Mac OS Catalina Review

MacOS Catalina is the newest edition of iOS developed, and was released for Mac; iPhone; iPad; and other iOS devices, on 7th October 2019. An update like nothing we’ve had before, MacOS Catalina gives you more of everything you love about your device! The iTunes app on Mac has been renamed to Music _ like it’s been for a few years on iPhone and iPad _ and you now get the Apple TV app with new Apple TV+, and the Apple Podcasts app if you’re on Mac. Catalina also gives you an all new way of finding your missing devices with the Find My app, and you can extend your desktop with your iPad acting as a second display with Sidecar.

Apple Music has literally no changes from it’s previous developments, and you still have access to over 50 million songs, as long as you have an Apple Music Subscription. But with the new version, you can now see the lyrics to your favourite songs while they play, or switch to Mini Player to listen while multitasking.

With the new Apple TV app, you can buy and rent the latest movie and tv releases, and subscribe to Apple TV channels to watch popular shows on demand and add free, online and off. New Apple TV+ lets you get access to thousands of programmes, and you can watch and catch up from where you left off on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and compatible smart TVs. With the updated app, you can watch your favourite content everywhere, and continue wherever you pick up!

If there’s one change worth being mentioned in this version of iOS, in my opinion, it is the desktop app of Apple Podcasts. The Podcasts app lets you continue listening to your favourite podcasts or find something new, or to find others you might like based on what you have already listened to. The library is where all your podcasts go, and with hundreds and thousands of shows to listen to, it is now easier than ever to get the correct results when browsing and searching.

All 3 services _ Apple TV, Apple Music and Apple Podcasts _ sync between all your devices, through the cloud, or you can sync between apps if you prefer using a cable.

Photos has been given an all new appearance _ with your photos now being organised by day, month and year views so it’s easy to relive your memories. Animations and transitions keep your spot in the timeline so it’s easy to swap across, and photo Previews are larger to help you distinguish shots. Photos’ intelligence helps find the best parts of photos to view, so you see the best of the unedited version.

The all-new gallery view displays your notes as visual thumbnails, making it easier to find the note you’re looking for. You can share notes or complete folders with others, and collaborate on notes together, with everyone being able to add what they want. This version of notes also introduces new checklist options, so you can reorder items in your list of items with drag and drop or keyboard shortcuts, and move ticked items to the bottom out of the way. If you’ve completed the checklist and want to revisit it, you can easily untick all the items, and start again.

Reminders, Safari and Mail have all been updated _ with Safari having a new homepage to show frequently viewed, favourites, and Siri suggestions _ Mail including an unsubscribe button on top of emails _ and Reminders allowing the same type of contribution as apps like Notes now have.

The App Store has been updated to work with Apple Arcade _ which has finally been released! It lets you download and play 100+ groundbreaking new games with a £4.99 subscription _ with no adds or additional purchases! Browse the latest games, personalised recommendations and exclusive editorial content in the Arcade tab on the App Store, and enjoy games across iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Mac and Apple TV.

System Preferences looks a lot different compared to how it looked like with Mac OS Mojave, and that’s partly due to so much being added. With Apple ID and Family Sharing being added to the top, and you can now change your appearance in General to Light, Dark or Auto _ the last one also letting you schedule how long the screen stays light for, and when it goes dark. You can also control how long your children spend on a phone with Screen Time, and there’s a few new screen saver pictures.

Also new to iOS Catalina is Voice Control _ which means you can get round your phone without having to tap it.

I wasn’t a big fan of OS Mojave, so I updated as soon as a notification popped through telling me to update. Everything that’s been added in Catalina feels like my mac has suddenly been fixed, and it’s just a lot handier.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Posted byphoebslyle9828th Nov 2019