With the introduction of new operating systems, Macs and iPhones are more alike than ever before. At the software level, they now have more similar features, and this makes the interaction between the two greater. But also, that more and more, the line that separates them is blurring. So here we will review the new features that both platforms share.
Widgets take on relevant weight on Mac and iPhone
One of the first features to be introduced in iOS 17 is the interactive widgets. To date, these were displayed on the screen, but if we wanted to interact with them, pressing them would open the application. We couldn’t modify elements or execute tasks from the widget directly. But this has changed in iOS 17, where now we can do this.
And just as this happens on iOS, it also happens on the Mac, since that level of interaction also reaches the widgets that we place on the desktop of the Mac. But the truth is that the interaction is not the only element that unites both devices even more.
Thanks to the Continuity function, now we can add iPhone widgets to the Mac desktop. And it will not be necessary for us to have to download or activate the same content twice, if we want to keep it in mind on both platforms.
Safari evolves equally on iOS and macOS
Apple’s browser by definition is taking a line of joint evolution in both systems. And on this occasion, they take the usage profiles of iOS and macOS as a reference. As if it were a Concentration Mode, now we will be able to, in both systems, differentiate by areas of use, the different tabs and bookmarks What do we want to see on the screen?
So, we are not going to see the same if we activate a work profile, as if we are in a leisure profile. And all this will be synchronized automatically thanks to the Apple ID, and the change between usage profiles will be immediate. And yes, the operating principle is identical, both on the iPhone and on the Mac.
In the same way as Safari profiles, the content search is streamlined, since the preview of results has been improved, as well as what appears in the search suggestions, when we enter different things that we want to search for.
The Messages app shares more features
Although more functions have arrived on the iPhone, on the Mac there are four of them that the company itself highlights. Thus, the operation of the same application is getting closer, both on mobile phones and on computers. These are the following:
- message reply: In the same way that it already happens in other messaging platforms, now we can select a message to respond to it in a marked way.
- New display of locations: thanks to this new option, when a person sends us their location, we will be able to see where they are, much more precisely and in real time, and without opening a new window, just for this task.
- search filters: now we will be able to search for specific messages, within the application, if we search by keywords.
- All the stickers, now in one place: We will have all the stickers and Memoji, micronized through iCloud and available in Messages.
