MacOS Sequoia Settings That Make A Difference

Summary

The video introduces new features in macOS, highlighting improvements in window management, replacing third-party apps like Rectangle and Magnet. It also discusses updates to FaceTime with screen sharing, presenter mode, and live captions. Apple’s new password manager, previously Keychain, is now a standalone app, though it lacks cross-platform support. Enhanced AI tools, including email summaries and text editing, are integrated system-wide. Other updates include improvements to the Notes app, iPhone mirroring on Mac, and Safari's ad-blocking reader feature, which may impact smaller websites' revenue.

Takeaways

• 🪟 MacOS now offers native window management tools, making third-party apps like Rectangle and Magnet less necessary.
• ⌨️ Users can customize keyboard shortcuts for window tiling and other window management functions directly in settings.
• 🎥 FaceTime has added features like screen sharing, presenter mode, and remote control, potentially rivaling Zoom for casual use cases.
• 🔐 Apple has introduced a dedicated password manager app, though it lacks flexibility compared to third-party options like 1Password.
• 📧 Mail now offers AI-powered summaries of emails, providing a quick overview of their content.
• ✍️ Apple Intelligence offers AI writing tools systemwide, making it easier to proofread and adjust text across different apps.
• 📱 iPhone mirroring on Mac allows full interaction with iPhone apps, drag-and-drop file sharing, and even iPhone notifications on Mac.
• 💬 Safari now offers instant page summarization and an enhanced Reader mode that blocks ads, though this might impact small websites’ ad revenue.
• 📓 Notes app improvements include collapsible headers, color highlighting, and audio transcription, catching up to other note-taking apps.
• 📅 Messages now have a 'send later' feature, allowing users to schedule texts up to two weeks in advance.

Q & A

What feature in macOS replaces third-party window management apps like Rectangle and Magnet?

The new macOS window management system allows users to snap windows to the sides of the screen or use keyboard shortcuts without installing third-party apps. It also includes options to tile windows and customize keyboard shortcuts for window management.

How can users customize keyboard shortcuts for window management on macOS?

Users can customize keyboard shortcuts by going to 'Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > App Shortcuts' and assigning their desired shortcuts for window tiling functions, like 'Left' or 'Right.'

What improvements to FaceTime could potentially replace Zoom for certain users?

FaceTime now allows screen sharing with a preview, remote control of another user's Mac, and new Presenter Mode, which merges the camera feed with the shared screen. Additionally, it has live captions and background removal options.

What is the new Apple Password app, and how does it compare to third-party password managers?

The Apple Password app is a native password manager replacing Keychain. While it lacks some advanced features like storing multiple types of sensitive data or flexibility offered by third-party options like 1Password, it is free for Apple users and works seamlessly across devices.

What limitations exist for using the Apple Password app outside the Apple ecosystem?

The main limitation is that the Apple Password app does not have a dedicated app for Windows or Android, though a browser extension is available. Additionally, you cannot share passwords with users outside the Apple ecosystem.

How does Apple Intelligence's new writing tool feature challenge third-party AI tools like Grammarly?

Apple Intelligence's writing tools, integrated systemwide, allow users to proofread and adjust text in native apps or third-party browsers. This integration challenges tools like Grammarly by offering similar functionality without needing additional apps or subscriptions.

What are the major improvements to the Notes app on macOS?

The Notes app now supports collapsible headers, different color highlights, audio recording with transcription, and dynamic math calculations. These updates bring the app closer to competing note-taking apps like Evernote.

What is iPhone mirroring on macOS, and why is it useful?

iPhone mirroring allows users to fully interact with their iPhone from their Mac, which is useful for using iOS-only apps and dragging files between devices. It also supports journaling on the Mac using apps like the Apple Journal app, which has no native macOS version.

What new feature in Safari can summarize a webpage, and how might it impact small websites?

Safari can now instantly summarize a webpage with a button next to the URL bar. This feature, while useful, might hurt smaller websites that rely on advertising since users can block ads and focus only on the main content.

What is the new 'Reduce Interruptions' Focus Mode in macOS, and how does it work?

The 'Reduce Interruptions' Focus Mode uses AI to analyze notifications and push only important ones. It is available across other Focus Modes and helps users stay more focused by minimizing distractions.

Outlines

00:00

🖥️ Apple Window Management Upgrade: Replacing Third-Party Apps

Apple has introduced enhanced window management features in macOS, making third-party apps like Rectangle and Magnet obsolete. Users can now drag windows to any side of the screen to snap them into place or use customizable keyboard shortcuts for more control. Additional options allow faster tiling and window configuration, like removing window margins for a cleaner look. This update significantly improves the macOS experience, providing enough functionality to satisfy most users, except the most demanding power users.

05:02

📞 Enhanced FaceTime Features: A Step Towards Replacing Zoom

FaceTime now includes new features that could potentially replace Zoom for certain use cases. Users can share their screen, preview shared windows, and even give others control of their Mac for remote support. New presenter mode merges the camera feed with the screen, allowing dynamic adjustments. Additionally, live captions are available, providing real-time transcriptions for accessibility. A new background removal tool adds to these upgrades, making FaceTime a more versatile tool for personal and professional use, though it’s not a full Zoom replacement yet.

10:04

🔐 Apple Password Manager: A Native Alternative to Third-Party Apps

Apple has introduced a dedicated app for its password manager, previously known as Keychain, making it easier to access on all Apple devices. Although not as feature-rich as apps like 1Password, it covers essential functions without requiring a separate subscription. The main drawbacks are its limited flexibility and lack of support outside the Apple ecosystem, with no apps for Windows or Android. Despite these limitations, it serves as a convenient solution for Apple users who don't require extensive features from a password manager.

✉️ Apple Intelligence: New AI-Powered Features for Mac

Apple's new AI features enhance productivity with tools like Mail Summaries, which provide a quick overview of incoming emails. These AI capabilities extend to other native apps, allowing users to proofread and alter text styles without needing third-party AI tools like ChatGPT. This system-wide integration affects grammar-checking apps, as Apple’s AI tools work across most platforms, including third-party browsers. However, the current form does not offer conversational AI capabilities like ChatGPT, with more advanced Siri features expected in the next major update.

📝 Major Improvements to Apple's Notes App

Apple has finally added long-overdue features to the Notes app, including collapsible headers, multi-colored highlighting, audio recording with transcription, and dynamic math calculations. These updates bring the app closer to competitors like Evernote, adding functionalities that make it more practical for both casual and professional users. The app also integrates tightly with Apple's ecosystem, enhancing usability and interactivity, especially for those who rely on Apple's native productivity tools.

📱 iPhone Mirroring on Mac: Enhancing Cross-Device Functionality

The new iPhone mirroring feature allows users to view and interact with their iPhone directly from their Mac. It enables full app interactivity, drag-and-drop file transfers, and iPhone notifications on the Mac. This feature is particularly useful for iOS-only apps, such as the Apple Journal app, allowing users to type using a keyboard. This mirroring feature is not yet available in the EU, but it can be accessed by changing the device region settings. The feature adds a new layer of convenience for those deeply embedded in Apple's ecosystem.

🛠️ Enhanced Safari and System-Wide Updates

Safari introduces powerful updates, including instant webpage summaries and a new reader mode that removes all ads, which could impact revenue for small websites. System-wide updates also bring new settings like 'Fill' for maximizing windows and 'Reduce Interruptions' Focus Mode, which uses AI to filter notifications based on importance. These enhancements add significant value to the Apple experience, improving user productivity and integrating advanced AI-driven features across the operating system.

Keywords

💡Window Management

Window management refers to the organization and control of open applications on a computer screen. In the video, it is described as one of the biggest complaints with macOS, and Apple has introduced new native features to improve this. These features allow users to snap windows to the screen's side, tile them with the Option key, and customize keyboard shortcuts for easy access, reducing the need for third-party apps like Rectangle and Magnet.

💡FaceTime

FaceTime is Apple’s video calling platform, but in the video, it is described as being enhanced with new features like screen sharing and presenter mode, which allows users to merge their camera feed with their shared screen. These upgrades make FaceTime more versatile, competing with tools like Zoom for personal and professional use.

💡Apple Password Manager

Apple’s password manager, formerly known as Keychain, is now a dedicated app that stores and manages passwords across Apple devices. The video highlights its native integration into macOS and iOS but points out limitations, such as the lack of support for non-Apple platforms like Android and Windows. It is seen as a competitor to third-party password managers like 1Password, though it lacks some flexibility.

💡Apple Intelligence

Apple Intelligence refers to AI-driven features integrated into macOS. The video explains how it improves user experiences, such as offering real-time live captions in FaceTime, AI-powered mail summaries, and writing tools that function across native and third-party apps. These tools aim to simplify tasks like proofreading or summarizing content.

💡Siri 2.0

Siri 2.0 is the anticipated next version of Apple's virtual assistant. Unlike ChatGPT, which is more generalized, Siri 2.0 will have system-wide access and deeper contextual understanding of user behaviors, promising a more personalized and integrated AI experience when it launches next year.

💡iPhone Mirroring

iPhone Mirroring allows users to see and interact with their iPhone directly from their Mac. This feature extends beyond just viewing the iPhone screen; users can interact with iOS apps, transfer files between devices, and even journal using their Mac’s keyboard. The video presents this as a significant upgrade for cross-device functionality in the Apple ecosystem.

💡AI Writing Tools

AI writing tools in macOS are systemwide features that provide users with the ability to proofread, change the style of their writing, or enhance text. The video emphasizes that these tools work across both native apps like Notes and Mail, as well as third-party browsers, potentially reducing the need for services like Grammarly or other AI-enhanced writing tools.

💡Focus Mode: Reduce Interruptions

Reduce Interruptions is a new focus mode introduced in macOS that uses AI to prioritize notifications based on importance. The feature aims to minimize distractions during work or important tasks, delivering only crucial notifications. This is part of Apple’s efforts to improve productivity and reduce digital clutter.

💡Safari Reader

Safari Reader is a feature in Apple’s web browser that allows users to strip away distractions like advertisements from web pages. The video explains how this new version of Reader has become more powerful, allowing automatic activation on specified websites. However, this change could impact small content creators who rely on ad revenue.

💡Mail Summaries

Mail summaries are part of Apple Intelligence, providing users with brief overviews of their incoming emails. This feature aims to streamline email management by giving users a quick glimpse of important content without needing to open every email. This is one of the AI features that the video suggests can significantly enhance productivity.

Highlights

Apple introduces new window management features that replace third-party apps like Rectangle and Magnet.

Users can now snap windows by dragging them to the screen's edges or using customizable keyboard shortcuts.

New options in the Finder window menu allow for easier window management with shortcuts for different configurations.

FaceTime gets screen-sharing and presenter mode, allowing dynamic camera adjustments and window sharing.

FaceTime now supports live captions powered by on-device machine learning, enhancing accessibility for people with disabilities.

Apple introduces its native password manager, an enhanced version of Keychain, though limited to the Apple ecosystem.

Users can now customize and enable AI-powered mail summaries, making email management faster and easier.

Apple intelligence introduces system-wide AI writing tools, potentially challenging apps like Grammarly.

Siri will evolve into a more advanced conversational assistant with deep system access in the next version.

The Notes app gets collapsible headers, color highlighting, and audio recording with automatic transcription.

iPhone mirroring on Mac allows users to fully interact with their iPhone and drag-and-drop files between devices.

Apple introduces a new Focus Mode that uses AI to filter and prioritize notifications based on importance.

Safari adds a page summarization feature and a new Reader Mode that removes all ads, affecting small bloggers' ad revenue.

Apple's updates include a 'send later' feature for messages, allowing users to schedule texts up to two weeks in advance.

Safari's new reader mode automatically removes ads from websites, which could impact the revenue of smaller content creators.

Transcripts

Apple intelligence is here but that's

just the beginning there are six other

features that are so powerful they even

replace third party apps and the first

ones on The Chopping Block are window

management apps like rectangle and

magnet because if there was one

universal complaint about Mac OS it was

the horrendous window management but now

without installing anything we can

finally drag Windows to any side of the

screen to snap them in place or use

keyboard shortcuts more on that in a

second and if we hold option while we

drag the windows we can tile them even

quicker if we come here to finder and go

to the window menu we can see all that's

available now including keyboard

shortcuts for each function and I saw a

lot of people online saying they

wouldn't switch to this because the

keyboard shortcuts weren't easy to use

but you can actually change them to be

whatever you want you just need to go to

settings keyboard keyboard shortcuts app

shortcuts and assign them under all

applications you just need to add the

shortcut name just as you see them in

the menu so if you want to tile them to

the right just type right and assign

your keyboard shortcut for me I only use

left right and fill which fills up the

whole screen without going into full

screen mode but if you're someone who

uses a bunch of different configurations

just add them all here and if we go into

settings desktop and Doc there's three

settings that we can change here I keep

the first two on but if they conflict

with something you already do you can

turn them off here and by default the

windows you tile have a little margin on

the sides and if you're like me and

don't want that you can disable it here

by turning this setting off overall this

is a solid upgrade and I think it's

enough for everyone but the most

demanding power users it's definitely

enough for me so thank you rectangle for

your service so that replaces third

party window managers but the next one

replaces Zoom just kidding can you

imagine but for certain use cases it

actually might because we've got a ton

of improvements to FaceTime and the

first is that we can now share our

screen and when you do it it even lets

you preview which window you're about to

share so you don't accidentally share as

something you didn't mean to plus you

can give others control of your Mac to

help you remotely and this is great for

those of us who always end up being the

family tech support but that's not all

there's also presenter mode which merges

your camera feed with your screen and it

lets you dynamically adjust your

position as well as change which window

you're sharing on top of that the

sidebar now includes live captions this

is powered by on device machine learning

and it transcribes what the other person

is saying in real time this is great for

those of us with dis abilities and it's

just one of the many new Apple

intelligence features and I'll go

through more of them later in the video

and lastly there's a handy new

background removal tool that lets us

choose from a set of colors stock photos

or even use our own of course this isn't

the full replacement to zoom but there

were plenty of times in the past where I

used Zoom with family and friends just

to use the share screen feature but now

we can do that and a lot more right here

in FaceTime but what might be a real

replacement for a lot of people is this

next feature which is Apple password

this is basically a first-party password

manager and we've actually had this for

a while but it was called keychain and

it was buried under the settings menu

but now we have a dedicated app for it

on all our devices which makes accessing

it a lot easier and let me tell you

right away this is not yet as full

featured as something like one password

but that Gap is narrowing because this

is a lot of the same stuff that a

dedicated password manager does and it

even has a few advantages it's a native

app which means you don't have to pay a

separate subscription for it and it

works super well across all your Apple

devices and you can even run it

exclusively from the menu bar and to do

that you just need to go to password

settings and enable show passwords in

the menu bar so what's the catch well

the biggest one is that you have to be

all in on the Apple ecosystem for this

to make sense there's no app for it on

the Google Play store or on Windows

there is a browser extension so I guess

if you have a Windows machine you can

access your passwords through there but

that's far from ideal you you also can't

share your passwords with others if

they're not in the Apple ecosystem and

lastly there's very little flexibility

on what you can add to it one password

lets you store credit card information

passports IDs software licenses and

really anything because you can also

just create a secured note and put

whatever you want in there overall I

think this is good enough for most

people especially those that never had a

password manager to begin with I'd love

to cancel one password for this but the

ecosystem lock and lack of flexibility

is a deal breaker for me on this one

okay so even though there's a ton of new

AI features there's only two that I

actually use and the first is mail

summaries because now when you get an

email notification it comes with a

summary so you can easily see what it's

all about this is a great feature that

gets even more powerful on the iPhone

and when you're going through your inbox

you now have a summarize option at the

top that will summarize the whole email

for you very nice all right so before if

you wanted to have ai proofread your

text or change the style you had to

either copy and paste it somewhere like

chat GPT or write in a software that had

AI capabilities but now with apple

intelligence you can get similar

capabilities pretty much everywhere on

the Mac if you're using a native app

like mail or notes you just highlight

your text and a little icon shows up to

show you all that it can do but this

still works anywhere by right clicking

your text and going to writing tools and

to take this to the next level I also

assigned different key keyboard

shortcuts for the functions I use the

most and you can do the same by going to

keyboard settings keyboard shortcuts app

shortcuts and then assign them under all

applications when this was announced I

thought it would only work on Apple's

native apps like mail and notes but this

works everywhere even on third-party

browsers which is huge because a lot of

apps charge a premium to have ai

functionality but these writing tools

are integrated systemwide so they still

work on those websites which will will

make selling their AI features much

harder this could also affect grammar

tools like grammarly and language tool

as this does a lot of what they do but I

don't think this is a full replacement

for chat GPT at least in its current

form as you can't chat with apple

intelligence but what could replace chat

GPT in the future is Siri as that's

something you can actually prompt and

chat with but we're going to have to

wait for Siri 2.0 which is set to come

next year and believe it or not this is

actually the feature I most excited for

as the potential is huge because unlike

chat GPT Siri will have systemwide

access so it'll have much more context

about you which is going to open up a

lot of possibilities I'll be doing a

full video on it when it comes out so

make sure you're subscribed but in the

meantime we have a slightly improved

Siri and we can even trigger it via

keyboard shortcut that you can customize

by going to settings Apple intelligence

and Siri and choosing it here all right

so the notes app also got some notable

improvements which is a long time coming

as it was lacking some very basic

features that even Evernote had over a

decade ago I can't believe I'm saying

this but we finally have collapsible

headers as well as the ability to

highlight in different colors these

would have been nice to have 10 years

ago but better late than ever it also

now has audio recording so you can

record a clip straight to the notes app

and you could even transcribe that audio

into text it also has math notes just

like the iPhone so you can do different

calculations and it will update the

results dynamically and if if you want

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video and then there's this new Fe

feature that at first glance seems like

something you'll never use but I think

it's one of the stars of the show it's

called iPhone mirroring and it lets us

see our iPhone in our Mac but it does a

lot more than that for starters we can

fully interact with our phone which is

great for those iOS only apps in the

keynote they showed dualingo as an

example for this but the first thing

that came to my mind was the Apple

journal app because for those of us that

use it we can finally journal with our

keyboard I don't know why there's still

no Mac version for for it but until that

happens this is a great workaround and

that's just a start because you can also

drag and drop files between your Mac and

your phone and you can even do it inside

applications and you can also now get

your iPhone notifications on the Mac and

this is an independent feature to iPhone

mirroring and there's a settings menu

for it that lets you decide which apps

you want to enable unfortunately for

those of us in the EU this one is still

not available there is a workaround for

it though by changing your region under

Med purchases but your existing

subscriptions will no longer work

hopefully this will be available later

in the year I want to also go over a few

other small settings that are pretty

useful if we go to settings desktop and

Doc we now have a new Option under

double click a window title bar before

it was only Zoom minimize and do nothing

but we can now fill and what this means

is if I have a small window I can just

double tap on the title bar and it will

maximize it and I much prefer this to

the other options there's also a new

Focus Mode called reduce interruptions

which is a great use case for AI and the

way this works is that it analyzes your

notifications and will only push them to

you if it decides that they're important

and this is also available on all the

other Focus modes usually in my case if

it's an emergency it's usually a phone

call but this is still a nice to have

feature we also now have the send later

feature on messages that lets us

schedule a text to be sent up to 2 weeks

in advance Safari also got two big

updates the first is that we can now

summarize a page instantly by pressing

the icon next to the URL bar and if

you're on a website of a public

establishment that has stuff like

business hours location and even contact

information it'll pull up those and show

them to you here but an even bigger

update is the new Safari reader which

just became arguably too powerful

because now on supported webites you can

just press the reader icon and it will

get rid of every bit of advertisement

and you can even set it so it always

does it on a given website by going to

Safari settings websites reader and

adding which websites you want it to

automatically be activated on this is

nice for sure but I feel for the small

bloggers as I imagine their revenue is

definitely going to take a hit I don't

know let me know in the comments what

you think as this is definitely not a

black and white situation some of these

features overlap with iOS 18 like notes

and passwords but there's still a few

others worth noting like the new Control

Center and I went over that and all the

other iOS 18 features in this video here

so I'll see you there