These macOS Monterey features won't work on your Intel-based Macs
Apple's macOS Monterey will be available as an OTA update for macOS Big Sur users, including those running older Intel-based Macs, starting Monday, October 25. However, Intel-based Macs will not be able to run some of its features. These features include Portrait mode in FaceTime, detailed view of cities in Maps, and Object Capture, among others. Here are more details.
MacOS Monterey update arrives on October 25
To recall, macOS Monterey was first unveiled at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference earlier this year. Later, at its "Unleashed" event, the iPhone manufacturer announced the update would be available to every device running macOS Big Sur on October 25. That said, some macOS Monterey features won't be available on Intel-based Macs even if the device is less than a year old.
FaceTime Portrait mode, Object Capture won't come to Intel-based Macs
Using Portrait mode on macOS Monterey, you can blur your background in FaceTime calls. On Intel-based Macs, Portrait mode won't be an option. Additionally, Object Capture will be available to Apple Silicon Macs and Intel-powered Macs with 16GB of RAM and 4GB of VRAM or more. The feature lets you create photo-realistic AR-optimized 3D objects by stitching together photographs using a technique called photogrammetry.
Interactive Globe, detailed views on Maps exclusive to M1 Macs
Detailed city views on Maps are specifically designed for M1-powered Macs. The 3D view for certain cities displays geological features, trees, roads, and accurate models of famous buildings and landmarks. Another Maps feature missing for Intel-based Macs is Interactive Globe. It allows you to view Earth from space. On macOS Big Sur, zooming out on Maps displayed a flat world map.
macOS Monterey's Text-to-speech, speech-to-text also have limitations on older Macs
macOS Monterey's Text-to-speech feature using Siri allows users to select text to be read out to them. It will be available in more languages to M1-powered Macs compared to Intel-powered Macs. Also, with keyboard dictation, users can dictate text into any text field. On M1 Macs, voice processing is performed offline. However, on Intel Macs, dictations are limited to bursts of 60 seconds each.
