It is almost always preferable to use the macos tag and also list the exact version in questions (especially during beta season), but this tag for macOS 12 may be helpful in questions that aren’t about macOS in general.
macOS 12 Monterey is Apple's eighteenth major release of the macOS operating system for Macintosh computers. macOS Monterey was announced June 7th, 2020 at WWDC and is expected to be released later in 2021. A beta version of macOS Monterey was released to developers enrolled in the Apple Developer program on June 7, 2021. A public beta version was released on July 27, 2021 .
Deriving its name from Monterey Bay, the operating system follows the tradition of naming macOS releases after Californian terrain features.
Usage Guidance
It is almost always preferable to use macos and just list the exact version in questions, but this tag may be helpful in questions that aren’t about macOS in general or are unlikely to be relevant in releases newer than Monterey
Main changes
- Airplay: Apple has brought AirPlay to the Mac, which means you will be able to use your Mac or MacBook as a speaker or video output.
- FaceTime: new features including spatial audio support, voice isolation, SharePlay, the ability to listen to music or watch streaming content with others during a FaceTime call. Macs using Apple's M1 chip can blur user backgrounds via the Neural Engine.
- Universal Control: setup-free feature that allow users to use a single Mac's controls across multiple iPads or Macs. Users will be able to move the cursor between multiple Apple devices, like unsing their Mac’s keyboard trackpad and mouse to control an iPad.
- Safari: The browser will get an all-new, more compact tab bar that reflects the color style of the site you are currently visiting. tab groups was added so you can save groups of tabs together and then revisit them later or shared with others and accessed on any Apple device.
- Shortcuts: The Shortcuts app that was first introduced on iPhone and iPad is now available on the Mac.
- Quick Note: The Notes app in macOS Monterey has been enhanced with a new Quick Note feature that's designed for jotting down notes no matter what you're doing. Quick Notes are saved in a dedicated section in the Notes app, and can be accessed across all devices.
- Focus: like Do Not Disturb, focus block out unnecessary distractions while doing something. Third-party apps can also integrate the Focus API to let people know that you're in Focus mode, and important notifications will still make it through.
- Low Power Mode: Extend MacBook's battery life with Low Power Mode, which cuts down on processing power and better manages energy-intensive apps.
System Requirements for macOS Monterey
- 64bit Intel processor or an Apple ARM based processor
- 4GB of memory
- 35.5GB available storage
Devices supporting macOS Monterey
- iMac late 2015 and later
- iMac Pro 2017 and later
- MacBook Air early 2015 and later
- MacBook Pro early 2015 and later
- Mac Pro late 2013 and later
- Mac mini late 2014 and later
- MacBook early 2016 and later
