

But just because cosmetic changes and major new features are few and far between doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot to talk about, so let’s dive right in. Indeed, Monterey has far more in common with updates like El Capitan, Sierra, or High Sierra than it does with updates like Yosemite, Catalina, or Big Sur.


It’s possible that Apple deliberately named the current major release of its operating system after a place that’s just a short drive away from Big Sur because the average user might easily fail to spot any obvious changes. Interestingly, Big Sur is located less than 40 miles away from Monterey Bay. Monterey is the successor to the seventeenth major release of macOS, named Big Sur after the mountainous section of the Central Coast of California. I’ve been testing Monterey since the first public macOS Monterey preview version was released at the beginning of July 2021, so this review is based on the last few months of use-not just the last few days. The macOS Monterey release date is now in the past, and that means I’m ready to share with you my thoughts and impressions. Apple’s recent “Unleashed” event revolved around the introduction of Apple silicon MacBooks Pro, but it also announced that the next major version of Apple’s operating system, called macOS 12 Monterey, would become available on October 25th.
