macOS Catalina

88 'macOS Catalina' stories April 2019 - June 2019

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macOS Catalina Release Date

macOS Catalina was released on October 7th, 2019 via a free over-the-air update.

macOS Catalina Features

macOS 10.15 is known as macOS Catalina. The new software brings with it standalone apps for Music, TV, and Podcasts as Apple retires iTunes.

As we expected, Apple unveiled a feature called Sidecar that allows an iPad to be used as a second Mac display in a few different ways. “Find My” is a revamped app that combines Find My Phone and Find My Friends and will now be available on the Mac.

A new Accessibility focused feature called Voice Control brings an even more powerful experience with rich navigation to users with verbal controls via on-device processing.

Screen Time is also making its way from iOS to macOS to help users be more aware of the time they spend on their notebook or desktop. Meanwhile, Apple’s UIKit framework is coming to the Mac now officially named Project Catalyst, formerly called Marzipan. This lets developers seamlessly port iPad apps to macOS.

Supported Devices

The following Macs are able to update and install the macOS 10.15:

12-inch MacBook
MacBook Air, 2012 and later
MacBook Pro, 2012 and later
Mac mini, 2012 and later
iMac, 2012 and later
iMac Pro
Mac Pro, 2013 and later

Top Stories

Our recent stories can be read below:

macOS Catalina

macOS 10.15 Catalina tidbits: iMessage effects, Auto Dark Mode, Sidecar limitations, more

Chance Miller Jun 6 2019 - 5:35 pm PT

macOS Catalina Public Beta

Earlier this week, we rounded up some of the hidden iOS 13 features. Now, we’re diving deeper into macOS 10.15 Catalina, highlighting some of the lesser-known features included in this year’s Mac update.

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Luna Display says it’s ‘not going anywhere’ as it competes head-on with Apple’s Sidecar feature

Chance Miller Jun 6 2019 - 12:47 pm PT

Best portable displays for MacBooks - sidecar

As we first reported, Apple at WWDC announced a new Sidecar feature in macOS 10.15 Catalina that allows you to use your iPad as an external display for your Mac. Now, Luna Display, one of the popular third-party options for such a feature, has announced performance and interface improvements, and addressed the new competition from Apple.

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macOS Catalina

Apple publishes new support document outlining iTunes changes in macOS Catalina

Chance Miller Jun 5 2019 - 2:48 pm PT

We’ve gradually been learning more about Apple’s plans to transition away from iTunes on the Mac in favor of new standalone Music, Podcasts, and TV applications. This afternoon, Apple published a full support document detailing what happens to iTunes when macOS Catalina is released to the public this fall.

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Apple details how offline location works in ‘Find My’ app, will require you own two Apple devices

Chance Miller Jun 5 2019 - 2:12 pm PT

Find My unifies Find my iPhone and Find my Friends

One of the most intriguing changes in iOS 13 and macOS 10.15 is a merged Find My Friends and Find My iPhone application. The new app converts all of your Apple devices into Bluetooth beacons, enabling you to locate an offline device based on its proximity to any other Apple device. Now, Apple is offering up a bit more detail about the security features for the Find My application.

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macOS Catalina

Apple officially kills Dashboard in macOS 10.15 Catalina

Chance Miller Jun 4 2019 - 3:06 pm PT

dashboard dead macOS Catalina

While macOS Catalina includes many new features and enhancements, at least one iconic Mac feature has bit the dust. With macOS 10.15, Apple has killed its famous Dashboard feature completely. This comes after Apple made it increasingly hard to access with last year’s Mojave release.

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macOS Catalina

macOS Catalina includes a gorgeous new wallpaper, download it here

Chance Miller Jun 4 2019 - 9:10 am PT

macOS Catalina Public Beta

Yesterday afternoon we rounded up all of the new wallpapers in iOS 13, which includes a total of eight new images. macOS 10.15 Catalina also includes a new wallpaper, and you can download it below.

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What happens to music ripped from CDs in the new Mac Music app?

Ben Lovejoy Jun 4 2019 - 7:21 am PT

The decision to retire iTunes in favor of a standalone Mac Music app (alongside separate Podcast and TV apps) will please many of us, but it did leave a few unanswered questions.

With Apple these days very focused on streaming music, what happens to music ripped from CD once we make the switch to the new Music app in macOS Catalina, for example … ?

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Apple releases first developer betas of iOS 13, iPadOS 13, watchOS 6, macOS 10.15, and tvOS 13

Guilherme Rambo Jun 3 2019 - 12:24 pm PT

Apple has just released the first developers betas of iOS 13, iPadOS 13, watchOS 6, macOS 10.15 and tvOS 13. The updates are available through the developer portal, for members of the Apple Developer Program. Currently, the iOS 13 beta must be installed using an IPSW through iTunes, we’ll update the post if a profile is made available.

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New Find My feature finds Mac even when sleeping by using other people’s Apple devices

Ben Lovejoy Jun 3 2019 - 12:08 pm PT

Find My unifies Find my iPhone and Find my Friends

macOS Catalina adds a new Find My feature, which combines Find My iPhone and Find My Friends.

Finding a lost or stolen Mac works even when the machine is sleeping …

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macOS Catalina

What to expect from macOS 10.15: New apps, Siri Shortcuts, Screen Time, and more

Chance Miller May 29 2019 - 3:31 pm PT

WWDC 2019

We’re less than a week away from WWDC 2019, and this year is shaping up to be a big one. Thus far we’ve rounded up everything we know about iOS 13 and watchOS 6, but this year’s WWDC will also mark the unveiling of macOS 10.15. Read on for a roundup of what features, improvements, and more to expect with macOS 10.15 this year.

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Exclusive screenshots reveal new Music and TV apps on macOS 10.15

Guilherme Rambo May 29 2019 - 8:37 am PT

macOS Music TV apps

Not a mockup, some information redacted to protect our sources.

The next major version of macOS is expected to be announced next week during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. Yesterday, we shared exclusive screenshots of iOS 13, showcasing Dark Mode, a new Reminders app and a brand new screenshot annotation UI. Today, we have screenshots that give us a glimpse as to what the new Music and TV apps are going to look like on macOS, shared exclusively with 9to5Mac by people involved in their development.

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New macOS 10.15 Music app code based on iTunes, not iOS

Guilherme Rambo May 9 2019 - 9:30 am PT

Music app macOS 10.15

We previously discovered the new standalone Music app to be included in the next major version of macOS, 10.15. In that post, we mentioned the new Music app would be made using Marzipan, that lets iOS apps run on the Mac. Recently, sources familiar with the development of the OS reached out, correcting that information.

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Siri Shortcuts, Screen Time, and other iOS features coming to the Mac with 10.15

Guilherme Rambo Apr 19 2019 - 7:48 am PT

macOS 10.15 features

Apple is working on bringing the Mac and iOS closer together with the introduction of macOS 10.15 and iOS 13. Siri Shortcuts, Screen Time, and more are expected to be unveiled for Mac during its Worldwide Developers conference in June.

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Apple planning Luna Display-like desktop extension feature for macOS 10.15, codenamed ‘Sidecar’

Guilherme Rambo Apr 16 2019 - 6:21 am PT

new Mac display feature

It’s undeniable that one of the best characteristics of every Apple product is its display. Apple ships computers – from iPads to iMacs – with great quality, well calibrated displays that can be used for professional work which requires a great level of fidelity. Now, it appears Apple is working a new Mac and iPad display feature to launch with macOS 10.15.

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With Music for macOS coming soon, legacy iTunes features will disappear or spread to iOS

Zac Hall Apr 11 2019 - 9:53 am PT

apple music student

The big news this week is that this fall may finally be the beginning of the end for iTunes. 9to5Mac’s Gui Rambo independently confirmed that the next major version of macOS will introduce standalone Music and Podcasts apps on the Mac. iTunes is expected to stick around for now, which suggests Apple’s new apps won’t include every legacy feature, but iPad-based versions of Music and Podcasts would actually introduce features to the Mac that aren’t available yet.

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Next major macOS version will include standalone Music, Podcasts, and TV apps, Books app gets major redesign

Guilherme Rambo Apr 10 2019 - 6:18 am PT

macOS 10.15 new apps

During the “It’s show time” event in late March, Apple announced that the TV app would be coming to the Mac soon. This naturally sparked discussions about whether Apple would be bringing its other media apps to the Mac, finally splitting up iTunes into distinct applications.

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