Apple’s upcoming macOS release, Sequoia, is slated to be an ambitious one. The planned improvements hold a lot of promise and implement changes people have been wanting for years. However, if you don’t want to wait until Fall to benefit from the changes, you can turn to third-party tools right now instead.
After test-driving the macOS Sequoia beta, I can tell you that my third-party configurations have been giving me many of the best new features for years already. Some of them even outperform what Apple is bringing to the table later this year.
ChatGPT Gives Me a Smarter Siri
Siri has been a point of anguish for Apple users for as long as I can remember. Apple’s first-mover advantage in mobile voice assistance may have been to its detriment. The core codebase Siri was built on proved difficult to modify by the time Siri’s shortcomings became evident, resulting in stagnation.
While Apple promises that the upcoming improvements and AI integrations will show that Siri’s finally gotten her groove back, I have doubts. Until then, ChatGPT is available for answering questions with actual voice responses rather than a list of web results you need to unlock your phone to view. If you have an iPhone 15 or newer, you can set the Action button to start a new voice chat with ChatGPT.
For hands-free use, you can build a simple workflow via the Shortcuts app. Personally, I have it set up so that when I say “Siri, question,” that’s her cue to take a back seat and start a fresh voice chat using the ChatGPT app. While ChatGPT cannot control your devices like Siri, this setup will immediately show returns in terms of ChatGPT’s superior abilities to answer questions, discern context, and maintain a real back-and-forth conversation.
DALL-E or Midjourney Let Me Create AI Images
While Apple Intelligence in Sequoia promises built-in AI image creation, tools like Midjourney and DALL-E have already set the bar high. These AI platforms allow you to generate stunning images based on text prompts, offering flexibility and creativity not confined to an OS.
Using Midjourney or DALL-E, you can create unique visuals for your projects, presentations, or for personal use. These tools provide a powerful alternative to Apple’s upcoming features, giving you a head start in AI-driven image creation. They can even be used in conjunction with Apple’s built-in image creation AI to create a more unique end product, having used the different models to modify the art generated by the other.
Sequoia’s planned implementation of window snapping might seem like a win, but it falls short of the competition. The area around the screen borders is thin, requiring precise control to trigger macOS’s new tiling function. Additionally, the ability to snap windows into quarters by dragging apps to the corners is absent.
BetterTouchTool comes to the rescue, offering extensive customization for your touchpad, keyboard, Siri remotes, and MIDI devices. It includes BetterSnapTool, providing the fast window snapping capability found in Microsoft Windows. Beyond half- and quarter-screen snapping, custom snap areas can be configured to suit your needs.
Ultra-wide monitor users can rejoice at snapping four windows side by side in mere seconds. While these capabilities are covered by BetterSnapTool, which is a little cheaper than the full suite of tools, any Mac user interested in customization and optimization will appreciate BetterTouchTool’s astonishing full capabilities.
I Use Open Broadcast Studio for a Video Call Preview
Anyone who has worked from home has likely experienced the horror of inadvertently broadcasting something mortifying via webcam or screen share. Sequoia seeks to address this with a preview window, giving users a full overview of what their audience will see before actually going live. However, Mac’s native screen sharing tools have been buggy, and dual OS users are out of luck.
Enter Open Broadcast Studio (OBS). Free, open-source, cross-platform, tried, true, and versatile, OBS is the backbone of the live-streaming industry. You can preview your outgoing feed before making it public.
The base installation includes the OBS Virtual Cam, which allows you to layer your camera feed, custom backgrounds, and screen shares onto a blank canvas. Select OBS Virtual Camera in Zoom or Teams, and your customized feed will broadcast to your audience. Similar to BetterTouchTool, OBS can be as simple as you need it to be, but its capabilities and proximity to the live-streaming space may bring out your creative side, professionally or otherwise.
1Password: Jump Straight to a Third-Party Password Manager
Apple’s built-in password management is slowly improving, with the upcoming dedicated Password app promising relief from the amorphous iCloud Keychain or the counter-intuitive list of passwords only accessible via Safari’s Settings. That’s great news for strict Apple users, but there’s no sign of it coming to Android which will make it a no-go for many.
From my experience, 1Password is the best, most useful password manager. It works on every common operating system, mobile or otherwise. It can be accessed in any browser via the 1Password website, and integrates with productivity apps like Alfred through its command line and SSH capabilities.
Migrating to 1Password can be daunting, but once done, you can enjoy seamless password management across all devices. There’s no need to wait for Sequoia to improve your password protection, since 1Password—like all these apps—is available right now.
While macOS Sequoia and iOS 18 bring exciting improvements, many features can be found in superior third-party solutions already available. I’ve been using several of them for years!
Apple’s updates show promise, but Apple’s tendency to move slowly with regard to its in-house software is reason enough to expect a bumpy start. Even so, savvy users may still prefer the flexibility and functionality of these tried-and-true alternatives, designed for anyone who seeks to make their Mac work for them as best they see fit.
