Customize Control Center
After years of feeling a little unloved, Control Center has received a much-welcomed facelift. Just like iOS/iPadOS 15, Monterey adds something of a modular Control Center, some of which can be customized. That’s true for things like sound, network and display. Head to the Apple icon from the menu bar, then click on “System Preferences -> Dock & Menu Bar.” Once you are in the Dock & Menu Bar menu, look on the left side for the Control Center. At the very top are modules like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirDrop and so on. Go through each available option and look for the option “Show in Menu Bar.” You can opt to show everything in your Control Center or add none at all. To remove an item from the Control Center, simply unclick the “Show in Menu Bar” option and it’s gone. Repeat these steps with the available options until you have a setup you are happy with.
Adding Widgets
For anyone who has started adding widgets to their home screens on their iPhones, widgets on the Mac should be immediately familiar. To see which widgets are already available by default, click on the date and time in the upper-right corner of the menu bar. Next, scroll to the bottom and click on “Edit Widgets.” Upon hitting widgets, a gray screen appears on your display that shows all of the available widgets based on what apps you have installed on your Mac. To add them to Control Center, just drag and drop into the column on the right. Some widgets have multiple sizes, which are showcased by S, M and L (small, medium, large) indicators underneath the widgets.
Pinning Conversations in Messages
Apple now allows users to “pin” a conversation to the top of their iMessage window. This is an incredibly useful feature, so you can quickly find family members or anyone you talk with on a frequent basis. To pin a conversation, press Control + click any conversation in the column on the left and select “Pin.” Once you click on Pin, the thread instantly becomes “pinned” to the top of your conversations list.
Add Your Own Wallpaper
It is not the most exciting customization method, but swapping out the default wallpaper with your own is a good starting point. Apple includes a number of wallpapers, including the dynamic wallpaper that autochanges according to the time, or you can add your own. Wallpapers are easy to find on sites like Desktop Nexus, Simple Desktops, Wallhaven and so many more. Once you have downloaded a wallpaper of your choice, enabling it is super-quick.
Light or Dark Mode
For years, Apple computer users have been clamoring and all but begging for a dark mode. Apple finally delivered with macOS Mojave and later. Enabling dark mode requires nothing more than a few mouse clicks. If you opt for Dark mode, you’ll benefit, as dozens of apps automatically enable Dark Mode in their individual app settings when set as the system default. Apple’s default apps like Mail, Maps, Notes, Safari and TextEdit are prime examples of this swap. You can even make the Dark mode even darker with these tricks.
Custom Color Scheme
With the introduction of macOS Mojave, Apple has enabled the ability to mix and match a variety of color schemes. Adding this feature allows each Mac user to change system accent colors so things feel fresh over time. You can choose from a number of colors for both the Accent color and Highlight color. Whichever color selections you make, you will see those play out across a variety of menus, buttons, highlighting and a number of other macOS system elements.
Safari 15
After years of limitations, Apple is finally allowing its users to personalize the start page on Safari. This includes setting your own background to tweaking Favorites, Siri Suggestions, Reading List, iCloud tabs and your own privacy report. Now, with macOS Monterey, Apple has added two notable features in Safari. The first, Tab Groups, will allow you to save and organize all of your tabs across all of your Apple devices. Essentially, this makes it easy to access this set of tabs at a later point. Secondly, inside Safari’s Preferences and the “Tabs” section, you can now choose between one of two tab layouts. The first is Compact, which makes them individualized with each open website tab separate from one another. The Separate tab is already familiar to Safari users.
The Dock
Apple refreshed the look of the Dock to look as if it’s now “floating,” as there is a space between the bottom of your display and the beginning of the dock. It’s also a bit more translucent. Looks aside, you also have the ability to customize the look and feel of your dock. Head to “Apple Menu -> System Preferences -> Dock & Menu Bar.” In this window, you have the option to tweak the dock’s position, size, magnification and how windows look when minimized and more.
Change Your Cursor Color
macOS Monterey is now introducing the ability to change the color of your cursor.
Animate Your Profile Memoji
Apple has played up the inclusion of Memoji’s as a fun and exciting way to personalize your look on its entire lineup of devices. Now, with macOS Monterey, your user profile can go from using a plain old Memoji to an animated Memoji.
Conclusion
While none of the options to customize your Mac in Montery are mind-blowing, even the tiniest of customization options can have a big impact on your Monterey and macOS experience. Looking to further customize your Mac? You can try to enable/disable the turbo boost feature or hide files/folders/icons on your desktop.
