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MacOS Catalina will track down your lost MacBook with other people’s iPhones

New MacOS features include an accessibility overhaul, neat iPad tie-ins, and the end of iTunes.

MacOS Catalina will track down your lost MacBook with other people’s iPhones

[Photo: courtesy of Apple]

BY Jared Newman1 minute read

A new feature in Apple’s upcoming MacOS Catalina update will help you find a lost MacBook, even if it’s no longer where you left it.

The “Find My” feature quietly and securely connects with nearby iPhones over Bluetooth, updating its location every time. Users can then look up the computer’s whereabouts from an iPhone or on the web via iCloud.com.

Apple is also dismantling the iTunes app in MacOS Catalina, breaking its core features into three separate apps. The Music app will cover many of the functions that iTunes previously offered, including backup and sync for iPhones, iPads, and iPods. A dedicated Podcasts app will let users listen to podcasts and search them based on their transcripts. The TV app will mirror the one that’s currently available on iOS and Apple TV, letting users view their recommendations, Channels subscriptions, and iTunes purchases.

With the new apps, Apple is trying to offer software that’s less bloated than the notoriously cumbersome iTunes app. The change is also partially about branding, as Apple has been moving away from the “i” prefix in its newer products.

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Other features coming to MacOS this fall include a major accessibility update that allows for system-wide voice control, the ability to use an iPad as a secondary display or drawing tablet, and a Screen Time app for monitoring and restricting app use, similar to the iOS version.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jared Newman covers apps and technology from his remote Cincinnati outpost. He also writes two newsletters, Cord Cutter Weekly and Advisorator. More


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