After the release of macOS 12 Monterey in 2021, followed by the MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch models, speculation is now mounting as to what macOS 13 will bring, which is expected to be shown at WWDC 2022 .
Back in 2020, Apple began transitioning away from Intel processors in favor of its own Apple Silicon chips. These chips are now redefining what Macs are capable of, particularly when it comes to gaming . While macOS Monterey focused on productivity and communication tweaks, macOS 13 could be a major update of the type not seen since macOS 11 Big Sur , reflecting this new change in direction.
With this in mind, we’ve combed through our Macs to round up five features we’d like to see later this year, no matter how major or minor these may be.
First, though, we’ll run through what we know about macOS 13 so far, including its rumored release date and which Macs the update is likely to support.
macOS 13 release date rumors
Apple’s releases have run like clockwork in recent years. There’s a good chance macOS 13 will be announced at WWDC 2022 alongside iOS 16 , iPadOS 16, and the rest. Whether it’ll be a remote keynote again or a return to an in-person event remains to be confirmed by Apple.
Apple usually announces the release date of a new macOS update alongside new Macs, so this could be October again, similar to the previous two years.
macOS 13 supported devices
With Apple well on the way to leaving Intel behind, it’s a matter of time until macOS runs solely on the company’s own M1 chips and above.
macOS 13 is likely to still support Intel Macs for now, though. We expect that the upcoming update will support the following Macs as a minimum:
macOS 13 name rumors
We speculated that macOS 12 would be called either Mammoth or Monterey , and it proved to be the latter at WWDC 2021. Mammoth could be another solid bet for macOS 13, though.
The name refers to the Mammoth Lakes in California, following the pattern of naming releases after landmarks in the state, and it’s close to Monterey and Big Sur, which may also represent a bigger update to macOS compared to the last year.
Five features we want to see in macOS 13
While macOS 13 is still a little while away, we've put together a list of the improvements we want to see from the next-gen operating system for Apple's Macs.
1. Widgets anywhere
Widgets first appeared in iOS 14 back in 2020, and have slowly moved over to iPadOS, where you can also move them anywhere on the home screen, but in macOS they are still locked to a column.
macOS 13 should allow you to move widgets anywhere on the screen. Some forget that widgets first appeared on macOS way back in 2004 with Dashboard in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, as a way of managing them inside one app that would cover your screen.
Having Dashboard return to macOS 13 or the ability to place widgets anywhere on your desktop would be appealing. It would help spruce up your display, and eliminate the need to go to the column to view them.
2. Weather app
The weather app saw a mammoth redesign in iOS 15 last year, mainly thanks to Apple’s acquisition of the weather app Dark Sky. While the app hasn’t moved to iPadOS just yet, the next logical step would be to macOS.
Having easy access to weather forecasts, plus precipitation and storm notifications could be useful to many Mac users – especially if widgets can be shown on the desktop instead of the column they’re currently locked to.
3. App Library
App Library is another iOS feature that would be useful to have in the Dock for macOS 13. While Launchpad and Finder give you handy overviews of your installed apps and let you add them to folders, they’re the only view that you have.
That can be tricky if you have hundreds of apps, especially as a full-screen view in Launchpad can get in the way of anything you’re working on.
App Library on the Mac could easily sort your apps into categories, and have some folders change depending on the time of day or your location, just as it does in iOS. It would be much more useful for Mac users, as having a full-screen view on an iMac or an external display seems too much.
4. Time Machine and iCloud Backups
Time Machine is a feature that’s fallen by the wayside in recent years, regardless of how useful it’s proved in the past. It takes multiple snapshots of your macOS machine throughout the day, and if you lose a file, you can go ‘back in time’ and recover it.
Time Machine first appeared in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard back in 2006, and while it’s still available in macOS, there’s plenty that could be improved for macOS 13.
It’s second nature to back up your iPad or iPhone through iCloud Backup, which lets you save photos, messages, lock screen wallpapers, and more to your iCloud account. You can also restore these backups to your device if you need to reset it.
However, there’s no such feature for macOS; there’s only the option of backing up to an external hard drive or directly on your Mac, which could defeat the point if your Mac refuses to boot.
Having iCloud Backups tied to Time Machine feels like an easy win for Mac users, as it’s secure but also familiar.
5. tvOS screensavers for Mac
We’d love to see Apple bring those impressive flyover screensavers from tvOS to macOS 13.
While there are third-party apps such as Aerial that can already do the job for Mac users, having a native option for macOS 13 would be great for anyone who just wants to use the screensavers in the System Preferences, without having to download an additional app.
Chrono Cross on Switch still leads the standard for RPGs, 20 years on
Chrono Cross fans have been calling for a re-release of the classic JRPG almost since its launch back in 1999. Finally, after many long years of waiting, we're getting our wish.
Available to play on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 / PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X , and other models, it features remastered graphics, the ability to fast forward, auto-battle improvements, and more.
I've been playing this new remaster on Nintendo Switch, and it's only strengthened my belief that modern RPGs can benefit a lot from the Chrono series, particularly when it comes to narrative and audio.
War of the Parallel Worlds
Chrono Cross is a sidequel, rather than a sequel to Chrono Trigger , the famous RPG released for Nintendo's Super Nintendo console in 1995. Instead of time-travel, you travel across parallel worlds to face off against Lynx, a cruel agent of the supercomputer FATE that's trying to eliminate the main character, Serge, and his party while they also try to defeat a Time Devourer.
When Chrono Cross was released back in 1999, it was critically acclaimed, with praise heaped on its battle system and multiple endings. You could see dramatically different conclusions depending on who you recruited to your party and the conversation options you picked through the game.
While Chrono Trigger saw a remaster in 2008 on the Nintendo DS, followed by a PC release in 2018, I hoped for Chrono Cross to get a similar treatment. The spinoff may not have found the same fame as Chrono Trigger, but it still had a loyal fan base.
While I bounced off of Final Fantasy VIII on the original PlayStation back in 1999, and attempts to get into other entries in the series, Chrono Cross' story of Balamb Garden hooked me in, especially as it revolved around time travel. I've loved stories of time travel ever since seeing films and shows like Back to the Future and Quantum Leap.
Final Fantasy VIII was how I discovered Chrono Cross, thanks to a magazine reviewing the eighth entry back in 2000. A small blurb was listing alternatives to the game, and it erroneously stated that it was a sequel to Chrono Trigger, with a bigger focus on time travel mechanics. Even though it turned out to be about parallel worlds, Chrono Cross still kept me enthralled.
Playing the remaster on my Switch in 2022 has been a joy. Its art style has been lovingly remastered from top to bottom, alongside the modern features similar to the Final Fantasy remasters of fast-forwarding gameplay, avoiding battles, and more, with the press of the ZR button.
The audio deserves a special mention too. It's easy to focus on the gameplay of these RPGs from the mid-90s, all the while forgetting the music is just as cemented in our memories. Moments such as Chrono Cross' battles and when Serge stands at the graveside of his parallel self, all land because of this fantastic score. Composer Yasunori Mitsuda knew raised the bar for what RPG scores could achieve.
While it's not been confirmed yet if you can play Chrono Cross on a Steam Deck, I'd be surprised if this wasn't possible. There was no slowdown on the Switch, and everything worked as intended. I'm sure playing this in a higher resolution on the Steam Deck will only enhance the game.
Chrono Cross is a prime example of how it makes you think about second chances, and what could have been if you took one route instead of the other.
We've all had those sliding doors moments, where we wonder what would had happened if we'd acted differently in the moment. Chrono Cross' story reminds me of a lyric from the song 'Two of Us', from The Beatles' 'Let it Be' album, "You and I have memories, longer than the road that stretches out ahead." That's what Serge's story is here, across the parallel worlds, with multiple endings.
Without spoiling the game, the endings are dependent on facing certain bosses at certain moments, alongside answering questions to characters in certain ways. This will all lead to one of 11 endings that may mean that Serge and his party find the happy epilogue or the sad conclusion of the story.
Hopefully, this remaster may mean another entry in the Chrono series could occur. We're already seeing reboots and sequels that we wouldn't have thought would be possible in recent years, with Resident Evil 2 Remake , Final Fantasy VII Remake , and the sequel, Return to Monkey Island all a reality.
Somewhere in this universe, Crono and Marle from Chrono Trigger, alongside Serge and Leena are waiting to appear in a third game, and in an age of remakes and remasters, perhaps its time to see what these characters are doing, and how a game on our modern consoles and handhelds will work across time periods and alternate worlds.
This iOS app will help your DJI Mini 2 drone fly to the next level
The DJI Mini 2 and Mini SE drones may have been around for a while now, but that doesn't mean they can't learn some new tricks – and thanks to the arrival of the popular Litchi app on iOS, they're now much more versatile than their entry-level billing.
DJI opened up its Mobile SDK (Software Development Kit) to third-party developers in January, and Litchi is already available for the Mini 2 and Mini SE on Android phones. And now it's also available to download on iOS devices (running iOS 12.4 or later), for a one-off $24.99 / £21.99 / AU$38.99 fee.
That might sound steep for an app, but it's not unreasonable considering the features it brings. One of the main drawbacks of DJI's two entry-level drones is their lack of subject-tracking, but Litchi delivers this via its Track function. Pinch a square around your chosen subject in the app and your drone will autonomously follow it or 'Orbit' around it. This is particularly handy for vloggers and one-person film crews.
Another useful Litchi feature is the Waypoint mode, which is another mode that's lacking on the DJI Mini 2 and Mini SE when you're using DJI's own Fly app. This lets you plan a path of several waypoints on a satellite map, which the drone will then autonomously fly between. You can choose to fly in straight lines, or have the drone perform 'curved turns' at each waypoint for a smoother effect.
Naturally, the Litchi app also contains all the standard functions you'll find in the DJI Fly app, including the ability to shoot panoramas, change your camera settings, control the drone manually via the controller, and set a home point for the 'return-to-home' function. You can also get a more budget taste of the DJI FPV experience, thanks to a 'virtual reality' mode that splits the video stream to make it compatible with VR Goggles like Homido or Google Cardboard.
Litchi isn't yet compatible with the DJI Mavic 3 , and only supports manual flight in the DJI Air 2S, but it is particularly well-suited to plugging the feature gaps on DJI's entry-level models. So if you've been looking to expand your Mini 2 or Mini SE's skills, it's worth checking it out on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for Android .
Analysis: a useful upgrade with one caveat
The Litchi app has been around for years now for drones like the DJI Mavic and Phantom series, so it's achieved a certain level of polish and reliability. That said, these early versions of the app for the Mini 2 and Mini SE may contain the odd bug or two, and it's important to note that DJI Care Refresh insurance doesn't cover any incidents that involve the use of third-party apps.
In the Terms of Service for DJI Care Refresh, which offers accidental damage coverage for DJI's drones, it states that its coverage does not include "damage caused by using your DJI product together with a non-DJI product or third-party accessory/software that is not authorized by DJI".
As DJI only officially authorizes its own apps , that's something to bear in mind if you do have Care Refresh for your Mini 2 or Mini SE. Drone insurance is less commonly purchased by users of cheaper hobbyist drones, but some third-party insurers will cover incidents involving third-party apps like Litchi.
Perhaps the bigger question for drone owners is why DJI doesn't incorporate some of the features seen in Litchi on its own DJI Fly app. The drone giant hasn't commented on this, but it's likely to do with the DJI Mini 2 and Mini SE's lack of obstacle avoidance sensors – this means that features like subject-tracking call for a certain degree of practice and experience to avoid mishaps.
If recent rumors about the DJI Mini 3 are true, though, then DJI's next compact drone will likely include front-facing sensors – and that could mean the ability to use automated tracking without the need for a third-party app like Litchi.
