It’s a big day for Mac owners (or at least those with compatible Macs, and we’ll come back to that) as macOS 15 Sequoia is set to arrive later today as a free upgrade.
Apple informed us that the release date for macOS 15 was September 16 back at its iPhone 16 (‘Glowtime’) launch event, and here we are. So, if you’re chomping at the bit with anticipation, let’s indulge in a quick recap of the highlights that Sequoia has to offer before you install the shiny new operating system.
Mirror, mirror, on the desktop…
The cornerstone feature introduction with macOS Sequoia (at least away from Apple Intelligence – and we’ll return to that subject, too) is iPhone Mirroring. Now, obviously, this will only appeal to those invested enough in the Apple ecosystem to have both a Mac and an iPhone, but it is a seriously cool feature for those folks.
iPhone Mirroring allows you to use your smartphone on your Mac desktop, in a compact (resizable) window. This means you can use iPhone apps on the macOS 15 desktop, reply to texts, interact with iPhone notifications, and so forth – there’s even the ability to seamlessly drag and drop files directly between devices (though that still hasn’t been seen in testing yet, it’s coming).
Essentially, you’ve got pretty much full control over your iPhone right there on the macOS desktop, without ever having to pick up the smartphone itself.
On Safari, storage, and more
Apple’s Safari browser is getting some very useful improvements, including a ‘Reader’ mode to deliver a distraction-free experience, and a ‘Viewer’ mode that automatically detects a video playing on a website and places it front and center for easy viewing. Safari is also set to be more friendly to MacBook users by way of implementing battery-saving measures.
There are some nifty storage tweaks with macOS 15, too, so you no longer need to (temporarily) have double the required space for an app on your drive to install it – a change that’s been a long time coming. Also, there’ll be a new option for large apps, namely installing them on an external drive (albeit with caveats, but still – this is a very welcome addition).
Those who’ve seen snap layouts in Windows 11 and have been somewhat jealous of that ability will be pleased to hear that similar window positioning capabilities are coming to macOS 15.
Apple is also bringing in a new Password app to replace Keychains, and some fancy new dynamic wallpapers (including a very smart-looking forest-themed background for Sequoia itself). Furthermore, there are some important improvements under the hood for Game Mode to drive faster frame rates, Apple tells us – Mac gamers, rejoice.
What we won’t get
As we already touched on, there’s a major feature that won’t be present with the initial debut of macOS Sequoia – and that’s Apple Intelligence. As we’ve seen in testing, these AI features have been pushed to a separate branch, namely macOS 15.1 – and that version won’t arrive until October. These Apple Intelligence capabilities will launch alongside new M4-powered Macs, no doubt, which are rumored for a later in October reveal.
While macOS 15 is a free upgrade, there are some people who won’t be able to get the OS at all – those without a compatible Mac. We have a list of compatible Macs in our full roundup of everything we know about macOS 15, so head over there to find out more on that front (and more details on the features we’ve touched on here, too).
The good news is that the requirements are not too different from Sonoma, but still, there are some Macs that currently have macOS 14 which won’t be able to upgrade to the very latest version when it turns up imminently. Also, a final note: only Macs with an Apple M-series CPU will be able to use Apple Intelligence features in macOS 15.