Apple’s WWDC is in June and that’s when we expect the company to unveil macOS 14, the next major version of the Mac operating system. In this article, we will follow the latest news about macOS 14, and when it is officially presented, you will be able to find out about all the new features and updates.
macOS 14: What will the next version of macOS be called?
Every year since macOS 10.9 Mavericks, Apple has used California landmarks to identify each new version of macOS. Apple has registered many trademarks over the years, as Parker Ortolani of The Verge said:
If macOS 14 is a so-called debug version with a few new features, it will most likely be named after a place near Ventura. Based on the names above, the most likely names are Rincon and Skyline.
macOS 14 release date: When will macOS 14 be released?
Typically, Apple introduces the next major version of macOS at the Worldwide Developers Conference. WWDC 2023 kicks off on June 5, and during the keynote, Apple will reveal the name and new features of macOS.
Apple usually releases a developer beta of the new macOS at WWDC, and you must be a registered developer to access it. The public beta releases in about a month, and you must join Apple’s beta program to get it.
The final version of macOS 14 will be released to the general public in the fall. In the recent past, the release took place a few weeks after the release of a new version of iOS. Here are the release dates for the previous five versions of macOS:
- macOS 13 Ventura: October 24, 2022
- macOS 12 Monterey: October 25, 2021
- macOS 11 Big Sur: November 12, 2020
- macOS 10.15 Catalina: October 7, 2019
- macOS 10.14 Mojave: September 24, 2018
Here’s what the release schedule might look like:
- June 5: macOS 14 introduced and developer beta released.
- July: Apple releases the first public beta.
- June to September/October: This is the beta period. During this time, Apple will release several beta updates.
- September October: macOS 14 has been released to the general public.
macOS 14 compatibility: Which Macs will be able to run macOS 14?
When Apple released macOS Ventura, the company excluded many older Macs from the compatibility list, including:
- 2015 imac
- Macbook 2016
- Macbook Air 2015-2017
- Macbook Pro 2015-2016
- 2014 Mac mini
- 2013 Mac Pro
There have been no rumors that Apple will end support for any Macs this year, as it did with the iPad, so it’s possible that the compatibility list for macOS 14 is the same as Ventura’s. Here is a possible compatibility list:
- MacBook models 2017 or newer
- 2018 or newer MacBook Air models
- 2017 or newer MacBook Pro models
- Mac mini models 2018 or newer
- iMac models 2017 or newer
- iMac Pro (all models)
- Mac Pro models 2019 or newer
- Mac Studio (all models)
There’s always the possibility that a Mac might be compatible with macOS 14, but some of the new features won’t work on the older Macs on the list. Some new features may also require Apple chips and will not work on Macs with Intel processors.
macOS 14: How to install the beta and official version
Apple is changing the beta testing process in macOS 13.4, so the method will be different by the time the macOS 14 beta is released. Instead of downloading the Beta Access Utility for each device, all you need to do is register your Apple ID for the beta program to install the betas on every Apple device that’s signed in to that account.
Then when you go to update software you will see a new tab for Beta updates, which will list the beta version you’re using. If you want to install the beta version, select macOS 14 public beta, and if you want to return to Ventura, choose Off. To install the official version, you need to wait for Apple to start shipping in the fall. You can then use the software update in the system settings or download it from the App Store.
Just remember: beta versions are not as stable as the official release – features may be implemented and then withdrawn, or they may not work correctly, the user interface may change, and third-party app compatibility is not guaranteed.
macOS 14: new feature rumors
Rumors of new features have been minor – all we know so far is that macOS 14 won’t be a major release with new features. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that it likely won’t be “groundbreaking or significant” but rather continue the trend of adding iOS features. As he writes: “The dream scenario is that you have an Apple Watch, an iPhone, a MacBook, an iPad, an Apple headset, and all these five devices are capable of doing all the same things, just in different use cases and at different times of the day.” .
It has also been reported that Apple has moved some macOS resources to xrOS as Apple prepares to unveil its new AR headset at WWDC.
macOS 14: New features we want to see
Even if macOS 14 is made up entirely of iOS features that are coming over to the Mac, there’s a lot we’d like to see.
Dynamic Island for Mac
With the iPhone 14 Pro, Apple introduced Dynamic Island, which uses a pill-shaped notch for Face ID and a selfie camera as an unusual user interface element. This is an ingenious feature that should at least be in a MacBook Pro.
Dynamic Island will eliminate the clutter on the right side of the macOS interface, where notifications, reminders, and widgets reside. But it can also be a great way to keep track of the progress of what an app is working on in the background, act as a battery indicator, or display what Apple Music is playing, just like on an iPhone.
In addition, Apple’s 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air M2 already have display cutouts, so booking a trip to Speaker Island should be easy.
Apple could make a lot of money offering cloud storage for Time Machine backups.
Foundry
Time Machine iCloud backups
It was on our wish list for macOS 12 And macOS 13 and it will stay on every wishlist until it arrives. As I said before, I’ll reiterate: having a remote backup is always a good idea, and Time Machine can be upgraded for this along with the ability to backup locally.
Since Apple doesn’t seem to be interested in adding this feature to macOS out of necessity, let me take another look: it’s good for Apple’s bottom line. Think about it, Apple. You can earn precious money from the Services with Time Machine iCloud backups by selling iCloud+ storage. Apple already has a $9.99 / £6.99 tier that offers 2TB storage and I could see a new $6.99 / £3.99 storage tier for 1TB iCloud storage tier + TimeMachine. It’s about $84 a year and let’s say 500,000 users sign up for it. That’s big money you make every year and lots of happy Mac customers. How can you get past this, Apple?
Fine tune system settings
On my wishlist for macOS 13, I wanted Apple to rename “System Preferences” to “Settings” to match iOS and iPadOS. My wish came true, but I had to pay: Apple went even further and redesigned the user interface to look more like an iPhone. This has caused consternation among the most hardcore Mac fans and confusion even among iPhone users – and has led many Mac users to turn to Google to find settings they think were missing. Now there is no way back; The system settings and its user interface aren’t going anywhere. But some fine tuning may be needed.
We would like Apple to separate the interface from iOS. Appearance is ok, but some settings don’t make sense hidden behind “General” or “Desktop & Dock”. Top of the list: Time Machine (especially if Apple unlocks iCloud backups).
Other Apple iOS Apps
With macOS Ventura, Apple finally made the Mac versions of the Clock and Weather apps that iOS has always had. Why stop there? There are tons of iOS apps that Macs don’t have: Translate, Clips (which was on my macOS 13 wishlist), Health, Wallet (these two were on my macOS 12 wishlist), Support… maybe not Compass. Measure, and Loupe. And hey, while they’re at it, revive Warren Buffett’s Paper Wizard and bring it to the Mac!
More iOS apps like Wallet should be coming to macOS.
Foundry
Sync the Clock app across all devices
As I just said, with macOS Ventura, Apple finally introduced the Mac versions of the Clock and Weather apps that were in iOS and iPadOS. Hooray! However, the Weather app syncs across devices, while the Clock app does not. This means that the alarms you set on one device are not available on others. Boo!
Setting an alarm is easy enough, but it would be much easier if these alarms were synced across devices. While we’re at it, why not sync world time records? Or even timers – I create a lot of timers and would like to be able to control them from multiple devices. Oh, and since no one wants iPhone timers on their Mac, give us the option to disable sync.
The Clock app was introduced with macOS Ventura, but it doesn’t sync with the Clock app on iPhone and iPad.
Foundry
Stability and optimization
I can go on with my wishes – a lot of what I wanted on my wish list for macOS 12 and macOS 13 is not yet a reality, and I still wish it were. But reports say there won’t be many major changes in macOS 14 as the company is allegedly focusing on the AR/VR headset and its rumored operating system called xrOS. Development for macOS 14, iOS 17, and iPadOS 17 (see, it would be easier to read if they had the same version number?) seems to have a lower priority until that device is introduced.