Apple's macOS Sonoma Arrives With Desktop Widgets and More

Just like the iPhone and iPad, you can now add interactive widgets on your desktop. That allows you to do things like turn off lights or play music from a widget.

When you open up a or window or use Stage Manager, the widgets will fade into the background to allow better focus. The widget colors will even adapt to the wallpaper.

And you don’t even need to have a widget installed on your Mac to use it. With Continuity, you can add an iPhone widget to your desktop.

Gamers will be able to enjoy a new Game Mode. That will give games top priory on the CPU and GPU of the Mac. It will also reduce latency for wireless accessories like AirPods and game controllers.

For quick access to a site, you can add it to the Dock as a web app.

Apple has also added a number of new Video Conferencing features. A Presenter Overlay keeps you part of the conversation when screen sharing. React with your hands to fill the screen with 3D AR effects like hearts, confetti, and fireworks.

The Screen Sharing picker allows you to share an app or multiple apps when on a video call.

When using a Studio Display or iPhone as a camera, you can control the composition of your video.

Safari is also improved with the ability to create profiles. You can also share a set of passwords with trusted contacts. Private Browsing is also enhanced as windows are locked when not being used.

Messages is adding search filters where you can quickly find what you’re looking for. Swipe right on any message to reply. And a new catch-up arrow allows you to jump to the first message you haven’t seen. A sticker drawer lets you access Live Stickers and Memoji in one place.

You can see all of the changes in this list from Apple.

You can download the software on your Mac by selecting the Apple Menu and then About This Mac. Select Software Update to start the process. The download is large, so expect the entire process to take more than an hour.

The software is compatible with the following Macs:
iMac: Late 2019 and later

iMac Pro: 2017

MacBook Air: 2018 and later

MacBook Pro: 2018 and later

Mac Pro: 2019 and later

Mac mini: 2018 and later
Mac Studio: 2022 and later