So Apple's most controversial new macOS feature is... System Settings

After what's felt like years in the wings, macOS Ventura has finally made its way into the world. Mac users have been downloading the new software update in their droves – and while it's features like Continuity Camera and Stage Manager that have hogged the headlines since WWDC this summer, its a smaller update that's getting fans talking now.

System Preferences has not only been renamed System Settings, but the menu also features a new design. Apple says this is "optimised for efficient navigation on Mac and delivers a more consistent experience across iPhone and iPad," but users aren't convinced. (Want the best macOS experience around? Check out the best MacBook Pro deals available now).

The redesigned System Settings menu certainly looks more reminiscent of iOS and iPadOS, based on large, scrolling lists. But it seems users aren't happy with the idea of a mobile design being reappropriated for desktop. For one thing, there's a lot of negative space out there, when the list of options isn't large enough to fill the window.

But even worse is the fact that so many settings have completely moved. For longtime macOS users, that means throwing a whole load of muscle memory out the window. 

Still, Apple users are famously averse to change – and it's quite possible that, like macOS Big Sur's once-hated icons, they'll eventually get used to the new Settings app (and maybe even, whisper it, start to like it). And besides, users will have much more to talk about if any of those new iPhone 15 rumours eventually come to fruition.

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