Apple, which is leaning heavily on its AI capabilities to drive a new wave of hardware upgrades, is set to release macOS Sequoia on September 16, marking the company's earliest major desktop operating system release to date.
First announced at WWDC 2024, the new OS introduces a suite of AI-powered features called Apple Intelligence, as well as the popular iPhone Mirroring.
Industry analysts see the rapid release as an attempt by Apple to boost hardware sales, with Morgan Stanley's Eric Woodring suggesting in a recent report that the AI capabilities could fuel Apple's “multi-year product refresh cycles” and accelerate device replacement rates.
With macOS Sequoia, users can expect more natural language processing in Siri, intelligent summarization in Notes, context-aware suggestions across apps, and more.
Sequoia also brings significant improvements to Apple's web browser, Safari: new highlighting features make finding information more intuitive, and an updated Reader Mode aims to enhance consumption of long-form content.
The Apple Intelligence suite will be available in beta starting next month. Some features will be available to U.S. English users initially. “Select features, additional languages and platforms will be available over the next year,” Apple said on its website. MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio and M2 Ultra-powered Mac Pro with Apple Silicon M1 or later will include Apple Intelligence features, Apple said.
Sequoia also includes iPhone mirroring, allowing users to access and control their iPhone directly from their Mac, making the computer act as an extension of the mobile device.
Apple says Sequoia also expands support for Mac gaming, with partnerships with major developers bringing titles like Assassin's Creed Shadows to the platform, and technical improvements like Metal 3 and MetalFX Upscaling to improve game performance on Mac hardware.
The quick release of macOS Sequoia strays from Apple's usual late September or October schedule for desktop OS updates as the company faces growing competition in the PC market and growing demand for AI capabilities in consumer technology.