Updating to Mac OS Catalina: Tips and Tricks to Get You Started

If you've just upgraded to Mac OS Catalina, congratulations! This latest version of macOS brings a fresh new interface and plenty of exciting features. But what exactly can you expect from this update? In this article, we'll dive into some tips and tricks to help you make the most of your new operating system.

First things first: what's happened to iTunes? Don't worry – it may be gone, but it's not forgotten. Instead, Apple has divided its music, TV show, and podcast features across three separate apps. The Music app is home to your personal music library and your Apple Music subscription, while the TV app shows you all your movies and TV shows. Meanwhile, the Podcast app takes care of your podcasts. By having these apps work together, you'll get a cleaner and more organized interface that makes it easier to find what you're looking for.

But syncing your iOS device with your Mac is still just as important. Plugging in your device will instantly list it in the left column of Finder, giving you easy access to sync services like backup and sync. You can also use your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac – a feature that's become one of our favorites, but is now even more useful thanks to Mac OS Catalina. Simply double-tap the side button on your watch to authenticate passwords or approve app installations.

If you have an iPad that rarely gets used, why not turn it into a second monitor? The new Sidecar feature in Mac OS Catalina does just that. Assuming you're running iOS 13 on your iPad, simply long-press the green maximize button on an application window on your Mac, and you'll see the "Send to iPad" option. This will wirelessly extend your Mac's desktop to your iPad, allowing you to work or browse more efficiently. Some apps even support the Apple Pencil – so get creative!

One of the most exciting developments in Mac OS Catalina is how easily developers can create apps for the Mac. With just a small amount of work, developers can bring existing iOS frameworks to the Mac, giving us access to a whole new world of applications. Over the coming months, we'll see more and more new apps pop up – so keep an eye out! There are already some great ones available, like Caret, Weather, GoodNotes 5, and PDF Viewer.

Speaking of new features, Apple has also included Find My on your Mac. This makes it incredibly easy to locate friends or devices that might be missing – even if they're closed or not connected to Wi-Fi. You can mark a device as "missing" and set up crowd-sourced location data to track its movements. Meanwhile, if another Apple user's device is nearby, their Bluetooth signal will be reported back to you.

New features are also popping up in various Mac system apps like Photos, Reminders, Mail, and more. The Photos app now sorts your photos by day, month, or year, showcasing all your best shots front and center. You can even share folders inside the Notes app – a feature that's long overdue! And with the Mail app on your Mac, you'll finally have the unsubscribe from email list button at your fingertips.

One final tip: forget about spammy emails for good! With the new update to Mac OS Catalina, you'll be able to avoid them for good. So, get back to enjoying your new and improved Mac – there's plenty of exciting features to explore!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enjust update to Mac OS Catalina on your Mac here are some tips and tricks for the latest version of Mac OS to help get you started iTunes is no more but don't freak out you can find your music TV shows and podcasts in each corresponding application the music app has your personal music library and your Apple music subscription the TV app has all of your movies and TV shows and the podcast app houses your podcasts with all of the apps keeping things a bit more separate clean and organized since iTunes is gone you might be wondering how can you sync your iOS device with your Mac plug in your device to your Mac and you'll immediately find the device listed in the left column in finder you'll have the same iTunes style sync services available to quickly and easily backup your information to your Mac unlocking the Mac with the Apple watch is one of my favorite features ever and if you don't have that setting turn on I highly recommend you do it but in Mac OS Catalina your Apple watch can now be used to authenticate passwords or approve app installations by simply double tapping the side button got an iPad that rarely gets used wish it could be just a bit more useful well how about turning it into a second monitor to pair with your Mac the new sidecar feature in Mac OS Catalina does just that assuming you have iOS 13 running on your iPad simply long press the green maximize button on an application window on Mac and you'll see the sendto I pad option which will enable the sidecar feature and wirelessly extend your Mac's desktop to your iPad and yep some apps even use the Apple pencil Apple has made it easier for developers to create apps based off of existing iOS frameworks and now with just a small amount of work developers can bring us more Mac apps than we've ever had before over the course of the next few months we'll likely be seeing more and more applications pop up for the Mac that we've been logging for there are already some great apps available like caret weather good notes 5 PDF viewer and more speaking of iOS apps making their way to the Mac Apple has included find my on your Mac which makes it easier than ever to find your friends or devices find my even helps find Mac books that might be closed or not connected to Wi-Fi by using crowd-sourced location data when you mark your device as missing and another Apple users device is by it could detect your Bluetooth signal and report its location to you finally there are loads of new features in various Mac system apps like photos reminders mail and more reminders has a completely new look and feel same with the Photos app which now sorts photos by day month year and showcases all of your best shots front and center you can finally share folders inside of the Notes app can easily enter into picture-in-picture mode by clicking the audio icon on a safari tab and the unsubscribe from email list button finally comes to the mail app on your Mac finally no more spammy emailsjust update to Mac OS Catalina on your Mac here are some tips and tricks for the latest version of Mac OS to help get you started iTunes is no more but don't freak out you can find your music TV shows and podcasts in each corresponding application the music app has your personal music library and your Apple music subscription the TV app has all of your movies and TV shows and the podcast app houses your podcasts with all of the apps keeping things a bit more separate clean and organized since iTunes is gone you might be wondering how can you sync your iOS device with your Mac plug in your device to your Mac and you'll immediately find the device listed in the left column in finder you'll have the same iTunes style sync services available to quickly and easily backup your information to your Mac unlocking the Mac with the Apple watch is one of my favorite features ever and if you don't have that setting turn on I highly recommend you do it but in Mac OS Catalina your Apple watch can now be used to authenticate passwords or approve app installations by simply double tapping the side button got an iPad that rarely gets used wish it could be just a bit more useful well how about turning it into a second monitor to pair with your Mac the new sidecar feature in Mac OS Catalina does just that assuming you have iOS 13 running on your iPad simply long press the green maximize button on an application window on Mac and you'll see the sendto I pad option which will enable the sidecar feature and wirelessly extend your Mac's desktop to your iPad and yep some apps even use the Apple pencil Apple has made it easier for developers to create apps based off of existing iOS frameworks and now with just a small amount of work developers can bring us more Mac apps than we've ever had before over the course of the next few months we'll likely be seeing more and more applications pop up for the Mac that we've been logging for there are already some great apps available like caret weather good notes 5 PDF viewer and more speaking of iOS apps making their way to the Mac Apple has included find my on your Mac which makes it easier than ever to find your friends or devices find my even helps find Mac books that might be closed or not connected to Wi-Fi by using crowd-sourced location data when you mark your device as missing and another Apple users device is by it could detect your Bluetooth signal and report its location to you finally there are loads of new features in various Mac system apps like photos reminders mail and more reminders has a completely new look and feel same with the Photos app which now sorts photos by day month year and showcases all of your best shots front and center you can finally share folders inside of the Notes app can easily enter into picture-in-picture mode by clicking the audio icon on a safari tab and the unsubscribe from email list button finally comes to the mail app on your Mac finally no more spammy emails\n"