Your MacBook will get the ‘most advanced’ free update in years

If you own a MacBook laptop or Mac desktop, you should check today to see if you’re getting one of the biggest free updates Apple has gotten in years. The tech giant just unleashed macOS Sequoia, the latest version of the Mac operating system — and there are some big improvements that could improve your everyday computing experience, especially if you also own an iPhone.

macOS Sequoia is the twenty-first official version of Macintosh software since 2001, when the famous computer company first began using the “OS” brand. The best thing about this update is that it is completely free for eligible computers and can be downloaded today.

While macOS is a very mature operating system, meaning that there’s not much that changes with updates these days, the latest update does bring some useful and thoughtful new features that are worth adding to your MacBook, Mac mini, iMac, Mac Studio, or Mac Pro if you want to take advantage of all the latest Apple technology goodness.

It’s worth noting that Apple Intelligence, Apple’s new suite of AI features, won’t be coming to Macs until later this year, likely in December, when it will also arrive on iPhones.

For now, the best new macOS feature is iPhone Mirroring, which lets you mirror your iPhone’s screen to your Mac. This lets you view your entire iPhone as a floating window, letting you launch apps, check notifications, and generally use your phone as if you were holding it.

“macOS Sequoia, the latest version of the world’s most advanced desktop operating system, is available today as a free software update for Mac,” Apple announced. “macOS Sequoia introduces exciting new features, including iPhone Mirroring, which extends Continuity to let you access and control your iPhone directly from macOS.”

Because your Mac and iPhone are already connected through Apple’s iCloud technology, you can already do things like access your iMessages from your phone using the Messages app on your Mac. But now you can use all of your apps and services right on your MacBook screen, without having to take your iPhone out of your pocket or bag. This will be very useful for focusing on one screen while still being able to access your phone and browse apps on your Mac that aren’t available in the Mac App Store.

Your iPhone notifications can now also appear natively in your Mac’s notification system. This link is also interactive, and you can drag and drop files, photos, and videos between your Mac and iPhone.

This should improve the way you multitask on your Mac, which is also aided by another cool update called window tiling. The advantage of a large computer screen is the ability to run multiple apps at once, but until now, everything has been pretty manual on MacBooks. With window tiling, you can now drag a window to the edge of the screen, and the system will let you pin it to half or a quarter of the screen, filling the rest of the screen with other programs. It’s (whisper it) very similar to Microsoft Windows, but it’s a quick way to work on two things at once without having to switch between apps.

If you have a modern iPhone, you can also enjoy the new iOS 18, which has a brand new Passwords app — and thanks to macOS Sequoia, your Mac has one too. This app does what it promises, storing all your logins and passwords, allowing you to search for them or autofill the information into the appropriate fields when you log into an app or website you already have credentials for. It can also help you create strong, unique passwords, rather than just reusing that easy-to-guess, insecure one you’ve been using for years.

This works well in Apple’s Safari browser, but it’s nice to see Apple acknowledge that some users use Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge on their Macs — both of which have Passwords app extensions available.

The Notes app is a widely used app across all Apple devices, and it shines particularly brightly on the MacBook with the latest macOS update. You can now add audio clips and recordings directly to a note, which is really useful for remembering quick thoughts or bits of information. Similarly, the addition of collapsible sections in headings and subheadings means you can make long notes more digestible and interactive. It’s high time the Notes app was a bit more powerful, and we’re glad to see Apple taking on, ahem, Notes.

These are the most important changes coming to the latest macOS Sequoia update, but there are also improvements to the Calculator, Calendar, and Photos apps, and the system will work nicely with AirPods updates, so you can answer calls by nodding or dismiss them by shaking your head.

macOS Sequoia is now available as a free download for the following Mac and MacBook computers: