Several macOS Monterey Features Unavailable on Intel-Based Macs
While there are many great new features in macOS Monterey, several of them are not available on Intel-based Macs, according to Apple.
On the macOS Monterey features page, fine print indicates that the following features require a Mac with the M1 chip, including any MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac model released since November 2020:
- Portrait Mode blurred backgrounds in FaceTime videos
- Live Text for copying and pasting, looking up, or translating text within photos
- An interactive 3D globe of Earth in the Maps app
- More detailed maps in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and London in the Maps app
- Text-to-speech in more languages, including Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, and Finnish
- On-device keyboard dictation that performs all processing completely offline
- Unlimited keyboard dictation (previously limited to 60 seconds per instance)
Apple has not explained why any of these features are not available on Intel-based Macs. For what it's worth, Google Earth has long offered an interactive 3D globe of the Earth on Intel-based Macs both on the web and in an app.
Apple is currently in the midst of a two-year transition from Intel processors to its custom Apple silicon chips in Macs, with the changeover slated to be completed by WWDC 2022. Macs with the M1 chip have proven to be much faster than their equivalent Intel-based predecessors, with even the base model MacBook Air with the M1 chip outperforming a maxed-out Intel-based 16-inch MacBook Pro in benchmarks.
Apple is widely rumored to be planning redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models powered by a faster iteration of the M1 chip for later this year.
macOS Monterey is still compatible with a wide variety of Intel-based Macs, and is available now in beta for developers. The software update will likely be publicly released to all users at some point between September and November.
Update: According to Rene Ritchie, Intel-based Macs lack the Neural Engine that many if not all of these features require.
Popular Stories
Apple plans to announce new products "this week," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Apple's "Mac Your Calendars" teaser last October
In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the products set to be updated this week include the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, and "likely" the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, with all three likely to receive a spec bump with Apple's next-generation M5 chip.
Gurman...
Apple's software engineers are internally testing iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions.
iOS 26.0.2 will likely be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet.
The update will likely be released within the next few weeks.
Last month, Apple released iOS...
Buried in its announcement about "F1: The Movie" making its streaming debut on December 12, Apple has also announced that Apple TV+ is being rebranded as simply Apple TV.
A single line near the end of the press release states "Apple TV+ is now simply Apple TV, with a vibrant new identity," though Apple's website has yet to be updated with any changes, so we're unsure on the details of the...
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still nearly a year away, a handful of new features and changes have already been rumored for the devices.
Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far.
Smaller Dynamic Island
The standard iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with a slightly smaller Dynamic Island, but the devices will...
Update: the Naver account appears to be referencing a speculative post on X by Vadim Yuryev, dated October 6. The original article follows.
Apple will announce new products through a series of press releases beginning as soon as next week, according to a dubious claim posted on the Korean blog Naver.
The Naver blog account yeux1122, which aggregates rather than originates Apple...
After releasing AirPods Pro 3 last month, Apple is already working on the next AirPods Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
It is unclear if the new AirPods Pro would be branded as AirPods Pro 4, or if they would be considered an updated version of AirPods Pro 3. Gurman did not take a position, opting to describe them as a "new version" of the "high-end in-ear buds."
AirPods Pro 2...
Apple's second-generation smart glasses with an in-lens display may have two modes, depending on which device they are connected to.
Meta Ray-Bans without an in-lens display
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said he was told a future version of Apple's smart glasses may be able to run a full version of the visionOS operating system when they are paired with a Mac, and...
Apple has essentially discontinued Clips, its video-editing app designed to allow users to combine video clips, images, and photos with voice-based titles, music, filters, and graphics to create enhanced videos that can be shared on social media sites.
The app has been removed from the App Store, and a support document on Apple's site says that the app is no longer being updated and would no ...
Recent reports suggest that there are now no redesigned Apple Vision headsets in active development, with the company's focus pivoting decisively to smart glasses.
When Apple announced the Vision Pro in mid-2023, it described the device as the dawn of "spatial computing," a new paradigm that would eventually rival the iPhone in importance. With a $3,499 starting price, intricate design and...
