macOS Monterey 12.3 lands on Apple Macs with Universal Control and Spatial Audio support

Apple has released macOS Monterey 12.3, Monterey's third major update to date. Launched in October 2021, macOS Monterey was expected to support Universal Control before the end of last year. However, it has taken Apple until this month to deliver the feature, which is also available on iPads.

If your machine is not eligible for macOS Monterey 12.3, you should see macOS Big Sur 11.6.5 available instead. You can read about what changes Apple has made with Big Sur 11.6.5 in Apple's accompanying support document. Not only has Apple added Universal Control, but it has also introduced Spatial Audio, albeit only if you have an M1-powered Mac and supported AirPods.

We have included Apple's full update notes below, which also include several bug fixes and enhancements. Please note that macOS Monterey 12.3 is over a 4 GB download. Specifically, our MacBook received a 4.38 GB download, which is rather substantial for an interim update. Apple is distributing macOS Monterey 12.3 globally now, but you may need to trigger the update manually from within System Preferences.

• Universal Control (beta)
  • Universal Control allows you to use a single mouse and keyboard across iPad and Mac
  • Text can be typed on either Mac or iPad and you can drag and drop files between them

• Spatial Audio
  • Dynamic head tracking is available in Music with supported AirPods on Mac computers with the M1 chip
  • Customizable spatial audio settings for Off, Fixed, and Head Tracked are now in Control Center with supported AirPods on Mac computers with the M1 chip

• Emoji
  • New emoji including faces, hand gestures, and household objects are available in emoji keyboard
  • Handshake emoji allows you to choose separate skin tones for each hand

• This release also includes the following enhancements for your Mac:
  • Siri now includes an additional voice, expanding the diversity of options
  • Podcasts app adds episode filter for seasons, played, unplayed, saved, or downloaded episodes
  • Safari webpage translation adds support for Italian and Chinese (Traditional)
  • Shortcuts now supports adding, removing, or querying tags with Reminders
  • Saved passwords can now include your own notes
  • Battery capacity readings have improved accuracy

• This release also includes bug fixes for your Mac:
  • News widgets in Today View may not open articles when clicked
  • Audio may sound distorted while watching video in the Apple TV app
  • Some photos and videos may be unintentionally moved when organizing albums in Photos

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