Almost a year after launching the ChatGPT iPhone app, OpenAI released a native Mac app.
The free macOS app will initially be available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, with a wider rollout planned in the coming weeks.
ChatGPT’s Mac app will have access to the GPT-4o model
Until now, you could only access ChatGPT from a browser on your Mac. The release of a native Mac app will change this.
OpenAI announced the new Mac app during its press event on Tuesday. It will provide the same functionality as the web app, including access to the latest GPT-4o model.
OpenAI claims GPT-4o is an updated version of GPT-4 that is significantly faster and features improved text, voice, and vision capabilities. It also has native multimodal capabilities. Unlike GPT-4, it will be available for free to non-paid users.
Besides specific topics, you can ask the chatbot questions directly related to what’s on your Mac’s screen. There’s also an Option + Space shortcut available that will bring up ChatGPT in a Spotlight-like window, allowing you to ask questions quickly.
You can directly upload a file or photo or use the ChatGPT Mac app to take a screenshot and ask related questions.
ChatGPT for Mac has Voice Mode support
Photo: OpenAI
ChatGPT for Mac will support Voice Mode for voice conversations. Use the headphone icon in the app to trigger a conversation. The feature will get better down the line once OpenAI rolls out GPT-4o’s audio and video capabilities to it.
From OpenAI’s demo, ChatGPT’s voice capabilities could make it a great alternative to Siri, especially since it can analyze the on-screen content to give contextual answers.
OpenAI is also working on a ChatGPT app for Windows that will debut later this year.
