macOS Ventura coming October 24 — everything you need to know

macOS Ventura running on a Mac Studio Display and two MacBooks

(Image credit: Apple)

Update: Mac Pro M2 just tipped for 2023 — with 48 CPU cores and 152 GPU cores.

macOS Ventura is coming this October, with or without new M2 MacBook Pros.

Hidden in the deluge of Apple’s October iPad launch, Apple quietly announced that macOS Ventura will launch on October 24. We had been expecting macOS Ventura to come in November to coincide with the launch of the 14-inch M2 Pro/Max MacBook Pro and the 16-inch M2 Pro/Max MacBook Pro.

However, it now seems that it will launch alongside iPadOS 16.1 and iOS 16.1 on October 24 instead.

macOS Ventura: New features

Belkin iPhone mount for MacBook — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

While there are quite a few new features in macOS Ventura, none have garnered as much attention as Stage Manager. This productivity feature allows users to better manage their open windows and apps by keeping your main task in focus and by grouping open windows together by task so you can open them all based on what you are working on. While the iPadOS 16 version has had some issues, the macOS Ventura version appears to be stable.

Another big feature coming to macOS Ventura is Continuity Camera, and it is seriously cool. Continuity Camera takes your iPhone and turns it into a webcam automatically when in proximity to a Mac. The iPhone ultra wide camera can even be turned into a “Desk View” camera while the main camera keeps your face on the screen at the same time. If you want to use this feature, we highly recommend the Belkin iPhone Mount for MacBook, and it is a must if you want to use Desk View.

Aside from these two major upgrades, there are some additional features getting updates in macOS Ventura. Spotlight search is getting updated to find images from a wide range of locations, from your Photos library to the world wide web. Metal 3 updates Mac’s game development tools and could finally make MacBooks legit gaming laptops. Finally, there are also a mix of Safari web browser improvements, support for passkeys to replace your passwords and updates to the Mail and Messages apps.

What to expect from Apple after macOS Ventura

New Mac mini just leaked — what you need to know — (Image credit: Jon Prosser & Ian Zelbo)

We just got a ton of products during the October Apple launch. There's a new iPad Pro 2022 M2, a completely redesigned iPad 2022 10.9-inch and a new Apple TV 4K 2022. Add in the operating system updates to iOS, iPadOS and macOS on October 24, and we are left with very little to expect for the rest of the year.

That doesn’t mean that there’s nothing that could still come in 2022. The current Mac mini is due for an update, and there are a lot of rumors suggesting that we could get a Mac mini 2022 with an M2 chip. We are also nearly 100% positive that a new 14-inch MacBook Pro and a new 16-inch MacBook Pro with new M2 Pro and M2 Max chipsets will come by the end of the year, likely in November.

Make sure to stay tuned so you don’t miss out on these rumored products when they finally launch.

Malcolm McMillan is a senior writer for Tom's Guide, covering all the latest in streaming TV shows and movies. That means news, analysis, recommendations, reviews and more for just about anything you can watch, including sports! If it can be seen on a screen, he can write about it. Previously, Malcolm had been a staff writer for Tom's Guide for over a year, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI), A/V tech and VR headsets.

Before writing for Tom's Guide, Malcolm worked as a fantasy football analyst writing for several sites and also had a brief stint working for Microsoft selling laptops, Xbox products and even the ill-fated Windows phone. He is passionate about video games and sports, though both cause him to yell at the TV frequently. He proudly sports many tattoos, including an Arsenal tattoo, in honor of the team that causes him to yell at the TV the most.