Hands-on with 5 awesome features of MacOS Mojave that you need to see

On Monday, June 4 at WWDC, Apple introduced macOS Mojave. Since then, I’ve been putting the new Mac software through its paces. Even though the update remains firmly in beta, it’s clear this version is so much better than the ho-hum High Sierra that launched in 2017. Here are my five favorite features.

Dark Mode and the time-shifting wallpaper

In macOS Mojave, you now have a choice of two themes, the traditional Light Mode, and all-new Dark Mode. The latter adds a shadowy hue to both native and (eventually) third-party apps, and everywhere else for that matter.

Image: Bryan Wolfe/KnowTechie

The coolest feature here?  There’s one “dynamic” wallpaper (an image of the Mojave desert, naturally) that changes to match the time of day. Sure, this feature isn’t going to change the world,  but it’s excellent nonetheless.

Desktop and Finder

A new feature in macOS Mojave called Stacks lets you organize your desktop by stacking files into groups based on the file types. These Stacks are easy to customize based on other attributes, such as date or tags.

You also find Finder has a new Gallery View that lets you skim through files visually. There’s also Quick Look, which allows you to do things with a document without actually opening it. For example, you can mark up PDFs, rotate and crop images, and more, just by right-clicking on the file and selecting Quick Look.

iOS apps on Mac

For the first time, Apple is bringing iOS apps to Mac, including News, Stocks, Home, and Voice Memos. Like on iOS, my favorite here is the News app. As you can see below, it looks very similar to what you find on iPad.

Image: Bryan Wolfe/KnowTechie

Group FaceTime

Like iOS, macOS is getting Group FaceTime in the fall. This means you can have conversations with up to 32 people at the same time on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Whether you should is up to you.

Mac App Store refresh

For the first time since it opened in 2011, the Mac App Store has received a significant update. Not surprisingly, it too looks a lot like its iOS counterpart. Unfortunately, though it may look like the iOS App Store, it still contains Mac App Store prices.

Image: Bryan Wolfe/KnowTechie

macOS Mojave: more to see

There’s a lot to see in macOS Mojave, and we’ll offer more information about the software update in the coming weeks and months. Like iOS 12, you can expect macOS Mojave to arrive this fall.

What are your favorite macOS Mojave features? Let us know what you think. 

In other Apple news: The Apple Watch is getting a new walkie-talkie mode with watchOS 5, iOS 12 will add a useful accessibility feature for the hard of hearing, and For some reason, it took the release of iOS 12 to simplify closing apps on iPhone X.

Bryan M. Wolfe

Bryan considers himself a well-rounded techie, having written articles for MakeUseOf, KnowTechie, AppAdvice, iDownload Blog. When he's not writing, he's being a single dad and rooting for his alma mater, Penn State, or cheering on the Patriots.