The macOS Sequoia, the 21st edition of the OS powering Macs, was unveiled at WWDC on 10th June 2024 and rolled out to everyone on 16th of September. This update truly marked the ambitious route Apple took for their upcoming devices. AI, or “Apple Intelligence” (nice wordplay, Apple), is the feature that took centre stage, swaying everyone’s attention away from their fellow mates. Rightly so. Unfortunately, some of the latest features have been left behind in receiving the spotlight they deserve. Hence, read this article to discover features worth your time.
Window Tiling: A New Tool in Your Arsenal to Boost Productivity
After years of complaining, pleading, urging, coaxing, and imploring, Apple finally caved in and integrated its version of window-tiling management into macOS. Previously, the OS had a barely functional system for placing multiple app windows on the screen, which caused inconvenience while multitasking.
Now, you can organise multiple windows simultaneously for a better viewing experience. Dragging the app by its title bar will automatically suggest a specific section to arrange the app, just like the Windows’ “Snap on Windows” feature. You can then drop the window into that section, arrange multiple windows beside each other, or place them in four corners to make space for more apps. You can also use keyboard and menu shortcuts to save time on organisation.
Time to make the Title Bar Great Again
Apple has empowered the title bar with the latest macOS Sequoia in a perplexing move. The updated title bar is now more functional than before, as you can minimise or maximise the app window and fill the screen by clicking on it.
To enable this option, head to the “desktop & dock” option in System Settings → “double-click a window’s title bar to” → choose what you want your title bar to do.
Safari Now Picking up the Pace to Scale the Giants of the Browser Sphere
With the last two updates, Apple switched gears and overhauled its browser, Safari, with various useful features. The browser has received two new features in the macOS Sequoia, which are quite handy. Here are the features:
- The first feature on the list can potentially be students’ new right hand in online studies. Once the feature is activated, Safari dims the rest of the webpage content surrounding the video player and centres the video, reducing the visibility of unrelated elements, such as advertisements, thumbnails with clickbait titles, or sidebar recommendations. This way, the browser minimises any distractions that can disrupt the progress you made in your studies. This tool is particularly useful for folks watching educational content, presentations, or videos where maintaining focus is crucial.
- Another feature works similarly to the previous one but greatly benefits folks whose job is writing articles or news after thoroughly researching the World Wide Web. There have been multiple instances where you would come across websites that contain the information you want but are riddled with advertisements, weird photos and more. With this tool, you can fight this inconvenience as Safari hides any distracting item from the webpage with a press of a button. Even if you refresh the webpage, it won’t appear. Do note that this feature only works for static content.
No More Remembering Login Credentials
With the macOS Sequoia, the tech giant entered the arena ruled by players like 1Passwords by releasing its password manager app. Built on the foundation of Keychain, this app acts as the hub for storing important credentials like passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords and more securely. Taking advantage of the strong ecosystem, users can access their passwords across Macs, iPhones, and iPads. In addition, it supports end-to-end encryption.
Calculator App Is Now a Lot More Useful
The calculator app wasn’t behind in getting new features with the latest software update. Beyond just the simple calculator, the app has gained more utilities, which are listed down below:
- The calculator app can now convert length, weight, currencies, and more.
- You can now perform scientific calculations in the calculator app as well.
- Though it might be a niche feature, programmers can perform binary, octal, decimal, hexadecimal and bitwise calculations within the app to boost efficiency.
