macOS 14 Speculation Thread

[WilliApple]

macOS 14 is 8 days away from being released to developers. In this thread, we will be going over all of the macOS 14 features that we know.

Supported Devices​

macOS support for Intel macs are based on the support that Intel gives the processor that they put in. Assuming that nothing gets announced by Intel now until June 5, here is what we have so far:

This is what we have so far:
- 2017 MacBook Pro and newer
- 2018 MacBook Air and newer
- 2018 Mac mini and newer
- 2017 iMac and iMac Pro
- 2019 Mac Pro
- M1 Ultra Mac Studio

The 2017 12 inch MacBook is very likely to get dropped this year, however, there is a chance that this Mac can get macOS 14 this year.

Feature that could come​

Not much is known about macOS 14. We know a lot about iOS 17 already, but I analyzed a bunch of stuff and looked at previous leaks for macOS 13, macOS 14, and looked at patents as well.

Forward Arrow Button:

It looks like in certain apps, you will be able to go back forward if you go back in a menu. Not sure if Apple will open this up for all apps, or if it’s just System Settings. Knowing Apple, I think it will be for apps that use NavigationSplitViews and NavigationStacks.

It is rumored for iPadOS 17 that there will be a Health app there. Since we have HealthKit API’s in macOS 13, we probably will get the Health app in macOS 13 as well and it will use Mac Catalyst to port the app to the Mac.

Mark Gurman says that macOS 14 will bring a ton of iOS features that have not yet been ported to the Mac. A couple of notable ones include Apple Music Classical, Apple Music Sing, Custom Lock Screens, Translate App, Clean Energy Charging, and Live Activities.

It is said that Messages will be getting a visual overhaul in iOS 17. This is expected to be ported due to Messages being a Catalyst app.

Apple filed a patent last year showing off Widgets on the desktop. This was not released in macOS 13, so macOS 14 is a possibility for this being shown off.

A control center redesign is expected to be shown off in iOS 17. Apple could very well bring these changes to the Mac control center.

Touch Screen Macs are rumored to ship sometime soon. Apple could possibly adjust the UI to be more touch friendly.

Possible California Names​

Out of all of these, 2 seem to be the most likely:
- Mammoth
- Sequoia
- Somona
- Redwood
- Shasta

These were all found within trademarks, but Mammoth and Sequoia are the most likely.

Speculate​

What features do you want in macOS 14 and what do you think is coming? Reply down in the comments below!

 

[DarkPremiumCho]

• A menubar management feature would be nice.
• Make System Preferences better, oh wait, it's called settings now. Please, Apple.
• An improved Siri perhaps?

 

[WilliApple]

• A menubar management feature would be nice.
• Make System Preferences better, oh wait, it's called settings now. Please, Apple.
• An improved Siri perhaps?

Are you talking about tools like HiddenBar built directly into macOS?
System Settings probably won't change back to a grid view mostly because they want to keep it consistent, but I do see them moving a few things around to make sure it is consistent between iOS, which is probably what you were not wishing unfortunately.
And "Siri X" appears to be in development but we are not sure if it will release in macOS 14, maybe 15 tbh.

 

[gilby101]

I think you are far too optimistic about supported models. The question is which (if any) non-T2 Intel Macs will be supported. I think these are all at risk: iMac18.1, 18.3, 19.1, 19.2, MacBook10.1, MacBookPro14.1, 14.2, and 14,3.

 

[DarkPremiumCho]

Are you talking about tools like HiddenBar built directly into macOS?

Yeah. Maybe customizable like the iOS lock-screen.

 

[WilliApple]

I think you are far too optimistic about supported models. The question is which (if any) non-T2 Intel Macs will be supported. I think these are all at risk: iMac18.1, 18.3, 19.1, 19.2, MacBook10.1, MacBookPro14.1, 14.2, and 14,3.

The MacBook10,1 sounds like it will not get macOS 14, but what makes you think that non T2 Macs won't get macOS 14? Ending support for the 2017 and the 2019 iMac, but not the 2018 MacBook Air and 2019 MacBook Air sounds very unreasonable. I also discovered that macOS support is based on if Intel is still supporting the CPU with updates. Im saying maybe with MacBook10,1 because it is still supported by Intel, but the Intel M3 processor may not be very usable on macOS 14. There is a chance that it will make the cut tho!

 

[MacGizmo]

New features​

I don't see Apple adding these (ever), but I would love to see:

• Something similar to Rectangle for window management (snapping, sizing, placement on screen, and move to another display, etc.)
• The ability to have multiple Finder directories open in a single window similar to Forklift.
• Preview zip files in the Finder with Quick Look, as well as the ability to pull single files from the zip without expanding the entire file, similar to BetterZip.

Fixes​

I think we've lived long enough with this horsepoo:

• For the love of God, Finder window sizes need to be consistent. Once I size a window to (insert arbitrary size), EVERY window needs to be that size, no matter if it's a new window or an old one. EVERY TIME. There are apps like FinderFix that do this... but only with new windows.
• Make Preview a better app. The list is too long for discussion here, but annotations are severely lacking, and the overall use of the app is clunky compared to every other PDF editor on the market.
• There is an opportunity for a ton of improvement in Apple's Mail app. But one thing that drives me batsh!t crazy is Mail marking a message as read simply because I clicked on the Subject in the source list. I would love it if we could customize an amount of time a message has to be viewed before marking it as read - a bunch of email apps on the market do this, and there's even a plugin available that will do this now (but the plugin is part of a larger "bundle" that is quite expensive for this one feature).
• The News app is virtually unusable for me on the Mac. The font size is ridiculously small. I have a 34" display, it would be nice if News were responsive so it filled the width of the window, and the size of the entire interface adjustable in the same way a website is. What is the point of having a 5k monitor if you have to set the resolution to 1080p just to have the text reasonably sized for readability?
• Spaces is great... if only it worked the way it should. If I have Mail set to "Space #2, it should ONLY open in Space #2 - no matter how I invoke it or create a new message. And we shouldn't have to have an app in Full Screen mode in order for it to work this way. This goes for the Finder as well.

 

[WilliApple]

What I mainly want (speaking for a lot of Gen Z) is customizable lock screens on the Mac.

Also, the Lock Screen has been untouched since 2013! It might be time to shine some light on it.

 

[theMarble]

Also, the Lock Screen has been untouched since 2013! It might be time to shine some light on it.

It was heavily updated in Yosemite (removed the white square behind the lock panel and got rid of the vignette and drop shadows), then tweaked slightly in Mojave (same general design as the Yosemite version, but the username text was enlarged and bolded), and then again with the new design in Big Sur.

 

[WilliApple]

It was heavily updated in Yosemite (removed the white square behind the lock panel and got rid of the vignette and drop shadows), then tweaked slightly in Mojave (same general design as the Yosemite version, but the username text was enlarged and bolded), and then again with the new design in Big Sur.

Design in Big Sur, would say its minimal like in Mojave, and I meant 2014 with Yosemite.

 

[Siliconpsychosis]

i just want finder to remember window sizes at this point. anything else is a bonuis

 

[rehkram]

I'd like to see an incremental update to Freeform since I use it daily. Top of my wishlist is to be able to create text tables (tables as in column formatted lists, not database tables), either on the fly or by copy-pasting from another app

 

[gilby101]

macOS support for Intel macs are based on the support that Intel gives the processor that they put in

The GPU (both Intel and external) and what Metal support has been a more obvious sticking point for recent upgrades. I speculate that security (i.e. OS lockdown) may be the key this time.

 

[George Dawes]

Just be reliable and work , like in the old days

Probably get lots of pointless shiny stuff and a load of new emoji's

 

[gank41]

I posted this in the iOS 17 Speculation Thread, but for macOS 14 specifically, hopefully the Apple Mail App starts to behave more like a Secure Mail app and doesn't just dump you into the next unread email after you delete or move an Email. I hate that, and it's been brought up by people in my work as a reason to just not use the app at all (FB10280669)..

 

[Account25476]

I have nothing against you guys, but this type of discussion is utopian. It often includes lists of (very valid) suggestions that Apple is unlikely to implement, or if they do, they will only adopt a tiny fraction of what they could. It's a waste of time taking about it now.

 

[gank41]

I have nothing against you guys, but this type of discussion is utopian. It often includes lists of (very valid) suggestions that Apple is unlikely to implement, or if they do, they will only adopt a tiny fraction of what they could. It's a waste of time taking about it now.

Since when is talk of speculation a waste of time? Maybe to you. And if so, another forum or website is only a click away!

 

[wellander1]

I vote for no intel support.

 

[flowrider]

^^^^I got a bridge back east (between NJ & NY) for sale - You Interested❓

Can you imagine the outcry if they discontinued support for Intel

But if it does, I'll buy you that bridge - You have my word🤗

Lou

 

[gank41]

I vote for no intel support.

No way! Maybe announce it to be the last to support Intel, but don’t just drop it now. My 2018 Intel Mac mini would be very sad.

 

[MacGizmo]

Given that they're still selling Intel Macs, I suspect Intel support in the OS is still years away from being pulled.

 

[wellander1]

Remember the ipod touch?

 

[ldjpy]

I hope MacOS 14 keeps support for MacBook 12" 2017 [MacBook10,1] with 1.4GHz Dual-Core Intel Core I7, it is a beautiful machine, perfect weight & size!
MacOS 13 is too unreliable - caveat - I haven't tried 13.5 yet, so if 13.5 doesn't achieve reliability, then I will most likely roll-back to MacOS 12 Monterey for it.

Meanwhile, I am pretty sure that MacOS 14 will support the Intel MacMini 2018/2020 [Macmini8,1] with 3.2GHz 6-Core Intel Core I7.

I hope MacOS 14 corrects the [] - [About This Mac] window's "More Info..." button to properly open System Information instead of System Settings > General > About.

I would like it if MacOS 14 enhances Finder to be able to View > Group By > Date* for the previous year to be by months instead of lumping into one year! Every January all files prior to January are lumped into last year, when it makes obvious sense that those are recent enough to be grouped by months (at least make it configurable)! While we are at it, make it configurable for the past N years!

But most of all, I hope MacOS 14 is reliable like MacOS 12 was.

 

[flowrider]

Sonoma it is👍🏻

Lou

 

[fisherking]

1 more month of the ventura forum (am on the public beta); then on to the new OS, new whining, ranting, raving.. and the good stories too 👍