MacOS Catalina operating system was released, iTunes was officially killed

Last night Apple released the latest version of its MacOS operating system, MacOS Catalina. So, after months of beta testing and tweaking, the operating system has officially launched.

The operating system can be downloaded for free from the Mac App Store and is available to anyone with a compatible Mac.

MacOS Catalina brings a number of important changes for Macs, including removing the iTunes application to turn it into separate Music, Podcast and TV applications. These three apps have the same functionality as iTunes, but are separated into one.

The management of iOS devices is still present on a Mac but is now done via Finder instead of iTunes, and access to your Apple ID will be done through setting up a new Profile in System Preferences.

The new TV app gives you access to TV shows and movies with 4K HDR support and Dolby Atmos. Meanwhile, the Music app gives you access to Apple Music and the iTunes library, while the Podcast app brings you the Podcast library with features like browsing through channels, viewing charts, etc.

The new Sidecar feature allows you to turn your iPad into the second secondary monitor for Macs at the touch of a button. You can even use Apple Pencil to turn your iPad into a drawing when used with apps like Photoshop and Illustrator.

With MacOS Catalina, the Apple Watch can be used as a security reminder for passwords and Macs with T2 chips now also support Activation Lock, making them even more secure.

MacOS Catalina also brings the new Find My app for the first time, allowing you to track your devices even when they’re offline, or in the case of a laptop being folded.

The Sreen Time app is also available on Macs besides iPads and iPhones. So you can track usage time for your entire device to get a full picture of the time you spend on the devices.

Project Catalyst, a new Apple initiative, is designed to allow developers to easily port their iPad apps to Macs to increase the number of apps for Macs.

The new Photos app interface displays your best photos, sorted by date, or year. There is also a new startup page on Safari. The Mail app also has new tools to stop monitoring email flows and block senders. The Reminders app has also been completely overhauled.

Security is further enhanced in MacOS Catalina and Gatekeeper, Apple’s security protocol, when testing every application for known security issues. The new data protection method requires applications to get your permission before accessing documents.

This update also supports Apple Arcade, Apple’s new paid gaming service. With MacOS Catalina, Mac users can access Apple Arcade games on Macs, as well as iOS and Apple TV devices.

Before installing MacOS Catalina, users should note that 32-bit applications are no longer supported, so some older applications may not work after installing the update.

Refer to MacRumors