Apple has officially rolled out macOS Sequoia 15.4 for all Mac users. The update brings an array of new features and improvements, including a revamped Mail app, fresh widgets, tweaks to Apple Intelligence, and more. Here’s a summary of the enhancements you can expect.
Revamped Mail App
The significant redesign of the Mail app, which originated on the iPhone, now makes its way to the Mac in macOS 15.4.
A key update is how your inbox will function.
Messages will be automatically categorized into these sections:
- Primary
- Transactions
- Updates
- Promotions
Additionally, there’s a hidden All Mail view situated to the right of Promotions.
These categories are designed to help you manage your most essential emails without losing sight of anything important.
Aside from inbox organization, the new Mail app also boasts:
- A Digest View that consolidates messages from the same sender into a single streamlined thread
- Contact photographs within the inbox, reminiscent of Apple’s Messages app
- A variety of additional UI enhancements and adjustments
If you’re not keen on the new layout, Apple provides options to disable many changes and revert to the previous version of the Mail app.
Enhanced Apple Intelligence Features
macOS 15.4 introduces several advancements in the realm of Apple Intelligence, primarily focused on language support.
The Image Playground app now includes a new feature where users can create images in a Sketch style, complementing the existing Animation and Illustration options.
Additionally, you can now produce a Memory movie using the Photos app on your Mac, a feature that debuted on iOS last fall.
One of the standout additions is the significant expansion of language support by Apple Intelligence, with eight new languages along with two newly localized English variants, totaling ten new options.
The new languages include:
- French
- German
- Italian
- Portuguese (Brazil)
- Spanish
- Japanese
- Korean
- Chinese (simplified)
- English (Singapore)
- English (India)
Apple Podcasts users will also benefit from new widgets in macOS 15.4.
The Followed Shows widget allows convenient access to the latest episodes from your favorite shows, while a customizable Library widget can display different sections of the app, like Downloaded or Saved.
New Emoji
The emoji keyboard on Apple devices has been updated with seven exciting new emojis, including:
- Face with bags under eyes
- Fingerprint
- Leafless tree
- Root vegetable
- Harp
- Shovel
- Splatter
While AI-enabled devices can theoretically generate custom emojis through Genmoji, Apple will continue to incorporate new emojis to the system keyboard based on approvals from the Unicode Consortium. This release includes the latest batch from Unicode.
Quick Start on Mac
Apple has long provided the Quick Start feature for setting up new devices on iPhones and iPads. This allows users to scan a code on their iPhone or iPad to transfer settings to the new device.
With macOS 15.4, Macs can now utilize Quick Start. The setup process mirrors that of other devices, displaying a code for scanning to transfer settings.
Features Missing: Priority Notifications and More
Regrettably, the much-anticipated new Apple Intelligence feature of iOS and iPadOS 18.4—Priority Notifications—is absent from macOS 15.4. We hope for a Mac-compatible version of this feature in future updates.
Moreover, a new Food section featuring recipes and a cooking mode in the Apple News app on other platforms is missing from the Mac update.
Summary of macOS 15.4
While macOS 15.4 may not be as bursting with features as its counterparts—iOS and iPadOS 18.4 and visionOS 2.4—it remains a valuable update for Mac users. It’s common for the Mac to receive fewer new features compared to Apple’s other platforms. However, we hope to see missing updates like Priority Notifications come to macOS soon.
Which features in macOS 15.4 are you most looking forward to? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
