According to Apple, here are the macOS 12 Monterey features available only on Mac computers with Apple Silicon (currently, the M1 chip):
• Portrait mode
Inspired by Portrait mode on iPhone and powered by the M1 chip, this new video effect puts the focus on you — not what’s behind you.
• Live Text in photos
Your Mac now lets you interact with text in any image. Click an address and it opens in Maps. Call, message, or save any phone number you see. You can copy and paste just as you would with any other text. And personal details and information from images never leave your device.
• All-new city experience
Explore cities with unprecedented detail for roads, neighborhoods, trees, buildings, and more. Visit amazing 3D landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge in both the day and dark mode maps
• Interactive globe
Discover the natural beauty of Earth with a rich and interactive globe. Explore new enhanced details for mountain ranges, deserts, rain forests, oceans, and more.
• Neural text-to-speech voice in more languages
The latest neural text-to-speech voices are now available in more languages: Swedish (Sweden), Danish (Denmark), Norwegian (Norway), and Finnish (Finland).
• On-device dictation
Keyboard dictation improves as you use your device, personalizing over time. On-device dictation helps protect your privacy by performing all processing completely offline. Dictation in search uses server-based dictation. Available in Arabic (Saudi Arabia), Cantonese (Hong Kong), English (Australia, Canada, India, Singapore, UK, U.S.), French (France), German (Germany), Italian (Italy), Japanese (Japan), Korean (Korea), Mandarin Chinese (China mainland, Taiwan), Russian (Russia), Spanish (Mexico, Spain, U.S.), Turkish (Turkey), and Yue Chinese (China mainland).
• Continuous dictation
With on-device dictation, you can dictate text of any length without a timeout (previously limited to 60 seconds).
Of course, macOS 12 Monterey is compatible with Intel-handicapped Macs (excluding the features listed above), including:
• Mac mini – Late 2014 and later
• iMac – Late 2015 and later
• iMac Pro – 2017 and later
• MacBook – Early 2016 and later
• MacBook Air – Early 2015 and later
• MacBook Pro – Early 2015 and later
• Mac Pro – Late 2013 and later
MacDailyNews Take: Intel-handicapped Macs are the past. Apple Silicon Macs are the future.