Apple’s macOS Sequoia is here, and it’s packed with fresh features that aim to enhance productivity, creativity, and overall experience for Mac users.
Whether you’re writing, editing images, or just organizing your files, Sequoia brings several innovative tools.
Let’s explore some of the most exciting new additions.
Writing Tools
The new Writing Tools feature in macOS Sequoia transforms how you interact with text on your Mac.
These tools are designed for users who frequently write, whether for personal projects or professional work, and help quickly refine your text.
Here’s a breakdown of what you can expect:
Rewrite
Have you ever written something but felt it didn’t hit the right tone? Now, you can create different text versions while maintaining your style. This feature is perfect for tweaking your words without losing your voice.
Style Rewrite
Sequoia’s style rewriting feature is handy if you need your text to adopt a specific tone. Whether you want your content to be more professional, concise, or friendly, this tool adapts your text with a single click. It’s an excellent addition for people who prefer writing emails, reports, and casual messages.
Proofreading
Say goodbye to missed typos and grammar mistakes. With the built-in Proofread feature, Sequoia analyzes your text for potential improvements.
It suggests fixes for common issues and allows you to accept or reject changes at your discretion. The ability to quickly apply all suggestions is a significant time-saver for those who don’t want to manually edit their work.
Summarize
Sometimes, reading long documents takes up time you don’t have. The Summarize tool generates concise text overviews, helping you understand the critical points without slogging through everything. It helps summarize articles, emails, or even meeting notes.
Describe
Do you need to make specific changes to your text? This tool lets you describe what changes you want, whether simplifying the text or turning it into a formal letter. Sequoia takes your instructions and tailors the text accordingly.
Compose
For those who prefer starting from scratch, the Compose feature helps you generate original content quickly. You can even integrate image generation with ChatGPT, making adding visuals to your work easy.
Image Playground
The new Image Playground app is perfect for anyone who loves creating, remixing, and sharing images. Whether you’re an amateur or a seasoned artist, this tool simplifies designing and experimenting with visuals.
Concepts to Play With
Image Playground lets you choose from various concepts, such as themes, costumes, and accessories. These can easily be added to your images, allowing for endless creativity.
Using your photo library, you can place friends on the moon or family members on a surfboard, making the experience more personal.
Characters and Customizations
Want to create custom characters? Sequoia allows you to define their gender and skin tone and provide a brief description to make them unique. You can even use photos from your library to inspire the images you create.
Suggested Concepts
Are you unsure what to add next? The app intelligently suggests concepts based on previous choices, text messages, or notes. This feature adds an extra layer of creativity without much effort.
Animation and Illustration Styles
Sequoia offers different art styles for creating. Whether you prefer modern, 3D-animated designs or simple, playful illustrations, this app accommodates all artistic preferences. There’s also a Sketch Style for those who want a more academic, detailed look.
Messages Experience
Sequoia’s integration with Messages is seamless. When using Image Playground in Messages, the app will suggest concepts related to your conversations, making it easy to share customized images without leaving your chat. Plus, previously created images can be revisited and shared instantly.
Siri: Smarter and More Context-Aware
Siri gets a significant upgrade in macOS Sequoia with better context understanding and improved on-device intelligence. Whether you’re filling out forms or sending a message, Siri’s new abilities make it even more intuitive.
Personal Context Understanding
One of the most exciting features is Siri’s new ability to understand the context of your personal data, including emails, messages, photos, calendar events, and files.
For example, you can ask Siri to pull up a movie recommendation from a friend’s text or fill in your passport number from a saved image, all without manually searching for it.
In-App Actions
Siri has expanded its list of in-app actions, making it easier to control both Apple and third-party apps with just your voice.
Whether you want to adjust the warmth of a photo or add it to a note, Siri handles these tasks seamlessly, moving between apps as needed.
Conversational Resilience
If you stumble over words or change your mind mid-sentence, Siri won’t miss a beat. It’s more resilient to requests, allowing for a natural conversation flow. Siri can also maintain context between requests, making it easier to build on previous commands.
ChatGPT Integration
Siri can now use ChatGPT to answer complex questions, especially those involving PDFs or other documents. If Siri determines ChatGPT will respond better, you’ll be notified before any information is sent.
Focus and Notifications
Sequoia introduces improved Focus settings and more intelligent notifications that aim to minimize distractions.
Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing
With Focus, macOS Sequoia can now intelligently determine which notifications are essential and which can wait.
For example, a text about your dinner plans might break through during Do Not Disturb, but non-urgent emails will stay silent.
Priority Notifications and Summaries
Notifications are now grouped in stacks based on importance. Urgent messages or updates will rise to the top, while less critical ones will remain grouped for you to check later.
You can also have notification summaries read aloud when using AirPods or CarPlay, so you don’t miss anything important.
Photos
With Sequoia, the Photos app becomes more intelligent, offering enhanced search capabilities and more tools for personalizing pictures.
Natural Language Search
Searching for specific photos just got easier. You can now describe what you’re looking for in natural language, like “dog on the couch” or “sunset at the beach,” Photos will deliver the exact images. It even works for actions within videos, directing you to the right segment without hassle.
Clean Up Tool
Have you ever had a great photo ruined by something in the background? The Clean Up Tool removes unwanted objects, giving you a perfect shot.
Smart Replies
Both Mail and Messages now offer Smart Reply options, making it quicker to respond with relevant answers based on the conversation’s context.
In Mail, these suggestions help answer specific questions, crafting detailed replies ready to send with minimal effort.
Summaries and Previews
In both apps, message previews now show brief summaries rather than the first few lines of text, helping you get the key points without opening the entire message. Thread summaries also quickly recap ongoing conversations in lengthy email chains.
Final Thoughts
macOS Sequoia packs various features to improve daily tasks, from writing and organizing images to enhancing communication and personalizing Siri. The level of integration across apps and services is impressive, making the whole experience feel seamless. Whether you’re a creative professional or enjoy exploring new tech, Sequoia has something for everyone.
