Image: Apple
In addition to iOS 16, iPadOS 16 and watchOS 9, WWDC 2022 also gave a preview of the next generation macOS. macOS (13) Ventura, named after a city in California, comes with the low-level API Metal 3, which includes Apple's answer to DLSS and FSR 2.0 with MetalFX upscaling. However, many Macs get nothing.
MetalFX Upscaling – DLSS/FSR 2.0 by Apple
MetalFX Upscaling is an upscaling algorithm with a temporal component, similar to that offered by Nvidia DLSS and AMD FSR 2.0. This means that the image rendered internally at a lower resolution is scaled to a higher resolution using past and future frames. Apple did not say anything in the keynote at WWDC 2022 as to whether the process can be accelerated by AI, as with Nvidia. The Apple M1 and the new Apple M2, with their 16-core Neural Engine, basically have computing units for AI acceleration like Nvidia Turing and Ampere, but they are only part of the SoC, not specifically part of the GPU.
Stage Manager organizes the desktop
Also new in macOS 13 is Stage Manager. As in iPadOS 16, the function is also used in macOS to group and arrange windows. The organization is automated by the operating system and should enable a quick change between the different tasks, which can each include different windows and apps. For the first time, windows can not only be arranged next to each other as before, but also overlapping.
The iPhone becomes a webcam
Apple would certainly not have presented another innovation against the background of the miserable webcam quality of the Apple Studio Display. For the first time in macOS 13, users can use their smartphone as a webcam: Under macOS 13, the iPhone can become a webcam on the Mac. Center Stage can also be used via the wide-angle optics, which keeps the user in front of the screen in the image section at all times.
Apple has published an overview of all new features in macOS 13 Ventura online. Registered developers can install a first beta immediately. A public beta is scheduled for release in July. The final version will appear in autumn.
These Mac and MacBook will get the update
After macOS Monterey was rolled out by Apple a year ago as a free update for some very old systems, macOS Ventura excludes many old computers – such as the inglorious Mac Pro in the black cylinder design. But even with the MacBook, the cuts are drastic.
iMac 2017 and later (Monterey: Late 2015 and later)Mac Pro 2019 and later (Monterey: Late 2013 and later)iMac Pro 2017 and later (Monterey: 2017 and later)Mac mini 2018 and later (Monterey: Late 2014 and later) MacBook Air 2018 and later (Monterey: Early 2015 and later)MacBook 2017 and later (Monterey: Early 2016 and later)MacBook Pro 2017 and later (Monterey: Early 2015 and later)
