macOS Monterey Tidbits: Animated Memoji on Login Screen, Change the Color of the Mouse Pointer, and More

We've highlighted several new features coming in macOS Monterey, such as Low Power Mode and the option to erase a Mac without reinstalling the operating system, but there are some smaller tidbits that we wanted to share.

macos monterey tidbits feature copy

Animated Memoji on Login Screen

One small but fun new feature in macOS Monterey is the addition of a personalized Memoji on the login screen, complete with animated facial expressions.

Change the Color of the Mouse Pointer

A new Accessibility feature added to macOS Monterey is the ability to customize the outline and fill color of the mouse pointer so it's easier to recognize when it moves or changes to an insertion point, crosshair, hand, or other shape. The pointer can be customized in System Preferences under Accessibility > Display > Pointer.

'Go to Folder' Redesign in Finder

On macOS Monterey, the "Go to Folder" window in Finder has been redesigned and now features an improved autocompletion engine to help you get to the files or folder you're looking for more quickly, according to Apple. "Go to Folder" can be found under "Go" in the Finder menu bar, or by using the ⌘⇧G keyboard shortcut.

File Copying Enhancements

macOS Monterey features a new pie chart progress indicator when copying files. It is also now possible to stop or cancel a copy session and resume it later.

macOS Monterey is available now in beta for developers, with a public beta to follow in July. The software update will be released in the fall.

Related Forum: macOS Monterey

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Top Rated Comments

Digital Dude Avatar
53 months ago
I'm soOoo sick of this Memoji craze. When I saw the WWDC splash page full of those damn things' I was embarrassed that I'm an Apple guy. Made me feel like we should all be about eight years old to appreciate them. Okay, let the poison pens fly.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Maconplasma Avatar
53 months ago

Memoji at login. Why? It's stupid stuff like this that make macos bloated. Again, my 9 year old rMBP shouldn't run Windows 10 better than Catalina.
Not everything in computing needs to be so serious. I enjoy fun things to make my computing experience enjoyable. You saying it makes the system bloated? Where's your proof on that?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bug-Creator Avatar
53 months ago
Well lets see:

- the code to display short animations is used elsewhere, so a whole lotta nothing
- if you created no Memoji there is no Memoji
- displaying that Meomji on the login-screen, about 10 lines of Swift (being generous) resulting in 10k of extra binary size (which hopefully gets discarded after you logged in)
- whatever 1st year entry level developer did it in about 30min wouldn't have been of much use in areas that matter anyways

Yeap, 3 metric tons of bloat on this one....
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr.Blacky Avatar
53 months ago

Memoji at login. Why? It's stupid stuff like this that make macos bloated. Again, my 9 year old rMBP shouldn't run Windows 10 better than Catalina.
Does Apple force you to use it? And what exactly about it makes macos bloated?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
53 months ago

Memoji at login. Why? It's stupid stuff like this that make macos bloated.
Could you explain, in purely technical terms, how a small animated image on the login screen 'bloats' the operating system?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
boswald Avatar
53 months ago

Memoji at login. Why? It's stupid stuff like this that make macos bloated. Again, my 9 year old rMBP shouldn't run Windows 10 better than Catalina.
I feel the same way about my mini, and it’s from 2018. ?‍♂️
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)