Apple’s WWDC is coming up in June, and then we expect the company to take the wraps off macOS 14, the next major version of the Mac operating system. In this article, we’ll be following the latest news about macOS 14, and when it’s officially unveiled, this will be your place to learn about all the new features and updates.
macOS 14: what will be the name of the next macOS release?
Every year since macOS 10.9 Mavericks, Apple uses California landmarks to identify each new version of macOS. Apple has trademarked numerous names over the years, as shared by The Verge’s Parker Ortolani:
If macOS 14 is a so-called maintenance release with few new features, it will probably be named after a location near Ventura. Based on the names above, Rincon and Skyline are the most likely names.
release date macOS 14: when will macOS 14 arrive?
Apple’s usual venue for unveiling the next major version of macOS is the Worldwide Developers Conference. WWDC 2023 kicks off on June 5, and during the keynote, Apple will reveal the name and new features of macOS.
Apple usually releases a beta version of the new macOS to developers at WWDC, and you must be a registered developer to access it. A public beta will be released about a month later, and to get it you’ll need to sign up for Apple’s beta program.
The final version of macOS 14 will be released to the general public in the fall. In the recent past, the release came several weeks after the new version of iOS was released. Here are the release dates for the previous five versions of macOS:
- macOS 13 Ventura: October 24, 2022
- macOS 12 Monterey: October 25, 2021
- macOS 11 Big Sur: November 12, 2020
- macOS 10.15 Catalina: October 7, 2019
- macOS 10.14 Mojave: September 24, 2018
Here’s what the release timeline could look like:
- 5 June: macOS 14 is unveiled and the developer beta is released.
- July: Apple releases the first public beta.
- June to September/October: This is the beta period. Apple will release several beta updates during this time.
- September October: macOS 14 is released to the general public.
macOS 14 compatibility: Which Macs can run macOS 14?
When Apple released macOS Ventura, the company removed numerous older Macs from the compatibility list, including:
- iMac from 2015
- MacBook from 2016
- MacBook Air from 2015-2017
- MacBook Pro 2015-2016
- Mac mini from 2014
- 2013 MacPro
There have been no rumors that Apple would be dropping support for Macs this year, as we have with the iPad, so it’s entirely possible that the compatibility list for macOS 14 will be the same as Ventura’s. Here is the possible compatibility list:
- MacBook models from 2017 or later
- MacBook Air models from 2018 or later
- MacBook Pro models from 2017 or later
- Mac mini models from 2018 or later
- 2017 or later iMac models
- iMac Pro (all models)
- Mac Pro models from 2019 or later
- Mac Studio (all models)
There is always the possibility that a Mac will be compatible with macOS 14, but some of the new features won’t work on older Macs from the list. Some new features may also require Apple chips and will not work on Intel-based Macs.
macOS 14: Install the beta and official version
Apple is changing the beta process in macOS 13.4, so by the time the macOS 14 beta arrives, the method will be different. Instead of downloading the Beta Access Utility for each device, all you need to do is register your Apple ID for the beta program to install betas on any Apple device signed into that account.
Then when you go to Software Update you will see a new tab for it Beta updates, which displays the version of the beta you’re running. To install the beta, select macOS 14 public betaand if you want to return to Ventura, select Off. To install the official version, you’ll have to wait for Apple to start shipping it in the fall. Then you can use Software Update in System Settings, or you can download it from the App Store.
Just remember: betas are not as stable as the official version – features may be deployed and then withdrawn, or they may not work properly, the UI may change, and compatibility with third-party apps is not guaranteed.
macOS 14: rumored new features
Rumors of new features have been light – all we know so far is that macOS 14 isn’t expected to be a major release packed with new features. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that it probably won’t be “groundbreaking or significant,” but rather will continue the trend of adding iOS features. As he writes, “The dream scenario is that you own an Apple Watch, an iPhone, a MacBook, an iPad, an Apple headset, and all five of these devices are capable of all doing the same things, just in different use cases and on the same way. different times of the day.”
It has also been reported that Apple has moved some macOS resources to xrOS as Apple prepares to launch its new AR headset at WWDC.
macOS 14: New features we want to see
Even if macOS 14 is all iOS features making their way to the Mac, there are plenty we’d like to see.
Dynamic Island for the Mac
With the iPhone 14 Pro, Apple introduced the Dynamic Island, which uses the pill-shaped cutout for Face ID and the selfie camera as an extraordinary UI element. It’s an ingenious feature that should at least come to the MacBook Pro.
Dynamic Island would lighten the clutter on the right side of the macOS interface, which contains notifications, reminders, and widgets. But it can also be a great way to track the progress of something an app is working on in the background, act as a battery life indicator, or display what Apple Music is playing, like on the iPhone.
By the way, Apple’s 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro and the M2 MacBook Air already have notched screens, so a trip to the Dynamic Island should be easy to book.
Apple could make a lot of money by offering cloud storage for Time Machine backups.
Foundry
Time Machine iCloud backups
This was on our wish list for macOS 12 And macOS 13, and it will remain on every wish list until it happens. As I said before, I’ll say it again: Having an offsite backup is always a good idea, and Time Machine could be updated to do just that, along with the option for a local backup.
Since Apple doesn’t seem interested in adding this feature to macOS out of necessity, allow me to take a different angle: it’s good for Apple’s bottom line. Think about it, Apple. You can earn precious money for Services from Time Machine iCloud backups by selling iCloud+ storage. Apple already has a $9.99/£6.99 tier that offers 2TB of storage, and I could see a new $6.99/£3.99 tier for the 1TB Time Machine iCloud+ storage tier. That’s about $84/£48 a year, and let’s say 500,000 users sign up for it. That’s a lot of money you make every year and a lot of happy Mac customers. How can you pass that up, Apple?
Fine-tune the system settings
In my macOS 13 wish list, I wanted Apple to rename System Preferences to Settings to match iOS and iPadOS. My wish came true, but it came at a price: Apple went one step further and redesigned the user interface to be more like the iPhone. That caused consternation for the most die-hard Mac fans and confusion for even iPhone users — and sent many Mac users to Google to find settings they thought were lost. There’s no going back now; System settings and the user interface are here to stay. But it could use some fine tuning.
We’d like to see Apple separate the interface from iOS. The look is fine, but some settings aren’t logically tucked away behind General or Desktop & Dock. Top of the list: Time Machine (especially if Apple unlocks iCloud backups).
More Apple iOS apps
With macOS Ventura, Apple has finally made Mac versions of the clock and weather apps that have been in iOS since time immemorial. Why stop there? There are plenty of iOS apps that aren’t available on the Mac: translate, clips (which were on my macOS 13 wish list), health, wallet (those two were on my macOS 12 wish list), support…maybe not compass, measure, and magnifying glass. And hey, while they’re at it, revive Warren Buffet’s Paper Wizard and bring it to the Mac!
More iOS apps, such as Wallet, should be coming to macOS.
Foundry
Sync the Clock app across all devices
As I just mentioned, with macOS Ventura, Apple finally adopted Mac versions of the Clock and Weather apps that were in iOS and iPadOS. Hurrah! However, the Weather app syncs between devices and the Clock app does not. That means alarms you set on one device won’t be available on others. Boo!
It’s easy enough to set an alarm, but it would be much easier if those alarms synced across devices. While we’re at it, why not sync the world clock entries? Or even timers: I make a lot of timers and like to be able to control them from multiple devices. Oh, and since maybe not everyone wants their iPhone timers on their Mac, give us the option to disable syncing.
The Clock app shipped with macOS Ventura, but it doesn’t sync with the Clock app on iPhones and iPads.
Foundry
Stability and optimization
I could go on with the wishes – much of what I wanted in my macOS 12 and macOS 13 wish list has yet to materialize, and I’d still love to see them happen. But according to reports, macOS 14 won’t see many major changes as the company is supposedly focusing on the AR/VR headset and its operating system, which is rumored to be called xrOS. Development for macOS 14, iOS 17, and iPadOS 17 (see, wouldn’t it be easier to read if they had the same version number?) seems to have a lower priority until that device is revealed.
