Not the sexiest of updates from WWDC 2023, but macOS Sonoma is bringing in features that serve form and function.

The updates include more interactive widgets, ‘stunning’ moving wallpapers, and much, much more.

Interactive Widgets

Users can place widgets right on the desktop and conveniently access the widget gallery. Widgets blend seamlessly with the wallpaper while users work in apps. iPhone widgets will also be useable on their Mac thanks to Continuity.

Smarter Video Conferencing

Presenter Overlay, a new video effect, elevates a user’s presence by displaying them on top of the content they are sharing. There’s also Reactions that lets users share how they feel by seamlessly adding balloons, confetti, hearts, and more into the video. It can be triggered by a hand gesture.

Safari Updates

Private Browsing provides even greater protection both from trackers and from people who might have access to the user’s device. It helps prevent websites from tracking or identifying the user.

Profiles help users stay organised by offering a way to separate browsing between topics, while also keeping cookies, history, extensions, Tab Groups, and Favourites separate.

Stunning Screen Savers

macOS Sonoma brings stunning screen savers featuring slow-motion videos of various locations worldwide. These include the sweeping skyline of Hong Kong, the sandstone buttes of Monument Valley in Arizona, and the rolling hills of Sonoma in Northern California.

Games on Mac

Macs with Apple silicon can run demanding games with great performance, long battery life, and breathtaking visuals. To emphasize this point, famed game director Hideo Kojima made a surprise appearance and announced that his game, Death Stranding Director’s Cut, is coming to Mac later in 2023.

Other big games coming to Mac are: Stray, Fort Solis, World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, HUMANKIND, Resident Evil Village: Winters’ Expansion, The Medium, ELEX II, Firmament, SnowRunner, Disney Dreamlight Valley, No Man’s Sky, Dragonheir: Silent Gods, and Layers of Fear.

macOS Sonoma will have Game Mode. It delivers an optimized gaming experience with smoother and more consistent frame rates.It does so by ensuring games get the highest priority on the CPU and GPU.

Just when you thought iOS couldn’t get any better, Apple goes out of their way to add things you perhaps didn’t immediately know you needed. Such is the case with iOS 17.

The new features range from calls and contacts upgrades, all the way to stuff for your mental health. Here are the most notable ones.

Contact Posters

Users can customize how they appear, bringing a completely new look to incoming calls. Emoji, photos, different fonts and colors are all in play. Go wild. And they will also be available for third-party calling apps.

Live Voicemail

See real-time transcription as someone leaves a voicemail. And you can still pick-up the call as they are leaving their message. Spam calls won’t appear as Live Voicemail, and will instead be instantly declined.

FaceTime Audio and Video Messages

FaceTime now supports audio and video messages. When users call someone who is not available, they can share a message that can be enjoyed later.

FaceTime Reactions

Be more expressive during FaceTime calls with hearts, balloons, fireworks, laser beams, rain, and more. The new effects can be activated through simple gestures. Also works with third-party video calling apps.

FaceTime on TV

FaceTime now extends to the biggest screen in the home. Powered by Continuity Camera, users can initiate a video call directly from Apple TV, or start the call on iPhone and then hand it off to Apple TV, to see friends and family on their television.

Live Stickers

Lift subjects from photos and add effects that bring them to life. A new drawer in the keyboard puts all of a user’s stickers in one place for easier access across iOS.

New Messages

An expandable menu that can be accessed with a simple tap to display iMessage apps gives Messages a sleeker look. Search gets more powerful and precise with search filters. A new catch-up arrow indicates where the user last left off in the conversation, and replying inline is as simple as swiping on a text bubble. If a user shares their location, it will update in real time right in the conversation.

Check In

For when a user wants to notify a family member or friend that they have made it to their destination safely. After a user initiates a Check In, their friend or family member will automatically be notified as soon as the user arrives. Device location, battery level, and cell service status will be shared with selected contact if user appears to not be moving.

NameDrop

Bring iPhones together or bring an iPhone and Apple Watch together to easily share contact information.

With the same gesture, users can also share content or start SharePlay to listen to music, watch a movie, or play a game while in close proximity between iPhone devices.

StandBy

Gives users a full-screen experience with glanceable information designed to be viewed from a distance when iPhone is on its side and charging.

Journal

A new app that helps iPhone users reflect and practice gratitude through journaling. It uses on-device machine learning for personalized suggestions for the user’s journal entry. Suggestions are intelligently curated from recent activity, including photos, people, places, workouts, and more. It is built to protect a user’s privacy and ensure no one — including Apple — can access a user’s entries.

Acclaimed game director Hideo Kojima made a surprise appearance at WWDC 2023. It’s a surprise because gaming isn’t something that people usually associate with Apple. But it appears, that’s changing.

During the macOS Sonoma segment of WWDC23, Kojima made an appearance in the gaming part to announce that Death Stranding Director’s Cut is coming to Mac later this year.

Kojima talked about how the new Mac silicons are built to handle major AAA titles. And that Death Stranding is just the start. The maker of Metal Gear games said they are working with Apple to bring their future titles to Mac.

Gaming on Mac

Although still just a footnote, Apple has been making strides in making Macs powerful enough to run games. In 2022, Macs equipped with at least the M1 chip were able to smoothly run Capcom’s Resident Evil Village.

Gaming on Mac seems to be on an upswing as the company continues to make their M-processors more powerful. In addition to the games on Apple Arcade, games like Stray will also be making their way to the Mac.