Among the myriad new features of macOS Catalina and iOS 13 (and iPadOS), there were a two that seemed especially cool and one that will force me to adapt and change.

Text Editing Shortcuts

In iOS 13 on both iPhone and iPad, there will be six new shortcuts and gestures to make editing text easier, as outlined in this 9to5 Mac article. With three fingers, pinch to copy, pinch again to cut, spread to paste, swipe left to undo,  and swipe right to redo.

Also, you can tap with three fingers to reveal a menu with all five of these command choices.

Voice Control + Dictation

Speech gets a major overhaul in both macOS Catalina and iOS 13. You’ll be able to control anything on your screen with specific commands as well as by revealing a grid and commanding clicks or taps on specific areas.

This is a boon for folks who have relied on Nuance’s Dragon software, which the company no longer develops nor supports on the Mac. Plus, in keeping with Apple’s strong privacy practices, all speech interpretation and processing will be done on-device.

R.I.P. Dashboard

I wrote about Dashboard in 2014, heralding its simple approach to useful services, and I continue to love it even to this day. However, in macOS Catalina, Apple has dropped support for the underlying components that make Dashboard work.

As a result, I’m forced to use Notification Center widgets, menu bar apps, and other standalone applications to handle similar functions for which I’ve heavily relied on Dashboard. I have already begun this transition even though I feel it will make me less efficient.

I’ll share more features and changes this fall after I install these software upgrades and also when I start helping you navigate them. Until then, enjoy the suspense!