Hand gesture reactions are one of macOS Sonoma's coolest new features

macOS Sonoma's new gesture response feature makes online interaction more fun! Apple seems to know this well and has added gesture response function to macOS Sonoma. This feature is not only available for FaceTime, but is also compatible with other video calling platforms such as Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams.

Users with Mac compatible can now celebrate their colleagues’ promotions with cool fireworks effects or send virtual love to their partner without any clicks or touches.

Compatibility check

To experience the new gesture response function of macOS, you need to meet two system requirements. You can confirm whether they are all met through a menu.

Animation gestures rely on the processing power of Apple's silicon chips, so first you need to check whether the hardware meets the requirements. Click the apple icon in the upper left corner of the screen, and then click About this machine, and a window will pop up. The first item is Chip—If your machine is equipped with an M1 or M2 chip, it can be used normally.

Also in this window, you can check the macOS version. If it is Sonoma version, it can be used normally. Otherwise, click

More information and this will take you to settings. There, go to General and click Software Update to let your machine scan, download and install the updated system version. Your computer should automatically prompt you if you can upgrade to the latest version of the system, but you can also check out Apple's official list of compatible devices.

[Related articles: Six must-try new features of macOS Sonoma]

If your machine cannot run macOS Sonoma and does not have Apple silicon chips, don't worry, you can still enable gestures in video calls via the "Continuous Intercom Camera" feature: This feature can be run on macOS 13 or later Used on the device, allowing you to use your iPhone as a webcam for computer video calls. You need an iPhone running iOS 16 or later and log in to the same Apple ID as your Mac computer.

How to use macOS gesture response

1. Open FaceTime or other video calling platform that supports this feature. Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom are available.

2. Activate your camera and you will see the

   Video menu button on the main navigation bar of macOS - a bright green button with a white camera. Click it and make sure reaction is selected. This will activate the feature.

3. In your video call, you can make preset gestures to trigger animated reactions. For example, give a thumbs up or give a thumbs-up down and you will see a gray bubble with the relevant emoji.

You can also make love gestures with your hands, and then a red love bubble will appear on the top of your camera screen.

Or create cool laser effects by making rock gestures. Remember that this gesture can be offensive in some cultures, so be aware of your audience.

Or release the celebration balloon by making a peace gesture.

Apart from that, Apple also provides a complete list of gestures – although the list is not long, we believe they will add more gestures over time.

MacOS gesture usage tips

It will take some time to master gesture responses. Here are some suggestions to make your friends and family stun their next video call.

Make clear gestures

We found that making very clear gestures works best. For this, your gesture angle is very important. For example, if the back or front of the wrist is facing the camera, the rock gestures will trigger laser animation more stably—pointing the index and little fingers to the camera will not react at all.

Keep your hands away from your face and body

Contrast with the background, your Mac will be easier to recognize your gestures. If you partially obscure your face when you make a peace gesture, you may not be able to trigger a reaction, or the animation will appear longer.

[Related articles: Six wonderful features of iOS 17]

Give your machine some reaction time

Computers are smart and fast—but never as fast as we hoped. When making your gestures, keep your posture for one or two seconds, allowing your machine to recognize and respond accordingly.

Skip gesture completely

If you like animation reactions but are reluctant to try (and fail) to trigger effects in front of colleagues, just skip the gesture. In a video call, open the Video menu on the main navigation bar of macOS. On the pop-up menu, click the arrow next to Reaction and you will see a quick emoji menu with options—the same emojis you can trigger with gestures.

Disable visual effects and virtual backgrounds to better display animation reactions

If you use virtual backgrounds or any type of built-in visual effects in a video call, it will affect how your animated gestures appear on the camera screen. For example, if you use the blur effect to protect your privacy (or hide anything messy behind you), the heart shape, balloon or bubble that appears when you make gestures may be obscured by the effect, looking blurry or of low quality. If you use a virtual background, then your machine will only show animations after the effect overlay, which may not show reactions at all, or make you look, well, interesting.

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