What’s new in macOS Monterey?
A whole lot more than you’d expect.
If you thought this was a small update, oh baby, do we have a lot to cover.
Hey friends, I’m Tasia Custode and welcome back to my YouTube Channel where I share tech
tips and app reviews.
Today I’m sharing the top 10 macOS Monterey features.
So let’s go!
Before we begin, if you haven’t upgraded to macOS Monterey yet there are a few things
you should do prior to upgrading.
I made a video outlining 5 crucial steps, so be sure to watch that video first, before
upgrading.
So coming in at number 10 on my list of the best macOS Monterey features is low power
mode.
That’s right, a favorite feature of the iPhone has now come to Mac with Monterey.
Currently, low power mode can only be enabled via your system preferences.
So, from there, head to ‘battery’, then select battery again.
Then here, beside where it says energy mode, select low power mode.
It’s as easy as that.
When in low power mode, your Mac will reduce its energy usage to increase its battery life
- just like on iPhone.
Coming in at number 9 on the top ten macOS Monterey features is the ability to quickly
start a note.
This feature utilizes one of my favorite mac OS functionalities: hot corners.
So if you don’t want to manually open the notes app, you’re going to setup Quick Note
as a hot corner.
Here’s how to do it.
So, we’re going to head back to our system preferences, but this time, select mission
control.
At the bottom, select ‘hot corners’.
Now I’ve already got a few setup here.
But all you have to do is pick a corner that you want to use to trigger quick note, then
click on the popup menu for that corner and from here select quick note.
So, since I have others setup, I’ve selected the top left corner, so now when I move my
cursor to the top left corner of my screen and a little white square will appear.
Click on the square to start a new note - which will just appear above your other windows
on your screen.
If you use notes a lot like I do, this could be a handy little time saver.
Plus, you can set Quick Note to always create a new note file or to open the most recent
file in the preferences of the Notes app.
Pretty neat!
Ok, number 8 on my list of best macOS Monterey features is the ability to easily reset your
Mac - yes, just like you can on iPhone.
Hallelujah!
This new option is also found in your system preferences up in the top left corner, so
from system preferences, simply choose the ‘erase all content and settings’ option.
All you need to do from here is follow the prompts.
This will delete your account and personal data, just like you’re used to on iPhone.
This is really handy if say you’re selling your Mac or sending it back to Apple in a
trade-in, you can just quickly ensure all your personal data is erased.
And remember, you’ll want to make a complete backup of your device before doing this!
Alright, number 7 on the list, is guess what?
Live text and translate is now available on Mac with Monterey.
So, you can now copy text from an image, just like you would from a document.
We’ve had this with iOS 15 for a bit now, and amen, she’s finally available with Monterey.
An important note is that this currently works in the Photos app, Safari, Quick Look, and
with the Screenshot function.
All you have to do is hover over any text on an image in one of those apps and your
cursor will instantly turn into a text selection tool.
So, now you can just easily select the text and either, get this, just drag and drop it
to where you want or you can copy it.
And, as mentioned, translate works the same way.
So, instead of copying the text, you just select the ‘translate’ option and then
from here you could select which language you’d like to translate into.
If the text isn’t in your default language, it will automatically translate it into your
default and you can copy the translation.
And of course, this applies to any text that you want to translate whether in a document
or text from a photo.
Alright, number 6 on what’s new in macOS Monterey is a great accessibility feature.
You can now customize your mouse cursor color.
All you have to do is head to your system preferences, which by the way you can just
open that directly, or head to your apple logo in the top left and select system preferences.
Either way, from your system preferences, select accessibility, then display, and then
pointer.
Now, I will say, burying an accessibility feature really isn’t that accessible for
people, so that could use some work.
However, once you navigate here, you’ll of course like normal have the ability to
change the cursor size, but now there are these two additional options.
You can adjust the pointer outline color and the pointer fill color.
So simply select a color of your choice, like maybe a higher contrast color if needed, and
your cursor will instantly change.
If you want to go back to the default settings, just select reset.
Alright, warning, this next macOS feature is huge.
Massive!
It’s a game changer!
Number 5 on the list: Airplay is now available on macOS Monterey!
That’s right, if you want to know how to mirror your iPhone to Mac, this is how!
You no longer need a third party app to do so, woohoo!
So, all you have to do is ensure your Mac and iPhone are on the same WiFi network.
And if you’re struggling with setting this up, just double check all your connectivity
settings on both devices and you can also head to system preferences then sharing and
make sure airplay receiver is enabled on Mac.
So, then from the control center on your iPhone tap on the screen mirroring icon, or you might
have it appear as the airplay icon.
Then, you should have your Mac show up here.
Simply select it and your iPhone will instantly be mirrored to your Mac.
Now you can play the media from your iPhone right on your Mac.
Finally!
Alright, before we head into number 4, if you’re finding value in this video, please
remember to give it a like and subscribe to my Channel for more content like this.
I’m here to serve.
Now back to the list.
So, number four on my list of best macOS Monetey features is an easier way to convert images.
That’s right, you can now simply convert HEIC images to JPEG or PNG, or vice versa.
So, sometimes certain file formats aren’t compatible for your needs, like say apple’s
HEIC doesn’t work and you need a JPEG file.
So, if you need to convert images, now all you have to do is right click on the image
file and select quick actions.
Then, select convert image.
Here, in this popup simply choose the desired format and the size you want, then click on
convert.
The new image will now be automatically saved in the same folder.
Very handy indeed.
Alright, coming in at number 3 on the list are better Finder search features.
Yes, Finder can do a whole lot more on macOS Monterey.
This is actually because of the recently improved “go-to” option.
Here’s how it works.
So if you’re searching for something in Finder, you can actually head to Go in the
top menu bar, then select go to folder.
You can also shortcut this using shift, command, G keys.
So, here, you can paste in the file path, or you can type in a folder name to search
it, just like you’d do in a spotlight search.
This is way more useful, because if you don’t remember the file path - like who does - now
you just can more easily search folders.
So now you’ll get results under your search.
And, if you select a file path, you’ll may get more sub folder options in the dropdown
menu, making for even easier search.
Alright the last two on my list of best macOS Monterey features are really fun ones, because
who doesn’t love a good aesthetic moment?
Number 2 on the list is the all-new memoji lock screen.
Yes, a popular Apple Watch feature has made it’s way to macOS Monterey.
So this is for those of you that use Memoji as your avatar.
Your memoji will now animate and change poses on your Mac lock screen, just like it does
on Apple Watch, if you have that set up.
And if you’re wondering how to set up your Memoji, head to your trusty system preferences,
then hover over your image and click to edit.
From this memoji section, you can select one here or add your own.
Then, if you want you can head to pose and select a few different poses.
You can even change the style if you want.
So now your memoji will animate on the lock screen and will even be disappointed if you
type incorrectly type in your password.
Just too cute.
And we’ve made it to number 1 on my list for what’s new in macOS Monterey.
Ohhhh, this is my favorite aesthetic change by far.
It’s the iconic hello screensaver - now available to all macOS Monterey users - regardless
of device!
That’s right, it’s available on all Macs!
I know!
Once again, we’re going to head to system preferences, then select desktop and screen
saver, then screen saver then Hello!
If you want to change the theme and language of the iconic hello, simply, click on screen
saver options.
It’s just too good.
Look at it!
Gorg!
So, these are just my picks for the top 10 macOS Monterey features.
There are lots more I didn’t even get to like new tile window options and new password
updates, and more.
There just isn’t enough time to go over EVERYTHING!
But remember, I’ve got links below on what to do before you upgrade to Monterey.
Enjoy!
So those are my picks for the best macOS Monterey features.
What are your favorite macOS Monterey features?
Let everyone know in the comments below.
As always, thanks so much for watching, if you liked this video, I want to know so give
it a like, a share or leave that comment below.
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even more Mac content.
Thanks for watching, and see ya next time!