macOS Monterey

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macOS Monterey
A version of the macOS operating system
MacOS Monterey wordmark.svg
MacOS Monterey Desktop.png
Screenshot of macOS Monterey in "light appearance"
DeveloperApple Inc.
OS family
  • Macintosh
  • Unix, based on Darwin (BSD)
Source modelClosed, with open source components
General
availability		October 25, 2021; 3 months ago (2021-10-25)[1]
Latest release12.2[2] (21D49)[3] (January 26, 2022; 4 days ago (2022-01-26))
Latest preview12.3 beta[4] (21E5196i)[5] (January 27, 2022; 3 days ago (2022-01-27))
Update methodSoftware Update
Platformsx86-64, ARM64
Kernel typeHybrid (XNU)
LicenseProprietary software with open-source components and content licensed with APSL
Preceded bymacOS Big Sur
Official websitewww.apple.com/macos/monterey/
Support status
Supported
Part of a series on
macOS
Features
Versions
Applications
Utilities
Related
  • v
  • t

macOS Monterey (version 12) is the 18th and current major release of macOS, Apple's desktop operating system for Macintosh computers. The successor to macOS Big Sur, it was announced at WWDC 2021 on June 7, 2021,[6][7][8][9] and released on October 25, 2021.[10][11]

The operating system is named after Monterey Bay, continuing the trend of releases named after California locations since 2013's 10.9 Mavericks.

Changes[]

Monterey introduced several new features and changes, including:[6]

  • Shortcuts for the Mac
  • TestFlight for the Mac
  • Provisions to allow the planned introduction of Universal Control,[12] which allows a single keyboard and mouse to control multiple Macs and iPads. It works on Mac computers with the Apple M1 chip and some with an Intel processor, including MacBook Pro (2016 and later), MacBook (2016 and later), MacBook Air (2018 and later), iMac (2017 and later), iMac (5K Retina 27-inch, Late 2015), iMac Pro, Mac mini (2018 and later), and Mac Pro (2019). It works on these iPads: iPad Pro, iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad (6th generation and later), and iPad mini (5th generation and later).
  • Support for Apple Music Voice Plan Subscription.
  • Portrait Mode and Noise Cancellation features for FaceTime and some apps (in Control Centre)
  • New Toolbar Features/Designs for Finder and Preview App
  • Have a Live Memoji and Animoji right on the lock screen
  • A yellow privacy-indicator on the menu-bar for indicating if Mic/Webcam is Active
  • Live Text, which allows a user to copy, paste, translate and lookup text from images displayed by Photos, Screenshot, Quick Look, and Safari.
  • New Passwords Manager for Mac
  • A New On-Device ML-Activated Keyboard Dictation using Siri and also now for almost unlimited duration.
  • Low Power Mode for Mac which enables longer battery life for lightweight workflows like Reading PDFs, Web-browsing, Listening to Music, etc. This works on MacBook (Early 2016 and later) and MacBook Pro (Early 2016 and later).[13]
  • A redesigned optional compact interface for the Safari browser.
  • Support for playing AirPlay content streamed from recent iOS and iPadOS devices and Macs, including: MacBook Pro (2018 and later), MacBook Air (2018 and later), iMac (2019 and later), iMac Pro (2017), Mac mini (2020 and later), Mac Pro (2019), iPhone 6s and later, iPad Pro (2nd generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad (6th generation and later), and iPad mini (5th generation and later). Older iPhone, iPad, and Mac models may share content at a lower resolution to supported Mac models when "Allow AirPlay for" is set to "Everyone" or "Anyone on the same network" in Sharing preferences.
  • Improvements to FaceTime, including the ability to share a screen and the SharePlay function that enables multiple users to watch or listen simultaneously and in sync (e.g., to music or TV shows).
  • The ability to factory reset the device from the System Preferences app[14]
  • Visual Look Up makes it easy to identify objects (eg- Cat Breeds, Dog Breeds, etc..) found within user's photos.
  • Focus to set different modes to filter notifications across iPhones, iPads and Macs.
  • The Time Machine backup functionality excludes more system files.[15]
  • Provisions to allow the planned introduction of "Expanded Protections for Children" which will apply cryptography to detect and help limit the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online by scanning the user's iCloud photos and Messages attachments.[16]
  • Accessibility option to change the mouse pointer's colors.
  • Tips notifications.
  • The removal of a previously bundled PHP interpreter.[17]
  • The removal of the ability to use custom Quartz Composer filters and plugins in Photo Booth.
  • networkQuality, a command-line tool for measuring upload/download capacity, upload/download flows, and upload/download responsiveness
  • An automatically populated "Games" folder within launchpad
  • Support for ProMotion in new M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pro

Applications[]

Notes[]

In the Notes application, users can now apply arbitrary tags to a note (e.g., #cooking, #work); groups of notes with a given tag or tags can be viewed in Smart Folders or a Tag Browser in the sidebar.[18] The new Quick Notes function enables a user to create a note from within any app via system-wide keyboard shortcut or hot corner.[19]

Maps[]

Apple Maps adds a 3D globe, with increased mountain, desert, and forest detail.[20]

News[]

Apple News has been completely redesigned, featuring more rounded corners.

Shortcuts for Mac[]

Shortcuts are activated manually through the app, shortcut widgets, the share sheet, and Siri. They can also be automated to trigger after an event, such as the time of day, leaving a set location, or opening an app.

Game Center[]

Game Center adds the ability to view and accept friend requests, invite players to games, and share game highlights when using certain game controllers.

System requirements[]

macOS Monterey drops support for various Macs released from 2013 to 2015[21][22] including all Macs with Nvidia GPUs. Monterey works on all Macs equipped with Apple silicon SoCs, as well as the following models equipped with Intel CPUs:

  • MacBook: Early 2016 and newer
  • MacBook Air: Early 2015 and newer
  • MacBook Pro: Early 2015 and newer
  • Mac Mini: Late 2014 and newer
  • iMac: Late 2015 and newer
  • iMac Pro: Late 2017
  • Mac Pro: Late 2013 and newer[23]

macOS Monterey can be installed on earlier computers that are officially unsupported by using patch tools, such as the mid-2014 iMac and the 2013 MacBook Pro.[24]

Release history[]

Previous release Current release Current developer release
Version Build Date Darwin version Release notes Notes
12.0 21A344 October 25, 2021 21.0.1
xnu-8019.30.61~4
Tue Sep 14 20:56:24 PDT 2021 		N/A Preinstalled on 2021 MacBook Pros
12.0.1 21A559 October 25, 2021 21.1.0
xnu-8019.41.5~1
Wed Oct 13 17:33:23 PDT 2021 		Release notes Initial public release
12.1 21C52 December 13, 2021 21.2.0
xnu-8019.61.5~1
Sun Nov 28 20:28:54 PST 2021 		Release notes

Security content

12.2 21D49 January 26, 2022 21.3.0
xnu-8019.80.24~20
Wed Jan 5 21:37:58 PST 2022 		Release notes

Security content

12.3 beta 21E5196i January 27, 2022

12.0 was pre-installed on 2021 MacBook Pros and Apple advised those with the version to be updated to 12.0.1.

Known problems[]

Users and developers have reported:

  • Problems with trackpads, such as tap-to-click not working and gestures being misinterpreted (fixed with 12.1 update)[25][26][27]
  • Inability to use Bluetooth devices reliably (unresolved),[28][29] inability to use Bluetooth PAN (feature removed)[30]
  • Laptops unable to boot (fixed with 12.0.1 update)[31][32]
  • Inability to charge sleeping laptops with MagSafe. (fixed with 12.1)[33]
  • App memory leak issue[34]
  • Inconsistent performance with external USB hubs transferring data (unresolved, 12.1)[35]
  • Battery draining issues (fixed with 12.1)[36]

References[]

  1. ^ Clover, Juli (October 25, 2021). "Apple Releases macOS Monterey With AirPlay to Mac, Live Text, Safari Updates, Shortcuts App and More". MacRumors.
  2. ^ Clover, Juli (January 26, 2022). "Apple Releases macOS Monterey 12.2 With Safari Vulnerability Fix". MacRumors. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  3. ^ "macOS 12.2 (21D49) - Releases - Apple Developer". Apple Developer. Apple Inc. January 26, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  4. ^ Clover, Juli (January 27, 2022). "Apple Seeds First Beta of macOS Monterey 12.3 to Developers". MacRumors. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  5. ^ "macOS 12.3 beta (21E5196i) - Releases - Apple Developer". Apple Developer. Apple Inc. January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Griffin, Andrew (June 7, 2021). "MacOS Monterey: Apple launches new operating system for Mac". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2021-06-07. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  7. ^ Clark, Mitchell (7 June 2021). "macOS Monterey lets you run Shortcuts and share input and files between Macs and iPads". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  8. ^ Rayome, Alison DeNisco. "MacOS Monterey is on the way: Apple previewed MacOS 12 at WWDC and gave it a name". CNET. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  9. ^ WWDC 2021 — June 7 | Apple, retrieved 2021-11-02
  10. ^ Fathi, Sami (October 18, 2021). "Apple Releasing macOS Monterey on October 25". MacRumors.
  11. ^ "Here's When You Can Download macOS Monterey Today [Update: It's Out!]". MacRumors. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  12. ^ "Apple macOS Monterey Review". PCMAG. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  13. ^ "macOS Monterey Preview - New Features". Apple (Hong Kong). Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  14. ^ Erase all content and settings on Mac
  15. ^ Oakley, Howard (8 Sep 2021). "What doesn't Time Machine back up?". Eclectic Light.
  16. ^ "Child Safety". Apple Inc.
  17. ^ Mandal, Bipasha (September 27, 2021), macOS 12 Monterey update will no longer have built-in PHP (published June 18, 2021){{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  18. ^ Broach, Taha (28 June 2021). "How to add and manage Tags in Notes in macOS Monterey and iOS 15". The 8-Bit. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  19. ^ Broach, Taha (9 June 2021). "How to use Quick Note in macOS 12 Monterey". The 8-Bit. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  20. ^ "iOS 15 Features – What's New?". Goriber Tech. September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ Pawar, Deepanshu (2021-06-08). "List of All Macs Compatibility With macOS Monterey". Cyphers.in. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  22. ^ Clover, Juli (June 7, 2021). "Here Are All the Macs Compatible With macOS Monterey". MacRumors. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  23. ^ "macOS Monterey". Apple (Hong Kong). Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  24. ^ "Opencore Legacy Patcher - Monterey + Big Sur". Mac Research. November 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  25. ^ "Tap-to-click issues on B9 and 10 (and now Monterey release)". MacRumors Forums. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  26. ^ "Tap-to-click issue on MacOS 12.0.1 - Apple Community". discussions.apple.com. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  27. ^ "Tap to click many times not workin… | Apple Developer Forums".
  28. ^ "Bluetooth Pan is missing on new Macbook P… - Apple Community". discussions.apple.com. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  29. ^ "MacOS 12.0.1 Monterey Bluetooth is… | Apple Developer Forums". developer.apple.com. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  30. ^ "Bluetooth Pan is missing on new Macbook P… - Apple Community".
  31. ^ Benjamin, Adam. "MacOS Monterey was bricking some laptops. That's been fixed". CNET. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  32. ^ Lawler, Richard (2021-11-05). "Apple fixes bug that could cause macOS Monterey to brick Macs with a T2 security chip". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  33. ^ "Apple 'investigating' widespread MacBook Pro MagSafe charging issues". Macworld. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  34. ^ Lovejoy, Ben (November 15, 2021). "PSA: Monterey app memory leak isn't just caused by an accessibility feature". 9to5Mac. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  35. ^ "USB hub failing under Monterey | Apple Developer Forums".
  36. ^ "Battery draining in macOS Monterey - M1 MacBook Air".

External links[]

Preceded by macOS 12 (Monterey)
2021 		Incumbent
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