SUPER GUIDE macOS Monterey

Which Macs work with Monterey?

All M1 Macs (all features)

iMac Late 2015 and later

iMac Pro

MacBook Early 2016 and later

MacBook Air Early 2015 and later

MacBook Pro Early 2015 and later

Mac mini Late 2014 and later

Mac Pro Late 2013 and later

THE LAST FEW years of macOS upgrades brought some trauma with their advances. We’ve lost 32-bit apps, gained a new file system ideal for SSDs and Time Machine backups but unsuited to hard disks, and previously simple startup volumes have been split to lock the System away in a snapshot.

Monterey is a welcome chance to get your breath back. On Intel Macs at least it makes no deep changes, and even Time Machine will back it up in continuity with existing Big Sur backups. Instead, Apple’s attention has turned to improving its most popular apps, like FaceTime and Messages, and bringing new features like Shortcuts and Quick Notes.

These improvements are each enhanced by their integration with other features. Live Text is accessible optical character recognition, which isn’t that novel, but when linked with Look Up it becomes a powerful tool. FaceTime’s SharePlay links to media apps like Music and TV. Those are the themes for Monterey — consolidation, integration, and generally not upsetting the Apple cart.

FACETIME, MESSAGES, PHOTOS, AND MORE

Enrich your FaceTime calls and share in Messages.

FACETIME

FaceTime on the web lets others access calls via their Chrome or Edge web browser without needing Apple hardware to participate, and you can send anyone invitations using web links. Those links and Calendar events ensure that everyone knows when to meet next. For group calls, tile up to 18 callers into a single grid view. Portrait mode puts the focus on the person by blurring the background behind them (M1).

Audio improvements add two modes, one to exclude background sounds in Voice Isolation, the other to do the opposite in Wide Spectrum – useful for voices with music or small groups. Spatial audio places each speaker’s voice in space. This integrates shared audio including music, video from movies and TV shows, the screen on your Mac or device, and text from Messages, to enrich FaceTime calls. Enjoy them with those you call in flexible ways: you might want to share your