Apple's latest Mac operating system, macOS Monterey, becomes available on Monday, October 25th. While Apple is pushing users to upgrade immediately, right? There are a lot of good reasons to upgrade as soon as possible, but there are also a lot of good reasons to wait. If you are trying to decide, let's go over these reasons and we will also offer you our recommendation.
The main reason you should upgrade now is to get access to most of the new features. If you want new productivity tools, Monterey has Quick Note, Live Text and Focus. The new low power mode can be very helpful if you have an older MacBook and spend a lot of time managing battery life. If you have a newer Mac, the AirPlay feature on your Mac is a great way to play content from an iPhone or iPad to a Mac. Shared with You is a convenient way to organize the things you save or send in Photos, Safari, Apple News, Apple Podcasts, and the Apple TV app.
iCloud + has the Hide My Email feature that lets you create email aliases for your real email account, support HomeKit Secure Video and Private Relay (still in beta), which hides your IP address and location in while you are on the web. And Maps and Books apps are better than ever. Safari also has some new features, and the one that may make you want to upgrade is Tab Groups, where you can organize websites that are handy for those who do a lot of research online.
The marking function for Monterey right now is Shortcuts. Shortcuts have made their debut in iOS, and now the automation tool is on the Mac. If you have a repetitive task that requires several steps, you can use Shortcuts to automate the process and save you from going crazy. Although Monterey still includes the long-running Automator automation app, you'll find the shortcuts easier to use.
Apple
In addition to the new features, Monterey brings a lot of improvements and optimizations under the hood, including security updates and optimizations to make the operating system more efficient. For more information on how to use the new features, see our macOS Monterey guide.
Although it's tempting to jump on the Monterey wave as soon as it comes, it's really no rush. Apple will support macOS Big Sur for a while and will not stop releasing updates for many months.
A very good reason to wait is that the real features of Monterey are not ready yet. The main feature is Universal Control, which allows you to instantly connect an iPad to a Mac so you can use it as a second screen. In Apple demonstrations, it works a bit like magic - all you have to do is place your iPad next to your Mac, and the connection is made automatically. But it seems the magic has yet to be resolved, as Apple has announced that Universal Control will not be available until "later this fall." It is completely missing from macOS Monterey and has not yet appeared in any beta version.
Apple
The other big feature that isn't ready for Monterey's launch is SharePlay. This is a feature where people who make FaceTime calls can watch the same TV or movie stream, listen to the same music, or share the Mac screen. Like Universal Control, it is only available "later this fall."
If you want the new Safari, you don't actually have to upgrade to Monterey to get it - it's part of Safari 15, which is available for macOS Big Sur. To obtain it, check for updates in the System Update panel of System Preferences.
The other main reason why you may not want to upgrade now is to avoid errors. Although Apple has a beta program that the public can participate in, the final release for the general public means that there are even more Macs running the operating system, which means that errors that were not discovered during the beta can be found. macOS Monterey seemed very stable in its latest beta, but errors can occur at any time. Apple will probably fix the major ones in a macOS 12.0.1 update in a few weeks.
If you're looking forward to getting your hands on the new features that are ready right now, upgrading to macOS Monterey should be a simple experience. It's not a massive overhaul on Big Sur, and while there may be some new bugs that will be discovered after the final release, as I said, Apple tends to issue patches quickly.
But if what you are waiting for is Universal Control or SharePlay, there is nothing wrong with waiting to upgrade until these features are ready. You also get the added benefit of one-time launch updates that fix new bugs.
Roman covered technology in the early 1990s. His career began at MacUser and he worked for MacAddict, Mac | Life and TechTV.
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