursor in the bottom right corner of a hot spot (for me, it's the bottom right) to open a quick note. This is great for not only jotting down small things but also for adding to a long-running note that is constantly refreshed (just me). This is what it looks like.A little bit that may only interest me: Apple has finally made it easy to factory reset and erase a Mac using M1 Macs in Monterey. Instead of going through the tedious process of turning on Recovery mode, then using Disk Utility for erasing your hard drive before installing macOS again, there will now be an option to delete user content from the Mac via System Preferences.AdvertisementOther M1-specific features include Live Text, which is a systemwide feature that allows you to look up and translate text in any image. When the Mac's on-device intelligence recognizes something significant, such as an animal or landmark, a new Visual Lookup tool will be displayed in a photograph. I took a picture of a houseplant. I don't know the species, so Visual Lookup didn't give me a diagnosis.Although it has been a bit tedious, macOS Monterey so far has been mostly good. However, Universal Control is coming soon and I cannot wait.
