Apple releases macOS Mojave

Announced during WWDC in June this year, Apple's macOS Mojave is now available as a free software update for Mac users. The new update should be available for most Mac models introduced in 2012 or later, and users will be able to upgrade directly from OS X Mountain Lion or later.

But before installing the update, it is recommended to back up the Mac using Time Machine or any other backup method available. macOS Mojave will need at least 2GB of memory and 12.5GB of available storage space to upgrade, or up to 18.5GB of storage space when upgrading from OS X Yosemite or earlier. The new OS can be downloaded from the 'Updates' tab in the Mac App Store. For compatible machines, the macOS Mojave will be listed at the top and clicking the update button should start downloading the file. Another option is to click on the Apple icon in the top left of the display, followed by 'About this Mac' and then clicking on Software Update button. This too opens the Mac AppStore. Once the download is finished, follow the prompts for installation. Here are some of the key updates and changes the new OS will bring to the machines.

Dark Mode

macOS Mojave brings the biggest user interface change of the recent years. The introduction of Dark Mode brings in a dark colour scheme, which the company believes makes it easy to focus while working and is easy on eyes too. Post updating their machines, users can choose between the light or dark appearance from the general setting under system preferences.

Dynamic Desktop

With macOS Mojave, the desktop background features a series of images that shift to match the time of day wherever a user is in the world. The desktop, featuring the rolling sand dunes of the Mojave Desert, transitions with different lighting variations based on the time of day, from dawn to morning, midday, dusk and evening.

Stacks for desktop

For many, desktop seems to be the default location for saving documents, images, screenshots and other files. Stacks is the new feature that will automatically gather files into groups based on their file type. For instance, all images will be stacked together in one folder, documents in another, and so on. Users will be able to choose to organize stacks by date or even by tags. Clicking on the stack spreads out the files neatly on the desktop.

Finder

There is a new Gallery View for scrolling through big previews of the files to visually identify the one you are looking for. Users will be able to scroll through the images, PDFs, presentations, or any other document - helping find the file by how it looks. In Preview Pane, users will be able to view the metadata for files and edit them directly in Finder with Quick Actions.

Screenshot Utility Tools

Apple has introduced advanced options within screenshots. Using the keyboard shortcut Command-Shift-5 will bring up new Screenshot Utility. Once the screenshot has been captured, users will be able to click on it immediately to mark it up with text and doodles, and send it in message or email.

Website icons in Safari tabs

For those who have lots of tabs open in Safari will now be able to enable website icons in tabs. This will allow users to identify their favourite tabs at a glance. The same can be activated by checking 'show website icons in tabs' in Safari Preferences.

Continuity Camera

Those using Apple ecosystem products will not find it easy to capture images, scan documents/objects and have them automatically appear on the Mac. Using the context menu (right-click) in Finder, Mail, Messages, Notes, Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, will display the new option to 'Take a Photo or Scan Document' right from the iPhone.

iOS apps for Mac

For the first time, popular iOS apps like News, Stocks, Voice Memos and Home are now available on your Mac. With News, users will get a quick glimpse of the news that matters in one app. The favourite topics, channels, and saved stories will be synced between devices.

Use stronger passwords with Safari

Addressing security concerns, in macOS Mojave, Safari will automatically suggest a strong, secure password whenever a new account is created. If a password has been used in the past, it will be flagged in Passwords in Safari preferences, helping users to quickly update with a stronger password and protect themselves from website account breaches.

Redesigned Mac App Store

Apple has completely redesigned the Mac App Store with macOS Mojave. There will be new app tabs for Create, Work, Play and Develop, highlighting new app suggestions, curated by the Mac App Store editorial team.