macOS Sequoia

21st major version of the macOS operating system

Operating system

macOS Sequoia (version 15) is the twenty-first and current major release of Apple's macOS operating system, the successor to macOS Sonoma. It was announced at WWDC 2024 on June 10, 2024.^[4] In line with Apple's practice of naming macOS releases after landmarks in California, it is named after Sequoia National Park, located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.^[5]

The first developer beta was released on June 10, 2024.^[6] The first public beta was released on July 15, 2024, and the second was released on July 23, 2024.^[7][8] It was released on September 16, 2024.^[9]

Development

Announcement

macOS Sequoia was announced by Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 10, 2024.^[4] It was announced alongside iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and watchOS 11.

Features

macOS Sequoia introduced several new features and improvements, mainly focused on productivity:

• iPhone Mirroring, a feature to mirror and interact with content from an iPhone running iOS 18 as a macOS window, has been introduced. It is supported on all Macs except the 2019 iMac, which lacks a T2 chip.^[4] This function is not available in the European Union due to the lack of conformity to the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
• The Calculator app has been redesigned to be more similar to that of iOS and iPadOS, including rounded buttons, departing from the design that has been used since OS X Yosemite.
• Notes has been updated with the Math Notes feature, which can be used to calculate simple equations, evaluate expressions, and assign variables within the app.
• Passwords, a cross-platform password manager application, was introduced, which replaces Keychain.^[4]
• In System Settings, individual menus have been rearranged and slightly redesigned for quick access to frequently used menus.
• Safari has been revamped, including revamped reader mode (now called Reader), faster page load times, a new start page, and a brand new unified menu; these had previously been exclusive to compact mode on iOS/iPadOS.
• macOS Sequoia will release with the second iteration of Game Porting Toolkit, a Windows API compatibility layer derived from Wine and Crossover,^[10] allowing developers to more easily port Windows games to macOS.^[4]
• Apple Intelligence will be available on all Apple silicon Macs and will include artificial intelligence features such as a revamped and redesigned Siri, Writing Tools with which selected text can be proofread or have its tone changed, Smart Reply in Mail to quickly draft email responses, and a system-wide integration with ChatGPT.^[11]
• Window tiling is now automatically suggested by macOS when dragging a window to the edges of the display, similar to Microsoft Windows’ Window snapping feature.
• The Tips app has a new UI and includes many new tips for individual apps such as Freeform, Pages, Keynote, Notes, and Apple TV, it can also now be added to the dock.
• A feature to enable users to edit the iPhone home screen through iPhone Mirroring is available in the latest betas of macOS Sequoia 15 and macOS Sequoia 15.1.^[12] This function is not available in the European Union, due to the lack of conformity to the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Supported hardware

macOS Sequoia supports all Macs with Apple silicon and those with Intel's Xeon W and 8th-generation Coffee Lake chips or later. A Mac with an M1 chip or later is required to use Apple Intelligence. macOS Sequoia supports every Mac that supports macOS Sonoma with the exception of the 2018–2019 MacBook Air models with Amber Lake chips. Similar to Sonoma, the 2019 iMac is the only supported Intel Mac that lacks a T2 security chip. macOS Sequoia is the first version of macOS to drop support for a Mac with a T2 security chip.

The following devices are compatible with macOS Sequoia:^[3]

• iMac (2019 and later)
• iMac Pro (2017)
• MacBook Air (2020 and later)
• MacBook Pro (2018 and later)
• Mac Mini (2018 and later)
• Mac Pro (2019 and later)
• Mac Studio (all models)

Release history

The first developer beta of macOS Sequoia was released on June 10, 2024. As with macOS Sonoma, the Sequoia developer betas are available to anyone with an Apple Developer account, without needing a developer subscription.

See Apple's official release notes, and official security update contents.

References

1. Clover, Juli (September 16, 2024). "Apple Launches macOS Sequoia With iPhone Mirroring, Passwords App, Window Tiling Updates and More". MacRumors. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
2. "Apple Seeds Fourth Developer Betas of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 With Apple Intelligence". MacRumors. September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
3. "macOS Sequoia Preview". Apple. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
4. "Apple's AI plans, iOS 18, and more at WWDC 2024". The Verge. June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
5. Terech, Kristina; Hanson, Matt; Saxena, Muskaan (June 7, 2024). "macOS 15 Sequoia: launch date, latest news, rumors, and everything we know". TechRadar. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
6. "Apple Releases First Betas of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, tvOS 18, watchOS 11, and visionOS 2". MacRumors. June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
7. "Apple Releases First macOS Sequoia Public Beta With iPhone Mirroring and More". MacRumors. July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
8. "Apple Releases Second macOS Sequoia Public Beta With iPhone Mirroring and More". MacRumors. July 24, 2024. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
9. "Apple Launches macOS Sequoia With iPhone Mirroring, Passwords App, Window Tiling Updates and More". MacRumors. September 16, 2024. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
10. Warren, Tom (June 7, 2023). "Apple's new Proton-like tool can run Windows games on a Mac". The Verge. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
11. "Apple Intelligence Preview". Apple. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
12. "Apple adds home screen management to iPhone mirroring in new betas: Report".
13. "macOS Sequoia 15 Release Notes".