During Wednesday’s Apple event, the company announced that MacOS Mojave will be exiting its beta status on September 24. The operating system was announced earlier this year at the Worldwide Developers Conference and developers and consumers have been helping Apple test the OS since then in beta editions. At the time, Apple promised that Mojave would be available for all Mac users on a compatible system to download this fall, and now it looks like users will be able to experience Mojave later in September.
“MacOS Mojave will be available this fall as a free software update for Macs introduced in mid-2012 or later, plus 2010 and 2012 Mac Pro models with recommended Metal-capable graphics cards,” Apple announced.
MacOS Mojave delivers a number of notable upgrades to the Mac experience. It brings a new night mode, bringing a dark theme interface to the Mac. The new Mojave night mode is designed, as Apple highlighted during its WWDC keynote, to help reduce eye strain for night owls who prefer to get work done in the dark. Apple will also be revamping its MacOS App Store with a refreshed design, and the company promised that some iOS apps will be available on the Mac for the first time with Mojave. These include popular apps from the iPhone, like News, Home, and Voice Memos. The Home app will allow Mac users to control their smart home setup from the Mac.
Other features include enhancements to the Finder, desktop stacks, dynamic desktops, Quick Actions, and an easier way to mark-up screenshots.
Another big Mojave update — and one that likely isn’t as attention-grabbing as the night mode — is that the new operating system is designed with user privacy in mind. The Safari web browser on Mojave will be updated to make it harder for sites to track you on the internet. Data privacy is becoming a growing topic of interest with lawmakers. With the European Union passing stricter privacy regulations earlier this year and California following suit this summer, the topic is now part of the national conversation with Apple scheduled to testify before the Senate about its privacy practices later this month.
