Apple's macOS Ventura is now available

macOS Ventura takes the Mac experience to a whole new level with groundbreaking capabilities that help users achieve more than ever.

New features like Continuity Camera enable users to seamlessly work across their Apple devices, and productivity tools including Stage Manager help users stay focused and easily move between tasks. Safari ushers in a passwordless future with passkeys and big updates come to popular apps including Mail and Messages. macOS Ventura is available today as a free software update on Macs with Apple silicon and Intel-based Macs.

Continuity Makes Apple Devices Work Magically Together

With Continuity Camera, Mac users can leverage the powerful camera system on iPhone to unleash a groundbreaking webcam experience. When iPhone is nearby, Mac can automatically recognize and use the camera on iPhone to unlock new capabilities that were never possible before on a webcam and even work wirelessly for greater flexibility. Desk View taps into the Ultra Wide camera on iPhone to simultaneously show the user’s face and an overhead view of their desk — great for DIY videos, hands-on presentations, and so much more. Continuity Camera also brings innovative features like Center Stage, Portrait mode, and the new Studio Light — an effect that beautifully illuminates a user’s face while dimming the background — to all Mac computers.

Handoff now comes to FaceTime, so users can start a FaceTime call on one Apple device and seamlessly transfer the call to another Apple device nearby. A user can start a FaceTime call on their iPhone or iPad and move the call to their Mac when they get back to their home or office, or they could even start a call on their Mac and transition it to their iPhone or iPad when they are on the go.

Continuity Camera is shown on macOS Ventura on MacBook Pro. — Continuity Camera works great with macOS video conferencing apps, including FaceTime, Zoom, Webex, and more.

FaceTime Handoff between MacBook Pro and iPhone. — With Handoff coming to FaceTime, it’s easy for users to seamlessly transfer a call from one Apple device to another.

Automatically Organize Workspaces with Stage Manager

Stage Manager automatically organizes apps and windows so users can concentrate on the task at hand and still see everything in a single glance. When users enable Stage Manager from Control Center, the current window they are working in is displayed prominently in the center, while other windows appear on the left so they can seamlessly switch between tasks. To create the ideal workspace, users can create groups of windows or apps when working on specific tasks or projects. Stage Manager also works in concert with macOS windowing tools including Mission Control and Spaces, and users can easily access their desktop with a single click.

Stage Manager feature displayed on iMac. — Stage Manager helps Mac users stay focused and get more done.

Passkeys and New Collaboration Tools in Safari

Safari ushers in a passwordless future with passkeys — a new sign-in method that makes browsing in Safari even safer. Passkeys are more secure, easy to use, and designed to replace passwords. Whenever users create a passkey, a unique digital key is created that stays on the device and is never stored on a web server, so hackers can’t leak them or trick users into sharing them. With passkeys, it’s easy for users to sign in securely using Touch ID or Face ID for biometric verification, and passkeys are securely synced with end-to-end encryption using iCloud Keychain so they are available across Apple devices including Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Passkeys also work across apps and the web, and users can even sign in to websites or apps on non-Apple devices using their iPhone.

Shared Tab Groups in Safari introduce a powerful way to collaborate with others on the web. Users can easily share websites with family, friends, and colleagues, and see what tabs others are looking at live. Users can also build a list of bookmarks on a shared Start Page to help kickstart any group project — whether it’s planning a family vacation or completing a research paper — and users can even start a Messages conversation or FaceTime call with everyone in the group, right from Safari.

Passkey Safari sign-in displayed on MacBook Pro. — Browsing in Safari is even safer with passkeys, a next-generation credential that is more secure and easy to use.

Shared Tab Groups are shown in Safari. — Shared Tab Groups in Safari introduce a powerful new way to collaborate with friends and family on the web.

Boost Efficiency with New Mail Improvements

Mail gives users the ability to schedule messages, cancel delivery of a message before it reaches a recipient’s inbox, and even adds rich links for better content previews. Mail can also detect if items such as an attachment or cc’d recipient is missing and remind the sender to add them. Users can even set reminders to come back to a message later and get automatic suggestions to follow up on emails when they are waiting on a response.

Search in Mail uses state-of-the-art techniques to deliver more accurate and complete results. It’s easy for users to quickly find what they are looking for as soon as they click into search, including recent emails, contacts, documents, photos, and more, all before they even start typing.

The ability to schedule an email is shown. — Users can now schedule their emails to arrive at the perfect moment.

The updated search function is shown in Mail. — Search in Mail uses state-of-the-art techniques to deliver more relevant, accurate, and complete results.

Powerful Enhancements to Messages

Users can edit or undo a recently sent message,5 recover accidentally deleted messages, or even mark a message as unread if they are unable to respond in the moment. Collaborating with others is easier than ever as users now have the option to share a file in Messages and automatically give everyone on the thread access. Activity updates appear at the top of the thread as everyone goes in and makes edits to the shared document. Users can also quickly join SharePlay sessions from their Mac right in Messages, so they can chat while participating in shared experiences like watching a show or listening to a song together.

New collaboration features are shown in Messages. — New collaboration features in Messages make working with others quick and seamless.

iCloud Shared Photo Library enables users to create and share a separate photo library among up to six family members, so everyone can enjoy all of their family photos. It’s easy for users to either share all of their existing photos from their personal libraries, or share based on a start date or the people in their photos. Users will receive intelligent suggestions to share photo moments that include participants in the library and any other people they choose. And every user can add, delete, edit, or favorite the shared photos and videos, which will appear in each user’s Memories and Featured Photos so that everyone can relive more complete family moments.

iCloud Shared Photo Library is shown. The screen reads “Share Photos from Moments Together.” — iCloud Shared Photo Library gives families a new way to share photos seamlessly.

Spotlight Brings Improved Productivity

Spotlight comes with new features and an updated design that provides a more consistent experience across Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Users can now use Spotlight to find images in their photo library, on the web, and across the system in apps like Messages and Notes. They can even search for their photos by location, people, scenes, or objects, and Live Text lets them search by text inside images. Spotlight also includes rich results for categories for artists, movies, actors, TV shows, businesses, and sports. To take their productivity even further, users can take actions from Spotlight to do things like start a timer or create a new document. And with support for Quick Look in Spotlight, users can quickly see a full-size preview of nearly any kind of file without having to open it.

The richer search results functionality is shown. — Richer search results bring together all the information users need for musicians, movies, TV shows, sports, businesses, and more.

Gaming on Mac Reaches New Heights

The power of Apple silicon enables every new Mac to run AAA games with ease, and macOS Ventura brings new technologies like Metal 3 that take full advantage of the incredible hardware in Mac — resulting in faster performance, games that feel more responsive, and graphics that look stunning. New AAA game titles are coming to Mac later this year, including Capcom’s Resident Evil Village, which will launch on the Mac App Store on Friday, October 28, and will take full advantage of the power and performance of Apple silicon for more responsive gameplay, high frame rates, and beautiful visuals.

A race car game is shown on Mac. — Metal 3 brings new features that unleash the full potential of Apple silicon for even greater gaming experiences.

Additional Features

Live Text can recognize text in paused video frames, as well as Japanese and Korean text. Users can also lift the subject away from an image and drop it into another app like Messages. Visual Look Up can now recognize animals, birds, insects, statues, and even more landmarks.
macOS Ventura brings new accessibility tools like Live Captions for all audio content,⁶ Type to Speak on calls, Text Checker to support proofreading for VoiceOver users, and more.
The Weather and Clock apps come to Mac with all of the features users know and love from iPhone, and do things like check local forecasts, create alarms, set timers, and more.
System Preferences becomes System Settings and features a new design that’s optimized for efficient navigation on Mac, and delivers a more consistent experience across iPhone and iPad.
macOS security is even stronger and makes the Mac more resistant to attack with new tools like Rapid Security Response, which works between normal updates to easily keep security up to date.