Skip to main content

These MacOS Monterey features are exclusive to the newer M1 Macs

Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you own a Mac with an M1 chip inside, then the MacOS Monterey update might have just added value to your machine with some unique features that you won’t be able to find on Intel-based Macs. That is according to Apple’s website, which has some bullet points noting the M1 exclusivity of some new goodies of the operating system.

There are a couple of these features you’ll need to know about, many of which were actually detailed during Apple’s WWDC keynote — without the important note of not being available on Intel-based Macs. The first relates to FaceTime, which got a number of new features in Monterey. Portrait mode will blur the background behind you and won’t be available on Intel-based Macs. Portrait Mode is also a new API that will allow other applications such as Zoom or Teams to implement the same effect. Regardless of the application, Intel-based Macs won’t support the feature.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Another big feature from Monterey is Live Text. This feature lets you pull text and phone numbers from photos, but it only will work on M1 Macs.

Recommended Videos

Elsewhere, there are two more features in Apple Maps that are exclusive to M1 Macs. You won’t be able to use the new globe view option or see the expanded details in cities like New York or Los Angeles. Offline, on-device dictation, on-device dictation without a time limit, and neural text-to-speech voices in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, and Finnish also cap out the list of M1-exclusive features.

These specialized features won’t work on Intel Macs for a very specific reason. It is because all need to depend on the neural engine of the M1 chip. The processing behind the feature happens on device, too, according to Apple. This is not something that is possible with the chipsets in Intel-based Macs.

But don’t be too worried. The biggest of the MacOS Monterey features still work on Intel-based Macs. SharePlay, which lets you listen to music together with friends and family in FaceTime, still works. AirPlay to Mac still works, too, allowing you to stream what is on your iPhone to any compatible Mac on Apple’s list.

Select Intel-based Macs even support Universal Control, allowing you to control your iPad or other Mac devices with a single keyboard and mouse. Finally, all Macs that get Monterey will see the updated Safari web browser, updates to the Notes experience (and QuickNote), new iMessage features, and more.

Apple had promised that it would continue to release MacOS updates for Intel-based Macs. However, the M1-exclusivity of some of these MacOS Monterey features hints that there could be a similar set of elements in future releases that won’t be coming to Intel-based Macs in the future.

Arif Bacchus
Arif Bacchus is a native New Yorker and a fan of all things technology. Arif works as a freelance writer at Digital Trends…
A YouTuber with 11 million subscribers just unboxed the M4 MacBook Pro
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Max chip seen from behind.

Leaks of the yet-to-be-announced M4 MacBook Pro have been getting weirder and weirder lately. First, it was up for sale on Facebook. And now, as spotted by MacRumors, there seems to be an entire unboxing video of it on YouTube.

Weirder yet, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman retweeted the Russian YouTuber Wylsacom's video with the comment: "Unconfirmed but looks fairly legitimate." This isn't some unknown YouTube channel, either. He currently sits at 11.3 million subscribers.

Read more
I’m worried Apple will skip its October event – here’s what that means for the M4 MacBook Pro
Apple CEO Tim Cook looks at a display of brand new redesigned MacBook Air laptop during the WWDC22

For months now, we’ve been hearing that Apple is set to announce a boatload of new products -- including the M4 MacBook Pro range, fresh iPads, and more -- at an event this October. Yet a new report suggests that things might not be quite so simple after all.

In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman says that Apple is set to reveal these new products “around the end of October,” with the devices going on sale on Friday, November 1. So far, so expected.

Read more
The M4 MacBook Pro is apparently listed for sale on Facebook — but I don’t buy it
An open MacBook Pro on a table.

According to analysts and industry experts like Mark Gurman and Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is expected to announce an M4 refresh of the MacBook Pro possibly this month and most likely before the end of the year. No event announcements have come yet, though Apple has historically held an October Mac event. But now, an online leak discovered by Wccftech claims the new model is up for sale on a private Facebook group. The claim is backed up by alleged images of the retail box, but there's plenty to be suspicious about.

While the images were posted by known leaker ShrimpApplePro, the information was sent to them from an unknown source. There are two posts so far, one with an image of the back of the retail box -- with comments from AppleShrimpPro saying to take it with asome skepticism -- and one showing additional images and claiming it's for sale on Facebook.

Read more