Apple spent about 18 minutes of the WWDC keynote talking about the main new features of the MacOS 13 Ventura – and that brief part was heavily crammed. But a lot was left out. This means that a number of new features are coming up which are not mentioned but you will find them very useful. There are some features not mentioned here that are different.
USB-C accessory security
Apple is always looking for new ways to lock down your Mac’s security and to this end, the Max Ventura has added an extra layer of security to your Mac’s USB-C port. A warning will pop up when a USB or Thunderbolt accessory is plugged into a port asking if you want to allow the accessory to connect. Users can then choose to ignore or allow the device.
This warning is optional. You will see the settings for System Settings> Privacy and security > Security, And you can set it to ask for new accessories every time, to ask for new accessories, to automatically allow accessories when unlocking Mac, or to always allow accessories. According to the Ventura release note, the approved accessories will be valid for three days and the attached accessories will be automatically approved during an OS update.
(However, if you unplug a flash drive without first dismounting from Finder, there is still no setting to stop the “Disk not properly removed” pop-up.)
Background noise
Some users prefer to play “White Noise” in the background to maintain focus and use Apple Music, YouTube or any other method to play the audio. With Ventura, there is now a setting in System Settings> Accessibility > Myth Play one of six different background sounds:
- Balanced words: White noise resembles less static
- Bright words: Static with a light amount of alloy
- Bold words: Static with heavy alloy
- Ocean: The sound can be heard while walking on the beach
- Rain: Moderate to heavy rainfall
- Flow: A chattering current (which usually makes me want to go to the bathroom)
When you play other media like Apple Music or YouTube, the background sound starts playing. Apple has added a hearing menu bar icon and a hearing module for the Control Center so you can quickly turn off background sound without having to dive into system settings.
Clock and weather app
The iPhone and iPad have always had a clock app and now the Mac finally gets one. The Mac version is basically a time map similar to the iPad that is displayed in the World Clock section. The watch can be set to track different time zones and has an alarm, a stopwatch and a timer.
Foundry
The Mac also gets a Weather app and is basically the weather app for the iPhone, but has been redesigned to take advantage of the screen size like the iPadOS 16. You can see current temperature, hourly conditions and 10-day forecast. It contains informative modules for air quality, precipitation, UV indicators and much more.
Advanced note app
The Notes app finally gets some essential sorting features. Smart Folders is now available, which uses rules that you can set to automatically organize your notes, and you can filter for any or all of the criteria in a smart folder as well as in the Tag Browser. The notes also have a chronological section so you can see the notes are grouped by the last time they were last modified.
Notes now offers the option to lock notes with your login password instead of creating a new password each time. And you can now create a link to a note that you can send to others that will give that person access.
Good reminder
Reminders has several new features for better support list. Lists can now be pinned, and you can save templates if you have the desired design for a specific list. Notifications can be set to alert people when a shared list is modified, and it’s now much easier to see your complete listings through the full smart list.
Characteristics of other ecosystems
There are a number of new unspoken features that are not only new to macOS Ventura but also new to iOS 16 and iPadOS 16. These include:
- Hidden and recently deleted folders in the photo are locked which requires login with Touch ID.
- Hide my email availability in third party apps
- More memoji features
- Live captions on audio content (previewed in May)