macOS Catalina is here: everything you need to know about macOS 10.15

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple's macOS Catalina is finally here, and you can install it on your Mac right now, provided your device is new enough to actually install it. We're going to dive into macOS Catalina, all of its features and how to download it, but first a bit of history.

Apple first revealed macOS Catalina at its WWDC 2019 conference in San Jose, California earlier this year, during which the company showcased some of the exciting new features that macOS Catalina brings to the table, including its nifty capability to utilize an iPad as a secondary screen.

So, after a wait that seemingly lasted forever, we can finally download the update. This is a huge update, too, as through a new feature called "Project Catalyst," iOS 13 and iPadOS developers can easily port their work over to the macOS environment. This means if you update your Mac today – though, you may want to wait – you should have access to many more Mac apps.

There are some things going away though. For instance, iTunes, the media software that's been around for almost two decades, has faded into that long night. In its place, however, we get a new Mac-flavored Apple Music app, along with Apple Podcasts and Apple TV. So, don't fret, you can still listen to your music and watch the new season of The Good Place

All of that is just the tip of the iceberg that is macOS Catalina. Don't worry though, we're going to explore everything that macOS 10.15 has to offer, from the features to which Macs can actually download it. And, be sure to keep this page bookmarked, as we'll keep it updated with all the latest macOS 10.15 Catalina news as it pops up.

Cut to the chase

What is it? macOS 10.15 Catalina, successor to macOS 10.14 Mojave
When is it out? October 7, 2019
How much will it cost? Nothing. Apple software updates are always free

macOS Catalina release date

Apple hosted its iPhone 11 event on September 10, but the show came and went with nary a mention of macOS 10.15. However, Apple's macOS 10.15 Catalina page was updated with an "October 2019" release window. Apple didn't share any more specific information about the release, so when it launched it took us all by surprise.

Luckily, that does mean you can download macOS Catalina right now, as long as you have a compatible Mac. You might want to wait until the next update comes out, just to make sure that any critical bugs are squashed. You see, updating your operating system is definitely a huge undertaking, and you could potentially break something, losing a ton of precious data. So, if you don't absolutely need the new software, waiting may be your best bet.

We'll update this hub as soon as we know a new update is live, but if you feel like living dangerously, go ahead and hit that download button. We'll show you how.

macOS Catalina compatibility

If you want to get your hands on the latest macOS update, you're going to need to make sure your Mac actually supports it. Fortunately, if you already have macOS Mojave installed, you'll likely be in the clear. Unless, of course, you circumvented Apple's restrictions.

But, just to be on the safe side, we went ahead and listed every Mac with macOS 10.15 Catalina compatibility down below:

12-inch MacBook (2015 and later)
MacBook Air (2012 and later)
MacBook Pro (2012 and later)
Mac mini (2012 and later)
iMac (2012 and later)
iMac Pro (2017)
Mac Pro (2013 and later)

What Apple Music will look like.

(Image credit: Apple)

Goodbye, iTunes – hello, Apple Music, Podcasts Books and TV

It's official, iTunes is gone. From its ashes, however, rises a novel set of exciting apps for macOS: Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Podcasts and Apple Books – and they’re going to be refined versions of those that already appear on iOS.

Apple Music gives macOS Catalina users access to their entire music libraries regardless of whether the tracks have been downloaded or are being streamed. This also houses music that's been ripped from CDs, assimilated into the same libraries.

Apple TV, on the other hand, houses the app's channels and offers more than 100,000 iTunes movies and TV shows available for you to browse, buy or rent. And, content will be available in 4K HDR video and Dolby Atmos audio wherever offered. Apple TV+ will also be accessed through this app as soon as the service rolls out later in the year.

Meanwhile, Apple Podcasts brings the service's more than 700,000 podcasts, as well as new episode updates, to the Mac in a completely fresh interface. This version of the app also offers better search functions that can pull up episodes by hosts, guests or even discussion topics.

Last but not the least, Apple Books is home to all the audiobooks you can purchase, download and listen to. Much like the other new apps, it also features a familiar interface for anyone who is used to iTunes.

Worried about all your existing music and playlists, as well as iTunes gift cards and credit? Rest easy. All your music and playlists will be transferred over to the Apple Music app in macOS 10.15 Catalina. Plus, any iTunes gift cards or unspent iTunes credits are still valid to be used in these new apps.

In macOS 10.15 Catalina, the iTunes Store, which will be accessed through the Sidebar in the Apple Music app, can still be used to buy new music. And of course, you can subscribe to the Apple Music streaming service through the app as well – if you do, you can hide the iTunes Store for a cleaner, more minimalist interface.

macOS 10.15 iPhone management — With iTunes making its exit, syncing devices in macOS Catalina is now handled by the Finder app. It can backup and sync those devices. According to Apple, it will also be easier to drag and drop files for quick transfers as well.

This is probably the most exciting update that macOS 10.15 Catalina offers: the capability to extend your Mac's display to a nearby iPad, whether wired and wirelessly. A good amount of MacBook users are already iPad owners, so this essentially means that a substantial number of mobile workers just received a secondary display for free.

Probably even more importantly for designers, this connected iPad can also be utilized as a drawing tablet with various specifically supported apps. Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Illustrator and iWork are the first apps listed to support this capability.

We currently don’t have the official word on which iPad models will support the Sidecar feature. However, we can speculate that it'll most likely be those models that can also run the new iPadOS, which is expected later this year as well.

Apple says that the following Mac apps will support Sidecar's Apple Pencil input and other enhanced features:

Adobe: After Effects, Illustrator, Premiere Pro
Affinity Designer & Affinity Photo
Cinema 4D
CorelDRAW
DaVinci Resolve
Final Cut Pro & Motion
Maya
Painter
Principle
Sketch
Substance Designer & Painter
ZBrush
Screen Time comes to macOS

One of Apple's most impactful changes to iOS 12 was Screen Time, an app that tracks your iPhone or iPad usage time and offers insights into the trends. This time around, this capability will not only come to macOS with Catalina, but also offer a new “One more minute” feature, giving you more time to save your work or finish up a game.

This information will be synced across your other Apple devices as well, so that you have a complete profile of how often you stare at your collective screens, as well as get tips on what to do with that information. In addition, it will also include parental controls on time spent using a Mac, as well as with whom children are able to interact with on those devices.

Project Catalyst

Thanks to Apple's new Project Catalyst initiative, macOS 10.15 Catalina will soon be populated with a ton of iOS and iPadOS apps. There are a number of them available at launch, but the real promise of this initiative is that it opens up the floodgates for all kinds of apps to make it over to the Mac.

For developers, it all seems to start with simply ticking off a box within the Xcode app in macOS 10.15 Catalina. A series of new features and protocols then become available to the app in the development phase, from which the developer can choose to add to their apps – presumably with additional yet lighter coding.

It seems to make the process more seamless and even faster, with even the likes of Twitter use the tool to more effortlessly bring its native app back to macOS from iOS.

(Image credit: Apple)

Notes has a whole new look and feel in macOS Catalina.

(Image credit: Apple)

Other fun improvements

Safari browser now has a new startup page that uses Siri Suggestions to surface commonly visited websites, bookmarks, iCloud tabs and more.

Mail now allows users to block messages from senders, mute message threads from issuing push notifications and send unsubscribe requests from within the app to mailing list providers.

Lastly, Reminders receives an overhaul in visual interface so that it will let users more easily create, keep track and organize their reminders.

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