Operating System

A Brief Look at the Features of MacOS Catalina

MacOS Catalina is the new MacOS update released this year. You may wonder about the reason to go for this update. Well, the first reason is that this operating system allows you to use your iPad as a second screen of your Mac computer. Secondly, this OS comes with a TV app.

Apple has been updating its Mac operating system every autumn. It means that Apple works on a deadline to collect data and release an update every year to eliminate the shortcomings in MacOS. This year is no different because we have got MacOS Catalina on its scheduled time.

The sequence of this update every year started from 2013 with the release of Mavericks. The reason for switching to updating system is that Apple had been planning to get rid of developing an entirely new operating system after a number of years and then putting it on display to show its availability. After 2013, Mac users were able to get their operating systems updated without spending an extra penny.

However, it will not be entirely true if we say that you are not going to have to pay a single penny to upgrade to MacOS Catalina. The update itself may be free of costs but there are some hidden costs which you may have to pay. For instance, there are some hardware limitations that restrict MacOS Catalina to be run only on a few machines. If your computer is not compatible, you may have to upgrade your system to be able to run this operating system. Moreover, there are many apps which Catalina doesn’t support. And so, you might have to buy compatible apps for this operating system.

IPad as the second screen

The feature which has become an advertisement of MacOS Catalina is Sidecar. This is the option that you can use to turn your iPad into the second screen of your Mac computer. However, there are a few iPads which can be used as side screens of Mac computers. Those iPads include:

• iPad Pro (12.9in, 11in, 10.5in iPad Pro, 9.7in 2016-2018)
• iPad (6th and 5th generation, 2017-2018)
• iPad mini (5th generation and iPad mini 4, 2015-2019)
• iPad Air (3rd generation and iPad Air 2, 2014-2019)

The Sidecar option allows you to use the iPad as either an extension of the Mac computer or a mirror screen. It all depends upon your requirements.

Other features

While signature features are getting all of the attention, some other features are also there to make a statement. For instance, the new Podcast app allows users to manage the favorite podcasts in the way they want.

Another feature is the Photos. The OS has a built-in AI which is capable of choosing the best photos and bring them to the showcase. This feature also auto-plays the videos and live photos when you review them.

Mail is another very important app of this operating system. The best thing about this app is that now you can manage your emails in much smarter way. Now you can block emails from a particular sender and send those mails directly to the trash. You can also unsubscribe to mailing lists. You will also be able to mute an email thread which has become quite active.

MacOS Catalina is bringing with it great features which you are surely going to like. The update might not run on certain computers but if you are already running the compatible hardware, you are in luck.