Key Points:
- macOS Sequoia brings 76 security fixes, addressing vulnerabilities like data access and memory leaks.
- Apple Intelligence AI and live audio transcription are exclusive to Apple Silicon Macs.
- iPhone Mirroring is available for both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs with T2 chips.
macOS Sequoia has officially been released, offering exciting new features and a large number of security updates to enhance your Mac’s performance and protection. Along with improvements like window tiling and iPhone Mirroring, this update includes 76 security patches to address various vulnerabilities. Apple’s attention to these fixes helps prevent potential issues like unauthorized access, arbitrary code execution, and memory leaks, making your Mac safer to use.
Security Fixes: The latest release features an impressive list of security patches, making macOS Sequoia one of the most secure versions of macOS yet. These updates cover vulnerabilities ranging from kernel issues to protecting sensitive data in apps like Siri and Maps. Apple has improved memory handling, input validation, and sandbox protections, ensuring users are shielded from common threats like privilege escalation and exploitation.
For a full breakdown of these fixes, Apple has shared details on its Security Updates page. Many of these fixes were identified by independent researchers, showing Apple’s commitment to collaborating with the security community to protect users.
Intel vs. Apple Silicon Macs: If you’re using a Mac powered by Intel, you’ll still receive macOS Sequoia, but there are some limitations. Certain new features, like Apple Intelligence (AI-driven tools), will only be available on Macs with the M1 chip or later. Intel Macs miss out on these features, but other aspects of Sequoia remain available.
Apple Intelligence is Apple’s venture into integrating AI across its devices, offering advanced features like live audio transcription and improved Siri capabilities. These features, however, require the processing power of Apple Silicon chips, leaving Intel users with the basic feature set of Sequoia.
Key Feature Availability: While Intel Macs miss out on Apple Intelligence, they still benefit from major updates like iPhone Mirroring, which lets users control their iPhones from their Mac. This feature works on both Apple Silicon and Intel-based Macs with a T2 security chip. To use it, ensure your devices share the same Apple ID, have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled, and are close to each other.
Overall, macOS Sequoia delivers significant security improvements and new features, with Apple Silicon Macs getting the full experience. For Intel Mac users, this update offers a solid performance boost, though the most cutting-edge features are reserved for Apple’s latest hardware.
