macOS 13 Ventura has several major updates for Mac such as Stage Manager, Passkeys, camera continuity, and more. Even though you know a lot of them, thanks to WWDC 2022, there are many more cool features hidden inside that Apple wants you to discover for yourself.
Since it takes a lot of time to go through the entire OS and discover each feature, I did it for you and presented you with a list of the best hidden features of macOS Ventura. These include small and minor changes that will blow your mind. Read along to find out.
1. Set the timer, alarm and stopwatch with the new Clock app.
macOS Ventura introduces 3 new apps for Mac, and one of the three is the Clock app. When looking at the user interface, it will remind you of the Clock app from iPadOS and iOS. In case you hadn’t noticed, macOS doesn’t have a dedicated clock app (I just recently realized!).
The Clock app for Mac is a larger Clock app for iOS and iPadOS. You can set a timer, alarm and stopwatch. Whenever you start a timer or other actions in the app, they also appear in the menu bar at the top and remain there even after you close the app until it ends or you stop it manually.
To set an alarm:
- Clock → Alarm clock
- Click the Plus icon.
- Set the time when to repeat and sound.
- After making all the necessary changes, click Save.
Now to start the stopwatch:
- Clock → Stopwatch
- Press “Start”to start the stopwatch.
To start the timer you need:
- Clock → Timer.
- Set how long you want the timer to be.
- Choose which alert will play when the timer expires and click Start.
2. View weather updates in multiple locations.
The Weather app is the second new system app coming to Mac with macOS Ventura. Like the Clock app for Mac, the Weather app is an enhanced version of the same app available on iPhone and iPad.
In the weather app, you can get real-time information about various places. Details include UV index, 10-day forecast, sunset, wind, humidity, barometric pressure, and even the ability to view real-time rainfall details based on a map. You can also add various other places to the app to see their weather updates.
To add a new location to the Weather app:
- Find the desired location in the search bar.
- Choose a location.
- Now click the Plus button next to the search bar.
The places you have added can be accessed from the sidebar. To do this, click “Show Sidebar”in the upper left corner.
3. FaceTime transmission
While the Apple ecosystem is known for seamlessly transitioning activities between devices, you can’t continue a FaceTime call from one device to another. Now the problem is solved with the new version of macOS, iOS and iPadOS with FaceTime Handoff.
Let’s say you receive a FaceTime call on your iPhone, and if you’re near a Mac or iPad, you can transfer your call to those devices. What’s best is that even your Bluetooth audio product (with multi-device pairing) will connect to the Mac and keep the call going without interruption.
And, as you can guess, you can easily transfer a call from Mac to iPhone or iPad. In addition, Apple has promised to add Live Caption support for FaceTime calls. Unfortunately, it’s only limited to Macs with Apple Silicon, iPhone 11 and up, iPads with A12 and up.
4. Protect photos and albums with a password
Finally, macOS Ventura supports password protection in the Photos app. You don’t need to do anything to enable this feature as Hidden, and the password protects recently deleted partitions. When you try to open them, you will need to enter your device password to view them.
5. View duplicate photos
We can all agree that photos take up quite a bit of space on our Mac’s memory, and a lot of space can be saved by simply deleting similar images. That’s why Apple added a duplicates section to the Photos app. With this, you can see similar images or duplicates of the same image and then delete them.
6. Stage Manager
While not really a hidden feature, it’s certainly worth mentioning when it comes to macOS Ventura. Now you can use Stage Manager much better for multitasking. With Stage Manager, apps will be organized in a new way so you can easily switch between them while keeping your desktop clutter-free.
You can activate Stage Manager in macOS Ventura by selecting Control Center → Stage Manager.
7. Show Suggested Content in Memories
Memories is a feature available in the Photos app where you can view images taken at different times. As the name suggests, this feature helps you save memories. And in macOS 13, you can now enable the Featured Content option, which will show images from special instances.
To access it:
- Open the Photos app.
- Click “Photos”next to the Apple logo in the top left corner.
- Now click “Settings”(or use Command +,).
- Turn on Show featured content next to Memories.
8. Lift the subject from the background
Among the many other features added to the Photos app in macOS, the ability to copy an object in Quick Look is the feature that excites me the most. With this, you can copy the theme to your clipboard and paste it anywhere you like. Even though this feature is in beta, it works flawlessly and I’m sure you’ll love it too.
To copy a theme to Quick Look:
- Open the photo you want to try.
- Right-click and select Copy Topic. You will see white highlights around the subject.
- Now you can publish the theme anywhere.
Note. The ability to copy an object in Quick Look works on photos taken in portrait mode, or on photos in which the object stands out, as this will help the program to easily detect it.
9. Improved ways to lock a note
Until now, you could lock notes with a special passcode, which, if forgotten, could create a lot of trouble. So, macOS Ventura has made things easy; Now you can protect any note with a device password or Touch ID.
To lock a note:
- Open the Notes app.
- Right-click the note you want to lock.
- Click Lock note.
- Enter your Mac’s password to lock the note.
10. Collaborate on notes
With macOS 13, Apple has further improved the collaboration experience in the Notes app. Now you get more flexibility. First, anyone with the link can view the shared notes. In addition, you can edit the permission for who can make changes or access notes.
To collaborate notes:
- Open the note you want to collaborate with.
- Click the Share button.
- Select Collaborate.
- Select “Everyone can make changes”to manage permissions and share notes.
11. Schedule, cancel and set email reminders
Apple has taken its built-in mail app seriously in macOS Ventura to make it better or better than the competition. You can unsend an email within 10 seconds by clicking Unsend in the bottom left corner.
In addition, you can set reminders to reply to an email later at a convenient time and schedule emails. To schedule emails in the Mail app:
- Compose an email in the mail app.
- Click the button with the arrow next to the button.
- Schedule when to send mail.
If you want to set a reminder for a specific time, click Send Later, select a date and time, and click Schedule. And to set a reminder to read or reply later, all you have to do is:
- Right-click the mail for which you want to set a reminder.
- Click “Remind me”and choose when you want to be reminded.
Note. Some of these great features are also available in iOS 16. Check out all the hidden features in iOS 16 here.
12. More Intuitive Mail App
In addition to adding new features, Apple has also improved the existing search feature in the Mail app. Even after you make typos while searching, the Mail app will show you the actual spelling results and ask you if you meant the correct word.
In addition, the Mail app will warn/remind you to add attachments and recipients if you mention it in the email. With these features, Apple plans to attract more users to its email app.
13. Extended links support
The features added to the Mail app don’t stop there. The Mail app in macOS Ventura now supports formatted links. For those who don’t know, expanded links will give you a small preview of the content hidden behind the attached link. This is a handy feature as it will save you time browsing content without clicking on a link.
14. System settings
It looks like Apple doesn’t want users to get confused between the macOS and iOS user interface. In the new macOS 13, you can see UI tweaks that will be similar to iOS or iPadOS. You can see the main difference in System Preferences, which has been renamed to System Preferences.
To be honest, I was relieved to see “settings”instead of “preferences”and the user interface is now simple and easy to navigate. Anyone migrating from an iPhone or iPad will now have no problem navigating menus and options in the Settings app, as it is similar to iOS and iPadOS.
15. Freeform
Freeform is the third new app for macOS Ventura. Yes, I said “will”because this app was not released with the macOS Ventura beta and will only be released in later versions. But don’t worry; you will get this app when the stable build is released.
The app is a whiteboard-style digital canvas designed for collaboration. You can write, draw or import images to the whiteboard and share them with your friends, colleagues or anyone else.
16. Support quick actions in Spotlight
In addition to adding new features, Apple is taking what is already good to new heights. I’m talking about Spotlight. If you ask any Mac users, they will only get positive feedback about the search feature.
In macOS 13 Ventura, there’s a quick view in Spotlight. This way you can browse through images, files, videos and more just like you would in the Finder.
What’s more, macOS Ventura Spotlight also supports quick actions, such as setting a timer from the Spotlight search itself:
- Open the spotlight.
- Find a timer or clock.
- Click Create Timer.
- Select a timer duration and click Done.
Remember that you can only add one timer at a time as the multiple timers feature is still limited to watchOS and Homepod.
Eat more; now you can even find the song playing in the background from Spotlight itself. You don’t need to launch a shortcut or open the Shazam app.
17. Image search results
Now, when you search for a term in Spotlight, you will see results from your system and images containing the search term. This is a great feature, especially if you want to find something within an image but don’t want to have to worry about searching through all the images.
In addition, Spotlight received a completely redesigned user interface and improved search results.
Tab groups have made our lives easier in macOS Big Sur, and macOS 13 includes collaboration. That’s right, now you can share a set of tabs with your friends, family, colleagues and others.
- Create tab groups in Safari.
- Right-click a tab group and select Share Tab Group.
- Choose where you want to share the tab group.
Notably, users can add their own tabs to the group and others will receive instant updates about it. You can also have a dedicated start page for the tab group and tab pinning.
19. Sync Site Settings in Safari
Until now, you’ve been able to sync Safari tabs, bookmarks, and Reading List sections across devices. However, you can now sync your website-specific settings, such as page zoom or automatic reading.
The grant also applies to extensions as they can be synced between your Apple devices. To enable sync for extensions:
- Open Safari and click “Safari”in the top left corner.
- Click “Settings”and then go to “Extensions”.
- Here, turn on Share between devices.
20. Access codes
Passkeys are perhaps one of the best steps taken by Apple to protect your data. It replaces traditional passwords and lets you sign in to websites and apps with Touch ID. Passkeys will store your passwords on your device, and Apple has even said they can even work on Windows computers.
21. Camera Continuity
We can all agree that the MacBook’s camera is very average, which is a shame considering how good the device is in other departments. And although you can use your iPhone as a webcam all the time, you still need to use third-party apps.
With macOS 13 Ventura, you can now seamlessly use your iPhone camera as a Mac webcam. Using the camera, you can also use your iPhone’s microphone to record sound.
To use iPhone as a webcam during a FaceTime call on Mac:
- Open a supported app on your MacBook.
- A pop-up window will appear on the iPhone; tap to confirm the connection.
Similarly, the iPhone will act as a webcam for your Mac. To use the iPhone’s microphone, find the microphone settings in the app and select iPhone.
Interestingly, when using iPhone as a webcam, you can use features such as Center Stage, Studio Light, Portrait Mode, etc.
22. Desktop
Apple seems to have fiddled with the Desk View feature available with Camera Continuity. As the name suggests, with Desk View you can let others see what’s on your desk. But what’s surprising is how Apple can take a top-down shot when it’s only connected to the screen.
Source: Apple
It turns out that Apple is using its ultra-wide-angle camera to show us this different perspective, combined with the magic of its software. This feature is not currently available for macOS Ventura Beta 1, but it may be available in future beta releases soon.
23. Companion Controller
You could guess from the title that it might be related to friends, right? With the Buddy controller, macOS will combine input from multiple controls into one. In this way, your friend can help you complete some game tasks while you are having a hard time, or in many similar cases.
24. Live subtitles
Apple has now extended support for Live Captions to macOS Ventura. When enabled, it automatically generates a transcript of what is being said on the screen, so you can easily follow audio and video conversations, including FaceTime.
This is a great feature, especially for those with hearing problems. Also, as always, Apple cares about your privacy, so transcripts won’t show up in screenshots; neat, right?
25. Dictation
While live captioning transcribes what is being said on your screen, dictation transcribes what you are saying. Apple has greatly improved this feature by introducing a hybrid model. Now you can dictate and type at the same time.
In addition, this feature will automatically insert commas, periods, and question marks wherever needed. In fact, you can now also add emojis using dictation. Just remember the correct names of your favorite emojis.
That’s all!
macOS Ventura contains some amazing and promising updates designed to improve your daily productivity. Among the many features mentioned here, which is your favorite? Let me know in the comments.