macOS Monterey

Your next big free Mac upgrade has arrived – here’s how to make the most of it, from AirPlay to Shortcuts

- Howard Oakley

The last few years of macOS upgrades brought trauma with their advances. We’ve lost 32-bit apps, gained a new file system ideal for SSDs and Time Machine backups but unsuited to hard disks, and previously simple startup volumes have been split to lock the System away in a snapshot.

Monterey is a welcome chance to get your breath back. On Intel Macs at least it makes no deep changes, and even Time Machine will back it up in continuity with existing Big Sur backups. Instead, Apple’s attention has turned to improving its most popular apps like FaceTime and Messages, and bringing new features like Shortcuts and Quick Notes.

These improvements are each enhanced by their integration with other features. Live Text is accessible optical character recognition which isn’t that novel, but when linked with Look Up it becomes a powerful tool. FaceTime’s SharePlay links to media apps like Music and TV. Those are the themes for Monterey – consolidation, integration, and generally not upsetting the Apple cart.

>Monterey’s features weren’t expected on all supported Macs. The only models to enjoy them all are M1 Macs. Live Text and AirPlay have worked well when tested on most Intel models, but Object Capture requires an M1 or ample memory and VRAM.

Which Macs work with Monterey?

✓ All M1 Macs (all features)

✓ iMac Late 2015 and later

✓ iMac Pro

✓ MacBook Early 2016 and later

✓ MacBook Air Early 2015 and later