MacOS Mojave: The 5 best features

Sitting down to write this review of macOS Mojave, I thought what new feature is my favorite and which is my least favorite. Then I realized that I had not thought about the new features of macOS this way for years. Looking back at Sierra and High Sierra, I could hardly name all new feature, not to mention the best and the worst of the band.

So, if there is one thing that Apple can be sure of when it will officially release MacOS Mojave to Mac users today, it is that they will notice it. Mojave has a lot of new stuff both under the hood and on the dashboard – I would challenge any Mac user to use this update for a few days and not have a strong opinion about it.

MacOS 10.14 Mojave is positively loaded with new items, especially for advanced users, and I have covered most of the news from my preview of the OS in June. Dark mode is by far the most obvious, but the Stacks tool to clean your desktop and the new way the operating system handles screen captures are two high-level features that will make the difference in the daily workflow of users.

In terms of functionality, virtually all changes are optional. While the new features all aim to simplify and enhance your Mac experience, they are almost all additive – you can choose to ignore them and you can still use your Mac as before, more or less.

I do not know why you would like, though. I would be surprised if, in the myriad of new features in Mojave, you do not find at least one feature that makes you more efficient, streamlines a key process or is more aesthetic. For me it was not just one – I found five of them. Of course, there is also at least one feature that is useless (looking at, Continuity Camera), but as I said, no one is holding a water gun emoji to use it.

Which Mac can run Mojave?

Image: Lili Sams / Mashable

First, before you get excited for Mojave, you need to make sure your Mac can run it. For most users, just go to "About this Mac" and click on the "Update Software …" button, which launches the Mac App Store. On September 24th or a little later, if your Mac can run Mojave, it will warn you that the update is available.

If you want to install the update manually, go to.

Specifically, Apple says that Mojave will work on the following machines:

• MacBook (early 2015 or later)

• MacBook Air (mid-2012 or later)

• MacBook Pro (mid-2012 or later)

• Mac Mini (late 2012 or later)

• iMac (late 2012 or later)

• iMac Pro (all models)

• Mac Pro (late 2013, plus models mid-2010 or mid-2012 with Metal compatible graphics processor recommended, including Radeon RX 560 MSI Gaming and Sapphire Radeon PULSE RX 580)

It's a little less than the last OS, High Sierra, which could work on some Macs dating back to 2009. Not surprisingly, but if you still use a Mac from eight years ago and you're doing something other than a word processor, you might want to think about the upgrade.

Now that you know if your Mac can manage the upgrade or not, here are the 5 best features of macOS Mojave.

1. View of the gallery

Image: Pete Pachal / mashable

What it is: There is a new option to display the contents of a folder in the Finder: Gallery View, which displays the icon or preview of the selected file enlarged in the window, along with the rest of the contents of the folder displayed in the form of a strip of thumbnails below. You can navigate thumbnails with the left and right arrow keys, and previews load quickly just like you.

Why it makes all the difference: If support for photography or artwork is part of your daily workflow, you'll love the gallery view. I often have to choose between several similar photos to insert into a story, which usually means switching from Preview when I decide which one to use. I much prefer the Mojave solution, which keeps everything in the Finder and does not slow me down.

How could it be even better: If the gallery view was an option when selecting "Open" in an application.

2. Advanced screen shots

Picture: pete pachal / mashable

What it is: Now, when you take a screenshot (with Shift-Command-3 or Partial Screen option, Shift-Command-4), the thumbnail appears briefly in the corner, allowing you to click on it if you wish. There is also a new shortcut, Shift-Command-5, which offers options for capturing specific windows and performing a screen recording.

Why it makes all the difference: We have always enjoyed the simplicity of the Mac's screenshots, but this feature is inspired by the iPhone, where screengrab marking has become the norm. The new method also recognizes that on-screen recordings are a useful, impractical tool for capturing clips or sending a quick demonstration to a friend.

How could it be even better: Self-archiving, maybe?

3. Fast actions

Picture: pete pachal / mashable

What it is: Quick Look – where you press the spacebar of a file to see it closely in its own window – has long been used by Macs, but to do something other than look, you have to open Preview . Not anymore. You can now rotate images or mark them, edit PDF files and much more … without leaving the Finder.

Why it makes all the difference: The fewer steps there are, the better. Before Mojave, editing or even tagging an image usually involved a preview or an image editor to do your dirty work. Now, just hit the space bar, boom boom, finished. Apple has wisely associated this with the new screenshots, calling Quick Actions the moment you click on the thumbnail you just captured.

How could it be even better: An emoji sticker tool would not hurt.

4. Dark mode

What it is: Long the dream of savvy users, macOS finally supports a complete dark mode, which changes the desktop theme so that menus become white on black (more precisely, very very dark gray), and everything generally becomes easier for the eyes .

Why it makes all the difference: I can not be excited about Dark Mode as developers and some players do, but I have to admit that it sounds pretty cool, especially on the gray MacBook Pros. I would like even one of my third-party apps to support it, especially Chrome (although there are certainly a lot of dark themes in the Chrome Web Store), but even if the Finder only takes black, it makes huge difference.

How could it be even better: Private Safari windows need a new visual indicator, as they now look like normal in dark mode.

5. batteries

Picture: Pete pachal / mashable

What it is: A chaotic office full of screenshots, PDFs and more will no longer be an honor badge when you use Stacks, which automatically cleans up your clutter into beautiful folders. In a click on a stack, it gets bigger, revealing clutter when you need to locate something, but your desktop remains clear, regaining significant peace of mind.

Why it makes all the difference: Stacks does not mean much to me, but it's because I'm the exception to the rule: I empty my clutter regularly. But with Mojave, I feel less guilty of missing my weekly "Clear Desktop / Empty Downloads" ritual. The point, I suppose, is that such rituals are less and less necessary, which I think is progress.

How could it be even better: More ways to locate specific items in a stack out of control, such as an easy search tool in the stack.