As we slowly but surely approach the official release of macOS Sequoia, more and more new features have been added to the various beta builds that Apple has recently released. One notable addition is the new developer beta of macOS 15.1.
The release of the second beta for macOS 15.1 brings the first set of Apple Intelligence features for developers to play with. Unfortunately, the rest of us will have to wait, as there is no equivalent public beta with these AI features (yet). To run macOS 15.1 beta 2, you’ll also need a Mac with Apple silicon (an M1 chip or better).
So, what are the first Apple Intelligence features debuting in macOS? The beta includes Writing Tools, which help you rewrite, summarize, and proofread text, as demonstrated during the WWDC 24 demo. Siri has also finally gotten a facelift, and there’s also support for typing to Siri, in case you don’t want (or can’t) talk to the assistant.
And the rest of us?!
Additionally, the Mail app has gained AI capabilities, such as the ability to summarize emails, prioritize sorting, and use a smart reply feature that suggests a response to a particular message.
While that’s a hefty dose of features for Apple Intelligence to tackle, there’s still a lot that hasn’t made it into beta testing yet, including Genmoji and ChatGPT integration.
Let’s say you’re still a little confused about all the different betas Apple has planned for Sequoia. In that case, there are two major beta builds of macOS 15 – one for developers, one for the public – but only one (developer) beta build of macOS 15.1, which is the one we’re reviewing here, which now includes Apple Intelligence. Unfortunately, we haven’t had a chance to dig into the final build yet, but we’re looking forward to doing so.
Perhaps Apple Intelligence capabilities will eventually come to the macOS 15 public beta, but it’s not clear whether that will be the case – we may have to wait until the final version of Sequoia. In the meantime, we’ll just have to remain patient and enjoy iPhone Mirroring and the cool new wallpapers.