When I was reading over my macOS Monterey review in preparation for this one, I was struck by many features I thought I might end up using that I have not actually used.
I thought I might start using Shortcuts. I could see myself adopting Focus. I was sure I’d start tagging my notes. I thought I’d use Portrait Mode all the time. Tab Groups made me consider moving over to Safari. The new cards in Maps made Apple’s navigation software very tempting to switch to. Spoiler alert: I am still very much using Google Maps and Chrome on a daily basis, and I have not touched any of the aforementioned features since. This does not mean I was dishonest in that review or that these are objectively useless features. It turns out that I’m just going to continue to work the way that I work.
That’s gotten me thinking about the difference between “cool” and “essential.” As product lines mature, their devotees develop their ways of using them, and they come to expect the continued opportunity to use those products in those ways. New features may come along with obvious, intuitive ways that they could benefit workflows, but that doesn’t mean they’re filling holes that those workflows have.
“Cool” is well represented in the grab bag of updates that is macOS Ventura. “Essential” is less so. There are some tweaks to bring apps more in line with iOS and macOS or to catch up to popular competitors. There are features meant to, with the help of some third-party companies, paper over the limitations of the MacBook. There are some doodads to prevent distractions. FaceTime has been updated, again.
This time, I won’t overpromise: I don’t see much of this changing my daily process. And while I’m sure each of these updates will have their loud advocates, I also think there are many people for whom downloading Ventura will change virtually nothing. And that might, honestly, be a good thing. It might mean that macOS has already figured out what it needs to be.