Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

macOS Ventura launches with Stage Manager and redesigned apps

Many months after being announced at WWDC 2022, macOS Ventura has now exited beta and is available to download for all.

In addition to a bright orange new wallpaper, the update comes with a number of new features, including Stage Manager, Continuity Camera, and a host of redesigned apps.

Stage manager in macOS Ventura.
Digital Trends

Stage Manager is the biggest — and most controversial — new feature. While some have enjoyed the intuitive way it handles window organization, the new approach to multitasking certainly feels designed more for the iPad than for MacBooks.

Recommended Videos

Continuity Camera, on the other hand, is a neat way of replacing your crusty old MacBook webcam with the camera of your iPhone. If you have a MacBook that is a couple of years old, using Continuity Camera offers a significant upgrade to image quality in video calls.

Other smaller upgrades include redesigned System Preferences (now called Settings), FaceTime Handoff, SharePlay in Messages, an overhauled Mail app, and more. There are even some new dedicated apps, such as Clock and Weather.

Apple's Craig Federighi using an iPhone as a webcam with Continuinty Camera in macOS Ventura.
Apple

The announcement comes just a week after Apple announced some updates to its iPad lineup and iPadOS.

MacOS Ventura is compatible with the following Mac computers:

  • iMac (2017 and later)
  • MacBook Pro (2017 and later)
  • MacBook Air (2018 and later)
  • MacBook (2017 and later)
  • Mac Pro (2019 and later)
  • iMac Pro
  • Mac mini (2018 and later)

The Ventura update leaves out any Macs before 2016 that last year’s macOS Monterey supported.

In particular, those include the 2013 Mac Pro, 2014 Mac Mini, 2015 MacBook Air, 2015 MacBook Pro, 2015 iMac, 2016 MacBook, and 2016 MacBook Pro.

The update comes as a part of Apple’s fall releases, which have been dropped on Apple’s website without the buzz of a full-on event.

Luke Larsen
Former Senior Editor, Computing
Luke Larsen is the Senior Editor of Computing, managing all content covering laptops, monitors, PC hardware, Macs, and more.
Apple’s glass-like software redesign sounds cool, but it isn’t exactly new
Concept design with glass aesthetics on iPad.

Apple and its obsession with aesthetics are a well-documented part of its history. At WWDC 2025, the company is going to embark on a fresh design chapter inspired by glass elements. Think transparency and reflections, carried over to the app icons, windows, and widgets on your iPhone’s screen. The tablets and desktops, too. 

Word on the street is that “glassmorphism” is back. Sebastiaan de With, an ex-Apple designer and the mind behind excellent apps like Kino and Halide, joked that after the WWDC keynote, you can no longer use the word glassmorphism.

Read more
I’m using this powerful macOS feature that many ignore, and you should too 
Background apps on M4 MacBook Air.

MacOS is preferred for its fluidity and seamlessness. Of course, solid hardware and fire-breathing silicon add to its appeal, but the software experience developed by Apple focuses on convenience and security more than anything. 

In its quest to do so, however, Apple has often ignored glaring functional holes in the OS. The lack of a native clipboard is one such as miss, one that is addressed by excellent third-party apps such as Maccy. The Menu Bar is another similar tale of missed opportunities. 

Read more
A sticky notes app for Safari transformed how I get work done on macOS
Sticky Notes on a Safari webpage.

Just a few days ago, the Mozilla Foundation announced that Pocket was shutting down. One of the most popular bookmarking and webpage saving tools out there, especially among journalists and researchers, Pocket leaves a gap that will be hard to fill. 

The absence will be felt deeply because there’s no viable alternative that can offer it all in a polished package. To users tied to the Apple Mac ecosystem, they have even fewer choices for a few reasons. The most notable among them all? Safari’s save later and bookmarking system. 

Read more