macOS Sonoma: How to control reaction effects with hand gestures

Zac Hall | Nov 27 2023 - 2:06 pm PT

Can you really call yourself a Mac power user without mastering the new Reactions feature in macOS Sonoma? Apple has been tinkering with software features for improving webcam video quality for a few years. macOS Sonoma takes a more fun approach with the introduction of frame-filling 3D augmented reality effects.

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How to control video effects

Because Apple makes the Mac and macOS, it can build video features into the operating system. That means effects like portrait blur, studio lighting, and reactions can work in more video apps than just FaceTime. You just need an Apple silicon Mac or your iPhone as your webcam through Continuity Camera to access reactions.

A new menu bar item will appear in the top right corner of your screen when a video app is using your webcam. Clicking this green button with a white camera icon will reveal effect controls. Each app that uses your webcam will have its own set of controls. That means you can leave reactions on for FaceTime but disable them for Zoom if so desired.

This panel lets you enable or disable portrait background blur, studio lighting, or reactions triggered by hand gestures. Both portrait background blur and studio lighting each have sliders for adjusting the amount of each effect. If your webcam supports Center Stage, this is also where you’ll find the per-app setting for it.

macOS Sonoma adds the new reactions section with eight effects. Each effect has its own icon that you can click to invoke the 3D augmented reality animation. That’s the sort of manual way to use reactions. The more pro move is to learn each hand gesture.

Gestures for each effect in macOS Sonoma

When reactions are enabled for an app, these eight effects can be invoked with their own hand gesture:

Hearts: Use two hands to form a heart shape
Thumbs up: Give a thumbs up
Thumbs down: Give a thumbs down
Balloons: Make a peace sign with one hand
Rain: Give two thumbs down
Confetti: Make a peace sign with each hand
Laser: Make bull horns with each hand
Fireworks: Give two thumbs up

Apple recommends that you “hold your hands away from your face, and pause for a moment” if you have trouble using gestures to invoke effects. Once you master these gestures, you’ve officially mastered macOS Sonoma.

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