Mac Users May Be Getting a Handy New Feature in macOS 15.4
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New code found in the latest iOS 18.4 betas reveals that users of new Macs may finally gain a feature that iPhone and iPad users have enjoyed for years: the ability to quickly set up one device using another.
This feature, officially called Quick Start, has been around since iOS 11 debuted in 2017. It came first to the Apple TV a few years earlier since Apple’s set-top box is complicated to set up with a remote control.
Quick Start lets you easily set up a new iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV by holding another device nearby, such as your current iPhone. This can be used to set up secondary devices like a new iPad or even to begin the setup process of transferring your data from an old iPhone to a new one.
This process saves you the hassle of manually keying in things like Wi-Fi and iCloud passwords while transferring many of your settings and preferences. You’ll still need to download data from iCloud or restore from a backup if you’re moving to a new device, but Quick Setup greatly expedites that process by taking care of all the niggly little details.
It’s a convenient feature that the Mac has oddly been left out of. Granted, folks aren’t likely to set up new MacBooks nearly as often as new iPhones and iPads, but it still feels like an unusual omission. Thankfully, Apple may be about to rectify this in macOS 15.4.
Code found in the latest iOS 18.4 beta by the folks at 9to5Mac suggests it will soon gain the Quick Setup feature, or as they call it, “proximity pairing.” There’s every indication it will look similar to the iPhone and iPad versions, displaying a pairing code on the Mac’s screen that users will scan with their iPhone or iPad cameras to kick off the setup process.
As 9to5Mac notes, macOS already has this for business environments to help speed up the process of deploying multiple Macs. However, it’s done through the Apple Configurator tool, so it isn’t something consumers can access.
Instead, the average user has to walk through a manual process when setting up a new Mac, including selecting their Wi-Fi network, typing in the password for it, and then signing into their Apple Account before they can restore settings or transfer data from another Mac or a Time Machine backup.
There’s no word on whether similar code has been found in the macOS 15.4 betas, and as with most such revelations, there’s no guarantee that this will appear in macOS 15.4 or be deferred to a future release. However, it’s hopeful as it shows that Apple is actively working on bringing Quick Setup to the Mac.
Even if it doesn’t make the cut for macOS 15.4, plenty of other new stuff is coming. Apple Mail on the Mac will align with the changes that came to the iPhone version in December with iOS 18.2 by adding support for the new mail categories. Apple Intelligence will also gain support for ten new languages, and while Apple’s AI features have already been available on the Mac in the European Union, the iPhone and iPad will join the party once iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 are released.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
