Apple announces Release Candidate 2 of macOS 13 Ventura

We were surprised: one candidate for release was not enough – Apple sent a second candidate after that. Hope: The new macOS Ventura will be really, really good. It is scheduled to be released on Monday, October 24, 2022.

Developers can download the beta from the Apple Developer Center. The trial version can only be installed if the corresponding profile is installed on the target Mac.

A particularly eye-catching new release in macOS Ventura is Stage Manager. This focuses on the application currently in use and pushes other open programs to the left side of the screen in small squares. These boxes can also be hidden. Then only the app that was opened recently is visible.

One of the signature features in macOS 13 Ventura is to use the iPhone as a webcam on the Mac. If you use an iPhone with an ultra-wide-angle lens, you can even use it to photograph your desktop and move it alongside your Mac. In this way, notes or small objects can be photographed without having to change the position of the iPhone.

Handoff is now available for FaceTime, so you can transfer calls between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac the way you want. Messages supports features to mark a message as unread, delete a message, and mark it as unread again.

The Mail app supports scheduling and retrieving emails up to 10 seconds after they are sent. This is actually a shipping delay. iOS weather and clock apps are also available on your Mac.

The Mail app offers improved search and offers features such as sending late and “recovering” emails that are artificially delayed.

iCloud Photo Library allows sharing with up to five other people, for example to put members’ photos together in the family.

In addition, there will be a whiteboard in the future that will allow other users to work together on projects, take notes, draw or store web links, documents, videos and music on a single surface. The functionality is not yet included in the beta version, but is scheduled to appear in 2022.

Spotlight search can detect text in photos and videos. In addition, the system-wide search can also search for music albums, musicians, movies, TV shows, actors, sports and companies without the need of the browser. Spotlight can also be used to start quick actions and trigger a stopwatch, for example.

With passkeys, Apple introduces an authentication method in macOS Ventura that is end-to-end encrypted and provides protection against phishing and data leaks. This makes it more powerful than all the usual types of two-factor authentication. Passkeys also work on non-Apple devices and don’t require passwords.