macOS 14, a.ok.a. Sonoma (named after the Californian wine area), was launched in September 2023. It introduced new options to Macs, together with modifications to widgets, a brand new Sport Mode, the power to simply flip net pages into net apps, and enjoyable additions to video conferencing apps.
Sonoma has now been changed by macOS Sequoia, which arrived on September 16, 2024, however the improvement of macOS 14 Sonoma will proceed with safety updates issued when essential.
On this article, yow will discover the details about the most recent model of Sonoma, and why you must set up the updates Apple points to Sonoma when you can’t improve to Sequoia.
For details about Sequoia, see:
Replace August 20, 2025: Apple launched the macOS 14.7.8 replace with safety patches.
macOS 14 Sonoma: Newest model
The total model of macOS 14 was launched to most of the people on Tuesday, September 26, 2023. That was model 14.0. That launch was adopted by subsequent releases that added new options. Following the arrival of Sequoia in September 2024, all updates to Sonoma will probably be security-focused, so set up is really useful in case you are unable to replace to Sequoia.
Apple will proceed to challenge safety updates to Sonoma till late 2026. Learn: How lengthy does Apple help Macs.
On August 20, 2025, Apple launched macOS Sonoma 14.7.8. The replace contained a safety repair for an out-of-bounds write challenge.
macOS Sonoma 14.7 was launched on September 16, 2024. The replace accommodates safety patches and bug fixes.
macOS Sonoma 14.6.1, which was launched on August 7, contained a repair for a bug in Superior Knowledge Safety, which encrypts iCloud information.
macOS Sonoma 14.6 was made accessible on July 29. It contains the power for the M3 MacBook Professional to run two exterior shows in clamshell mode and is an replace of safety patches and bug fixes. Apple has a whole checklist of all the safety updates accessible on its safety notes webpage. Learn: You possibly can lastly run twin exterior shows on the M3 MacBook Professional and Air: Right here’s how. Additionally learn: How you can join two or extra exterior shows to an M1, M2, or M3 MacBook.
macOS Sonoma 14.5 arrived on Might 13. It features a new each day phrase sport referred to as Quartiles which is a part of Apple Information+ and a Scoreboard within the Information app for entry to crosswords and different video games.
macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 arrived on March 25 and introduced a number of necessary bug fixes. These embody an incapability to acknowledge USB hubs linked to exterior shows (see the entry for Sonoma 14.4, under), and Java apps quitting unexpectedly.
The macOS Sonoma 14.4 replace, launched on March 7, introduced new emoji, updates to the Podcast app, an icons solely choice for the Safari Favourite Bar, and safety and bug fixes. Nevertheless, it seems this model included a Java bug and a USB drawback, with customers complaining that exterior shows with USB hubs linked have stopped working. There was additionally an iCloud Drive bug, with iCloud Drive now not preserving saved variations of a file. If you’re experiencing these points you possibly can comply with our information to revert a macOS replace.
macOS Sonoma 14.3.1 arrived on February 8 and glued an issue the place “textual content could unexpectedly duplicate or overlap whereas typing.”
macOS Sonoma 14.3 arrived on January 22 and introduced Collaborative Playlists for Apple Music. It additionally features a patch for a zero-day vulnerability which will have been exploited within the wild.
macOS Sonoma 14.2 arrived on December 11, 2023, and introduced Enhanced AutoFill, Contact Key Verification, and numerous app updates. Extra particulars about what’s new are under.
macOS Sonoma 14.1.2 arrived on November 30 and glued two exploited zero-day WebKit flaws that have been additionally patched in iOS and iPadOS with 17.1.2. Apple additionally launched Safari 17.1.2 for Ventura and older to deal with the identical exploits.
Beforehand, macOS Sonoma 14.1.1 arrived on November 7. It contains bug fixes and safety updates and is really useful for all customers.
Earlier than that macOS Sonoma 14.1, was launched on October 25.
There will probably be a number of updates over the approaching months, each minor level releases for bug fixes and safety updates and main releases that add a number of the Sonoma options that weren’t accessible at launch.
macOS 14 Sonoma beta: Newest model
Apple has now ended the event of recent options for Sonoma.
If you happen to’d like to hitch the beta for macOS Sequoia learn this: How you can be a part of Apple’s beta program and check out new software program.
macOS Sonoma compatibility: Which Macs can run macOS 14?
Apple dropped help for some 2017 Macs from the Sonoma compatibility checklist.
These are the Macs which are in a position to run macOS Sonoma:
- iMac from 2019 and later
- Mac Professional from 2019 and later
- iMac Professional from 2017
- Mac Studio from 2022 and later
- MacBook Air from 2018 and later
- Mac mini from 2018 and later
- MacBook Professional from 2018 and later
When Apple launched macOS Ventura, the next Macs may run it:
- MacBook fashions from 2017 or later
- MacBook Air fashions from 2018 or later
- MacBook Professional fashions from 2017 or later
- Mac mini fashions from 2018 or later
- iMac fashions from 2017 or later
- iMac Professional (all fashions)
- Mac Professional fashions from 2019 or later
- Mac Studio (all fashions)
A Mac could also be suitable with macOS 14, however unable to run a number of the new options. Some new options require Apple chips and don’t run on Intel-based Macs.
To seek out out which model of macOS older Macs can run check out our macOS compatibility checklist.
How you can set up macOS 14 Sonoma
We cowl tips on how to replace macOS Sonoma in a separate article, we additionally cowl a number of the points you may encounter putting in Sonoma, so when you do have any difficulties take a look at that article. It must be easy sufficient to put in macOS Sonoma although.
All of the options in macOS Sonoma
Foundry
Under you will discover the options added in every replace to Sonoma, in addition to these accessible at launch.
macOS 14.7: New options
macOS Sonoma 14.7, launched on September 16, 2024, introduced safety patches and bug fixes.
macOS 14.6: New options
The discharge of the macOS 14.6 introduced no new options.
macOS 14.5: New options
macOS 14.5 solely actually introduced new options to Apple Information+ subscribers. These included the brand new Quartiles sport, which joins the Crossword and Crossword mini video games within the Puzzles part, and a Scoreboard to view all of your mini video games information.
macOS 14.4: New options
There have been a couple of issues with the macOS 14.4 replace, together with a Java bug, a USB drawback, and an iCloud Drive drawback. If you happen to expertise these points comply with our information to revert a macOS replace.
The brand new options macOS 14.4 introduced have been:
- New emoji: together with Damaged Chain, Brown Mushroom, Head Shaking Horizontally, Head Shaking Vertically, Lime, and Phoenix, in addition to a number of various route emoji.
- Updates to the Podcast app.
- An icons solely choice for the Safari Favourite Bar.
- iMessage replace: Apple is introducing a new iMessage protocol that may use post-quantum cryptography to encrypt for conversations.
- Fixes: There are additionally numerous fixes coming that ought to resolve points with CreateML, the Finder, Messages, and Passkeys. A problem the place it wasn’t potential to replace to macOS 14.4 from macOS 11.0-12.3.1 can also be addressed. Learn extra about macOS 14.4 right here.
macOS 14.3: New options
macOS 14.3 introduced the next new options:
- Collaborative Playlists for Apple Music.
- Emoji reactions for tracks in collaborative playlists.
- AppleCare & Guarantee in Settings exhibits particulars of all of your eligible gadgets.
- StoreKit: new options and bug fixes for builders.
- SwiftUI: new options and bug fixes for builders.
- Apple has additionally revealed there will probably be a number of bug fixes coming within the replace. Within the 14.4 beta launch notes the corporate lists fixes for a difficulty with CreateML, a decision for a Finder challenge, a difficulty with stickers in Messages.
Updates from macOS 11.0–12.3.1 to Sonoma could not work, wherein case Apple recommends updating to macOS 12.4 first.
macOS 14.2: New options
New options in macOS 14.2 included:
- iMessage Contact Key Verification: Improved safety for contact key verification customers.
- StoreKit: Value, foreign money, and currencyCode are actually accessible on Transaction.
- PDFs: An Enhanced AutoFill characteristic makes use of Contacts information to fill out a PDF or scanned doc.
Whereas the brand new Journal app is a characteristic of iOS 17.2, which arrived on the identical day, it’s not (but) a Mac app.
The next options, which additionally arrived in iOS 17.2, will probably be accessible within the equal apps on macOS:
- Information app: The Information app will help Dwell Actions.
- Apple Music: Additionally, you will have the ability to disable the listening historical past in Apple Music so it doesn’t influence Apple Music solutions.
- TV app: There’ll now not be separate Films and TV Reveals tabs. Only a Retailer tab.
- Messages: You possibly can react to iMessages with any emoji or sticker. Warning for stickers if in case you have enabled it for Messages.
- Climate: Now you can see wind and rain on a map.
- Clock: You possibly can run a number of timers.
macOS 14.1: New options
The macOS 14.1 replace included:
- Apple Music: New Favorites playlist.
- Protection part within the Basic System Settings that features Apple Care data.
- Repair for a difficulty with Distant Widgets.
- Addressed points with Pockets and WidgetKit.
macOS 14 Sonoma 14.0: New options
Apple
Listed below are the options that arrived with macOS Sonoma in September 2023.
Learn our comparability of macOS Sonoma and macOS Ventura for extra particulars about what modified.
Login Display screen modifications
From the second that your Mac begins up in Sonoma you’ll discover the distinction. Apple has redesigned the login display so that you just enter your password on the backside quite than the center of the display.
We clarify tips on how to navigate the brand new Lock Display screen and set your preferences right here: How you can customise and navigate the brand new login display.
Desktop widgets
You’ll have the ability to add extra Widgets from the Widget Gallery and place them wherever on the display. Apple has gone to lengths to verify they aren’t distracting, they’ll primarily fade into the background.
Additionally, you will have the ability to add Widgets from an iPhone utilizing Continuity, the iPhone simply must be close by, on or identical Wi-Fi community. Learn: How Apple’s upcoming widget revolution will change our screens perpetually.
Discover ways to add widgets to the macOS Sonoma Desktop.
Apple Music
The power to simply mark Favorites and create a Favourite Songs playlist arrived with macOS 14.1. macOS 14.3 is predicted to deliver Apple Music Playlist collaboration.
Login display
Apple made some modifications to the login display and added a brand new immersive animation that leads into your desktop.
Wallpapers
Apple added some lovely animated wallpapers exhibiting places from around the globe. See: The perfect wallpapers included in macOS Sonoma.
Private Voice
A brand new Private Voice characteristic means that you can prepare your Mac to speak together with your voice after which use that to transform textual content to speech. We clarify tips on how to use it right here: macOS Sonoma: How you can prepare your Mac to speak in your voice
Sport Mode
This new mode ensures that video games get the very best precedence on GPU and CPU, which ought to assist with playability. It’ll make gaming on Mac “extra immersive,” in line with Apple. Different modifications ought to scale back latency with controllers and enhance in-game responsiveness.
Apple introduced that extra Mac video games are coming, and demonstrated “Demise Stranding: Administrators Reduce” (which is sadly not a brand new sport). Apple additionally defined the way it will assist sport builders deliver their video games to the Mac with a brand new Sport Porting package that features instruments that devs can use to rapidly port their video games to the Mac, considerably decreasing the sport improvement time. Learn: Apple’s Sport Porting Toolkit is the primary actual step to fixing Mac gaming. We additionally clarify How you can use Sport Mode to spice up efficiency.
Learn our round-up of the Greatest video games for Mac.
Video conferencing
Apple
While you share your display throughout a presentation your presence can get misplaced. To repair this challenge Apple has devised a brand new video impact referred to as Presenter Overlay that may overlay your face over the presentation, separating you from the background. This could appear as if the image above, or be a smaller bubble together with your face in (which can cowl much less of the presentation).
Different new options embody the power so as to add a response to your video to point out how you’re feeling about one thing. For instance, when you present two thumbs up a fireworks animation will play. These options can be used as video results with different video conferencing apps, so it’s not tied to FaceTime.
Safari
It is possible for you to to create Safari Profiles so you possibly can separate accounts between work and residential/college profiles.
Safari and WebKit achieve new typography.
Customers will have the ability to block personal shopping home windows after they aren’t getting used.
It is going to be potential to share Passkeys and Passwords with members of the family. This will probably be end-to-end encrypted through iCloud Keychain.
See: Safari 17: All the brand new options coming to your Mac this fall
Internet apps
It is going to be straightforward to make an internet site you employ quite a bit right into a Internet App. Simply open the webpage and select File > Add to Dock so as to add a webpage to the Dock as an icon and open it to get an app-like look for that net web page that opens outdoors of Safari.
Discover ways to make and handle Internet Apps in macOS Sonoma.
PDFs and Notes
The AutoFill for PDFs characteristic arrived with macOS 14.2 in December 2023. It really works with Contacts to pick the data wanted and makes it straightforward to fill out PDFs quicker and securely.
Additionally, you will have the ability to view PDFs in Notes, hyperlink associated notes, and open a Observe in Pages to replace it there.
Apple
Keyboard
Adjustments to the keyboard embody improved Autocorrect accuracy and inline typing predictions.
Messages
You possibly can count on improved Search of the Messages app, having the ability to refine your search as you go.
There’s a brand new Sticker drawer, catchup for group conversations, and enhancements to Messages in iCloud.
There will probably be warnings about doubtlessly delicate movies and pictures earlier than you open them, and as of macOS 14.2 warnings about Stickers.
Safety
Enhancements to Lockdown Mode will assist defend towards cyber assaults. Lockdown Mode makes it straightforward to guard your Apple gadgets and your information in case you are the sufferer of a cyberattack.
In macOS Sonoma Apple simplified using 2FA on web sites. Safari will routinely fill within the code you’re despatched (as a textual content or electronic mail) and routinely delete the e-mail or textual content afterwards.
One other security-related characteristic in Sonoma is a simplification of the method for sharing passwords with family and friends. Customers can create a gaggle and share a set of passwords to that group. It’s end-to-end encrypted.
In Safari you possibly can set a brand new Personal Looking Lock to look on the display to cease onlookers from viewing your display once you aren’t current.
