Apple debuts macOS 14 Sonoma

Apple took the wraps off its latest desktop operating system, macOS 14, at WWDC 2023. As ever, it’s named for another California town — this time out it’s Sonoma, straight out of Northern California’s wine country.

The desktop is getting widgets, another feature borrowed straight from the mobile side of things. They dynamically adjust to your usage, so they don’t dominate the screen, while you’re working on something else. The widgets are interactive, as well, allowing you to do things like selecting images directly from the window.

Also new is game mode, designed to limit distractions, while playing the growing selection of Apple Silicon titles. There’s a new game porting development kit, as well, to help bring existing titles over to the operating system as the company hopes to be taken more seriously in the space. That includes the new addition of Death Stranding, which Kojima himself came out to discuss.

It seems the company is getting more serious about teleconferencing, as well (as the webcams have also improved). This includes a new overlay feature that cuts out the speaker, playing them in front of a dynamic background. There are new effects like fireworks, as well. These are compatible with the standard teleconferencing apps, including FaceTime, Zoom, Teams and more.

The new desktop browser is also getting improved wallpapers, including a shot of Sonoma. Safari’s getting a bunch of new features, including locking for private browsing and web apps that can be added to the system’s dock.

Public beta should be dropping over the coming weeks, with general availability following at some point later this year.