It’s that time of year again where we are starting to hear murmurs of what we might be able to expect from the next major software iterations for Apple’s iPhone, iPad, Watch and Mac.
While finta a few details have appeared around watchOS 10 and iOS 17, we’ve heard less about what could be coming for iPad with iPadOS 17 and Mac with macOS 14. That said, there are a couple of rumours floating around. Here is everything we have heard so far, including when we expect it to be announced and what we want to see.
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macOS 14 release date
- 5 June: Expected announcement
- July: Public betas of macOS 14 could arrive
- October: Possible final release date for macOS 14
Apple has announced it will be holding its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) between 5 June and 9 June 2023, with the Day One keynote taking place on 5 June. It is during this keynote that the company typically announces all the features coming to its major product ranges, including Mac.
It is therefore expected we will find out about some of the features coming to Mac later this year with macOS 14 in early June, with a public beta of the new software likely arriving around July 2023, if previous patterns are followed.
Unlike iOS 16 that saw its final build release in September alongside the iPhone 14 models, the macOS 13 Ventura final software build wasn’t released until October 2022 and the same applied for Monterey in 2021. It is likely then that while the features for macOS 14 will be announced at the same time as iOS 17 at WWDC, we may have to wait until October or November 2023 for the final build to arrive on Macs.
What will macOS 14 be called?
Unlike all of Apple’s other software operating systems, macOS doesn’t just have a number to distinguish it from the previous versions. For several years, the software iterations were named after cats – we still remember when macOS Snow Leopard came out. That was probably our favourite name.
In 2013, Apple then switched from big cats to locations in California – Maverick, Big Sur, Yosemite, El Capitan and Ventura have all featured, with the latter being the latest version, otherwise known as macOS 13.
It’s currently not clear whether Apple will stick with locations in the Golden State or whether it will change it up for this year. Either way, macOS 14 will most likely continue with tradition and offer a more exciting identity other than just a number.
macOS 14 features
Rumours are thin on the ground at the moment in terms of what features we might see appear with macOS 14, so it’s not yet known whether we are looking at a super exciting upgrade, or more of a subtle one. It’s been rumoured that iOS 17 will bring «nice to have features» for example rather than an overhaul, while watchOS 10 is said to be the biggest upgrade since the launch of the Apple Watch in 2015. Mark Gurman has reported that he’s not expecting major macOS changes so it’s looking like it could be a playing it safe year this time.
A number of features were announced with macOS Ventura, including Stage Manager, updates to Mail, updates to the Focus feature and the introduction of a productivity app called Freeform. There were a couple of other updates too, though it was arguably Stage Manager that stole the show.
For the next macOS software update, we will likely see a number of improvements to native apps, like Mail and Safari, even if these come in minor updates. We’d love to see Widgets on macOS and a few more mobile apps would be great too, though for now, there’s not much to suggest what is coming.
Which MacBooks and iMacs will be compatible with macOS 14?
For now there is no official confirmation as to what Macs will support next macOS software, though the company is pretty good at supporting older devices with its new software.
The list below all support macOS Ventura, so it’s possible they will also support macOS 14, but for now, we will have to wait and see.
- iMac: 2017 and later
- iMac Pro: 2017 and later
- MacBook Air: 2018 and later
- MacBook Pro: 2017 and later
- Mac Pro:2019 and later
- Mac mini: 2018 and later
- MacBook: 2017 and later
macOS 14 rumours: What’s happened so far?
This is everything we have heard so far about macOS 14.
16 April 2023: New Mac software expected at WWDC
Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reported that Apple was planning to show off its macOS 14 software at WWDC, alongside the Mixed Reality headset and the xrOS, new MacBooks, iPadOS 17, iOS 17 and a «major watchOS 10 update».