macOS

apple-quietly-improves-mac-virtualization-in-macos-15-sequoia

Apple quietly improves Mac virtualization in macOS 15 Sequoia

Apple, Mac, macOS, macOS 15, macos 15 sequoia, macos sequoia, Sequoia, Tech, virtualization / /

virtual realities —

It only works for macOS 15 guests on macOS 15 hosts, but it’s a big improvement.

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Macs running a preview build of macOS 15 Sequoia.

Enlarge / Macs running a preview build of macOS 15 Sequoia.

Apple

We’ve written before about Apple’s handy virtualization framework in recent versions of macOS, which allows users of Apple Silicon Macs with sufficient RAM to easily set up macOS and Linux virtual machines using a number of lightweight third-party apps. This is useful for anyone who needs to test software in multiple macOS versions but doesn’t own a fleet of Mac hardware or multiple boot partitions. (Intel Macs support the virtualization framework, too, but only for Linux VMs, making it less useful.)

But up until now, you haven’t been able to sign into iCloud using macOS on a VM. This made the feature less useful for developers or users hoping to test iCloud features in macOS, or whose apps rely on some kind of syncing with iCloud, or people who just wanted easy access to their iCloud data from within a VM.

This limitation is going away in macOS 15 Sequoia, according to developer documentation that Apple released yesterday. As long as your host operating system is macOS 15 or newer and your guest operating system is macOS 15 or newer, VMs will now be able to sign into and use iCloud and other Apple ID-related services just as they would when running directly on the hardware.

This is still limiting for developers, who might want to run an older version of macOS on their hardware while still testing macOS 15 in a VM, or those who want to do the reverse so that they can more easily support multiple versions of macOS with their apps. It also doesn’t apply to VMs that are upgraded from an older version of macOS to Sequoia—it has to be a brand-new VM created from a macOS 15 install image. But it’s a welcome change, and it will steadily get more useful as Apple releases more macOS versions in the future that can take advantage of it.

“When you create a VM in macOS 15 from a macOS 15 software image… Virtualization configures an identity for the VM that it derives from security information in the host’s Secure Enclave,” Apple’s documentation reads. “Just as individual physical devices have distinct identities based on their Secure Enclaves, this identity is distinct from other VMs.”

If you move that VM from one host to another, a new distinct identity will be created, and your iCloud account will presumably be logged out. This is the same thing that happens if you backup a copy of one Mac’s disk and restore it to another Mac. A new identity will also be created if a second copy of a VM is launched on the same machine.

Mac users hoping to virtualize the Arm version of Windows 10 or 11 will still need to look to third-party products for help. Both Parallels and VMware offer virtualization products that are officially blessed by Microsoft as a way to run Windows on Apple Silicon Macs, and Broadcom recently made VMware Fusion free for individuals.

Apple quietly improves Mac virtualization in macOS 15 Sequoia Read More »

apple-announces-macos-15-sequoia-with-window-tiling,-iphone-mirroring,-and-more

Apple announces macOS 15 Sequoia with window tiling, iPhone mirroring, and more

Apple, macOS, macOS 15, Tech / /

back to the mac —

New release brings iOS 18 features along with a few Mac-specific additions.

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Using macOS S15 Sequoia to stream an iPhone's screen to a Mac while the iPhone stays locked.

Enlarge / Using macOS S15 Sequoia to stream an iPhone’s screen to a Mac while the iPhone stays locked.

Apple

Apple has formally announced macOS 15 at its Worldwide Developers Conference. Codenamed Sequoia, the new release brings a combination of iOS 18 features and a few Mac-specific things to the devices it supports.

Users who split their time between Windows and macOS will be the most excited to see that Apple has finally implemented a form of automated window tiling in macOS. This makes it easier to arrange windows automatically on your screen without manually dragging and resizing each one individually or switching into full-screen mode.

Another feature called iPhone Mirroring sends your iPhone’s screen to your Mac, so you can use apps directly on your phone while manipulating them using your Mac’s keyboard and trackpad. The iPhone audio is also streamed to your Mac. For privacy’s sake, your phone’s screen stays locked while apps are streaming to your Mac, and your Mac can also receive your iPhone notifications alongside your Mac notifications (no word on how the operating systems will handle duplicate notifications from Messages, Calendar, or other apps that are getting the same updates on both platforms).

Window tiling in macOS 15.

Enlarge / Window tiling in macOS 15.

Apple

For gamers, Apple has announced the second version of its Game Porting Toolkit, which makes it easier to bring Windows games to macOS and macOS games to iOS and iPadOS.

Some of the changes also mirror those that Apple announced in the iOS and iPadOS portions of the presentation—including RCS support and expanded Tapback reactions in Messages, a redesigned Calculator app that mirrors the one introduced on the iPad, and the Math Notes feature for typed-out equations in the Notes app. All of Apple’s platforms, plus Windows, are also getting a new Passwords app that should be able to replace many standalone password managers like 1Password and Bitwarden.

A grab bag of new features in macOS 15 Sequoia.

Enlarge / A grab bag of new features in macOS 15 Sequoia.

Apple

All of Apple’s operating systems will also benefit from some of Apple’s new AI-driven capabilities, including image generation and an updated Siri driven by a large language model (LLM). In Apple’s demo, Siri was aware of the contents of your screen, could directly manipulate apps, and understood the context of previous requests while processing follow-up requests. The entire operating system will also get support for a “summarize” feature for written text, allowing users to highlight portions of an email or note and allowing the operating system to sum them up. Voice Memos and the Phone app will also pick up new transcription and summarization capabilities, and an Image Playground app will allow you to generate custom images and emoji in Messages, Notes, and other apps.

Apple Intelligence features will generally require a Mac with an Apple M1 chip or newer, though we’ll need more details on where Apple is drawing the lines between locally-processed and cloud-processed AI features.

A developer beta of macOS Sequoia will be released today, followed by more refined public betas in July. Per usual, the full release will be available this fall.

Apple announces macOS 15 Sequoia with window tiling, iPhone mirroring, and more Read More »

what-to-expect-at-wwdc-24:-big-ios-changes,-more-vision-pro,-and-so-much-ai

What to expect at WWDC 24: Big iOS changes, more Vision Pro, and so much AI

Apple, iOS, ios 18, iPadOS, iPadOS 18, macOS, macOS 15, Tech, vision pro, visionOS, WWDC 2024, WWDC24 / /

WWDC 2024 —

There might not be new hardware, but Apple could make up for it with software.

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A colorful logo that says

Enlarge / The logo for WWDC24.

Apple

Apple’s annual developer conference, WWDC, kicks off in Cupertino, California, next week. As always, it will start with a livestream keynote on Monday morning at 10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern. We’ll be in attendance reporting on the event, so let’s take a moment to take stock of what we expect to see next week.

But first, let’s note something we don’t think we’ll see: Due to some peculiarities about Apple’s upgrade cycles, as well as a push toward the M4, we’re not actually expecting any major hardware announcements at WWDC this year.

That’s OK, though, because it looks like it’s going to be a big one for software news. iOS has seen relatively modest updates in the past couple of years, but that’s about to change.

AI in the spotlight

Most of the rumors leading up to WWDC have been about Apple making plans to announce tons of generative AI features for its platforms. Part of that is because AI is the hot topic right now, so anything about that is bound to get some coverage. However, according to leaks reported on by Bloomberg, The Information, and others, it looks like Apple is going to make a conscious effort to reposition itself as a leader in AI.

Apple was already doing neat things with machine learning in iOS and elsewhere, like features that make image editing easier, smart recommendations, and more. But there have been major new developments in models lately that allow for many new options, as we’ve seen from others like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft.

We don’t know many details about exactly what Apple will do here beyond it being a focus. The company has published several papers related to new large-language model chatbots, major Siri improvements, image generation, and more, but it’s hard to tell what will become user-facing features.

Possibilities include auto-generated summaries in apps like Mail, new ways to block ads or interact with websites in Safari, GitHub Copilot-like code editing assistance in Xcode, clip art generation for iWork documents, more conversational and larger-scope answers from Siri, new image editing features, expanded accessibility features, new transcription capabilities, and more.

Apple has reportedly been in talks with companies like OpenAI and Google (it even sounds like a deal has already been reached with OpenAI) about augmenting Siri and other parts of the iOS or macOS experience with an external AI chatbot. Apple has reportedly experimented with its own chatbot, but it’s unlikely that one would be far enough along to be a strong alternative to the likes of ChatGPT. At a minimum, expect Apple to partner with at least one company (probably OpenAI) as a provider for out-of-scope answers to queries asked of Siri or in Spotlight.

There have been rumblings that Apple could offer users a choice of multiple AI providers or launch an AI App Store, but we don’t know for sure how it will all take shape.

iOS and iPadOS 18

iOS 18 (and its close sibling, iPadOS 18) will roll out later this year alongside new iPhones, likely in September or October. But WWDC is the first time we’ll get a look at the major features Apple has planned.

Typically, Apple announces most new iOS features during the upcoming keynote, but it might save a couple that are are related to as-yet unannounced iPhone hardware for later.

The rumor mill this year points to an overhaul of both Control Center and Settings, plus the aforementioned inclusion of numerous new machine learning, LLM, or image generation features. One rumored example of how AI could be used in iOS described a new home screen that allows users to quickly recolor app icons to create a consistent color palette across their phone. Apple might even allow users to place icons wherever they want, addressing the irritating “wobble mode” home screen management that we’ve criticized in our iOS reviews for years.

Expect big new features for Messages, too, like new text effects and formatting options. There’s also a strong possibility that Apple will go into detail about RCS support in iOS. Generative AI could allow users to create custom emojis or stickers, too.

There were also a few rumors that Apple will make some visual changes to iOS, borrowing a bit from the visual language we saw in visionOS this spring.

Oh, and one more thing: iPadOS is finally getting a calculator app. We’re not sure why that took so long, but there it is.

What to expect at WWDC 24: Big iOS changes, more Vision Pro, and so much AI Read More »

apple-releases-ios-175,-macos-14.5,-and-other-updates-as-new-ipads-launch

Apple releases iOS 17.5, macOS 14.5, and other updates as new iPads launch

Apple, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Tech / /

start your updaters —

Latest updates launch in the shadow of WWDC keynote on June 10.

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Apple releases iOS 17.5, macOS 14.5, and other updates as new iPads launch

Apple

Apple has released the latest updates for virtually all of its actively supported devices today. Most include a couple handfuls of security updates, some new features for Apple News+ subscribers, and something called Cross-Platform Tracking Protection for Bluetooth devices.

The iOS 17.5, iPadOS 17.5, macOS 4.5, watchOS 10.5, tvOS 17.5, and HomePod Software 17.5 updates are all available to download now.

Cross-Platform Tracking Protection notifications alert users “if a compatible Bluetooth tracker they do not own is moving with them, regardless of what operating system the device is paired with.” Apple has already implemented protections to prevent AirTag stalking, and Cross-Platform Tracking Protection implements some of those same safeguards for devices paired to non-Apple phones.

Apple News+ picks up a new word game called Quartiles, part of the wider trend of news organizations embracing games as growth drivers. Quartiles, Crossword, and Mini Crossword also track player stats and win streams, and the Today+ and News+ tabs will also load without an Internet connection.

Some of Apple’s older operating systems also received security-only updates to keep them current. The iOS 16.7.8 and iPadOS 16.7.8 updates are available for older iDevices that can’t update to iOS 17, and macOS Venture 13.6.7 and Monterey 12.7.5 support all Macs still running those OS versions regardless of whether they can install macOS Sonoma. There’s no update available for iOS or iPadOS 15.

These are likely to be the last major updates that Apple’s current operating systems receive before this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10, where Apple usually unveils its next major operating systems for the fall. Once those updates—iOS 18, macOS 15, and others—are announced, updates for current versions usually shift focus to security updates and bugs rather than adding major new features. Apple’s updates this year are widely expected to focus on generative AI features, including some ChatGPT-powered features and a more capable Siri assistant.

Apple releases iOS 17.5, macOS 14.5, and other updates as new iPads launch Read More »

ipados-18-could-ship-with-built-in-calculator-app,-after-14-calculator-less-years

iPadOS 18 could ship with built-in Calculator app, after 14 Calculator-less years

Apple, calculator, ipad, iPadOS, Mac, macOS, Tech / /

a calculated move —

Every single iPhone and Mac has come with a calculator app, but not the iPad.

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iPadOS 18 could ship with built-in Calculator app, after 14 Calculator-less years

Apple/Andrew Cunningham

Last year, Apple introduced the ability to set multiple timers at once in the Clock app on its various platforms.

“We truly live in an age of wonders,” deadpanned Apple’s Craig Federighi in the company’s official presentation, tacitly acknowledging the gap between the apparent simplicity of the feature and the amount of time that Apple took to implement it.

The next version of iPadOS may contain another of these “age of wonders” features, an apparently simple thing that Apple has chosen never to do for reasons that the company can’t or won’t explain. According to MacRumors, iPadOS 18 may finally be the update that brings a version of Apple’s first-party Calculator app to the iPad.

Calculator was one of the very first iPhone apps that shipped with the iPhone back in 2007 but was mysteriously and inexplicably absent from the iPad when it launched in 2010. It’s also the very last of those original missing apps to find its way to the iPad’s home screen—Stocks, Clock, Voice Memos, and Weather had all made the jump previously, with the Weather app coming as recently as 2022.

It’s not that the iPad is incapable of calculating; the Spotlight search feature can already handle basic off-the-cuff math and conversion questions, and third-party calculator apps like PCalc, Numerical², Calcbot, and innumerable free-to-download no-name calculator apps have stepped up to fill the gap. But it was never clear why Apple decided against shipping a first-party Calculator app with the iPad, when it had shipped one with every iPhone since 2007 and every Mac since 1984.

The new Calculator app should be more than just a straightforward port of the current iOS or macOS app. Apple is apparently planning a small overhaul of the Calculator app for macOS 15 with a history tape for tracking past calculations, a resizable window, and an updated round-button design that more closely imitates the iOS version. The iPad and macOS versions of many of Apple’s apps share a lot of code these days—Stocks, Voice Memos, News, Home, Weather, Clock, and others share essentially the same design and layout in both operating systems—so it’s a fair bet that this redesigned Mac app and the newly introduced iPad app will be the same software.

At least one developer of a prominent iPad calculator seemed undaunted by the news that his app could be Sherlocked this fall.

“Yes, I saw the MacRumors article,” wrote PCalc developer James Thomson on his Mastodon account, responding to no one in particular. “Yes, it’s fine.”

iPadOS 18 could ship with built-in Calculator app, after 14 Calculator-less years Read More »

apple-reportedly-plans-m4-mac-mini-for-late-2024-or-early-2025,-skipping-the-m3

Apple reportedly plans M4 Mac mini for late 2024 or early 2025, skipping the M3

Apple, Apple M3, apple m4, Mac, Mac mini, macOS, Tech / /

leapfrog —

But this would be a faster turnaround time than we saw for the M3 or the M2.

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The M2 Pro Mac mini.

Enlarge / The M2 Pro Mac mini.

Andrew Cunningham

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman thinks that Apple’s M4 chips for Macs are coming sooner rather than later—possibly as early as “late this year,” per a report from earlier this month. Now Gurman says Apple could completely skip the M3 generation for some Macs, most notably the Mac mini.

To be clear, Gurman doesn’t have specific insider information confirming that Apple is planning to skip the M3 mini. But based on Apple’s alleged late-2024-into-early-2025 timeline for the M4 mini, he believes that it’s “probably safe to say” that there’s not enough space on the calendar for an M3 mini to be released between now and then.

This wouldn’t be the first time an Apple Silicon Mac had skipped a chip generation—the 24-inch iMac was never updated with the M2, instead jumping directly from the M1 to the M3. The Mac Pro also skipped the M1 series, leapfrogging from Intel chips to the M2.

But if the M4 does come out by the end of 2024, it would be a much faster turnaround than we’ve seen for other Apple Silicon chips so far. Roughly a year and a half passed between the introduction of the first M1 Macs in late 2020 and the first M2 Macs in the summer of 2022; about the same amount of time passed between mid-2022 and the late-2023 introduction of the first M3 Macs. If Apple holds to a more typical 18-month gap between the first M3 Macs and the first M4 Macs, there’s still plenty of time for an M3-based Mac mini refresh to be released.

Apple last updated the Mac mini in January of 2022, replacing the M1 model with an M2 version and introducing a new variant with an M2 Pro chip that included more Thunderbolt ports, better external display support, and better CPU and GPU performance. Most of Apple’s desktops—both Mac minis, as well as the Mac Studio and Mac Pro—are still using Apple’s M2 chips, while all of the laptops and the iMac have gotten an M3 refresh at this point.

Gurman’s previous reporting on the M4 suggests that it will be an “AI-focused” chip series, which probably means that it will beef up the processors’ Neural Engine to power the on-device generative AI features that are expected to come with iOS 18 and Apple’s other major operating system updates this year. Apple already has a head start on the PC ecosystem in this respect—all of the M-series chips and A-series chips going all the way back to 2017’s A11 Bionic have included a version of the Neural Engine. Intel and AMD’s processors have only begun to include similar neural processing units (NPUs) within the last year or so.

Gurman hasn’t reported on the M4 series’ specifications, but he has said it will include at least three performance tiers: a base model codenamed “Donan,” a midrange version codenamed “Brava,” and a high-end model codenamed “Hidra.” It remains to be seen which of these chips would replace the Pro, Max, and Ultra processors in current-generation M2 and M3 Macs.

Apple reportedly plans M4 Mac mini for late 2024 or early 2025, skipping the M3 Read More »

macos-sonoma-1441-released-to-fix-the-stuff-that-the-14.4-update-broke

macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 released to fix the stuff that the 14.4 update broke

Apple, macOS, macOS 14, macos sonoma, Tech / /

doing better, thanks —

The 14.4 release introduced a number of problems the new update claims to fix.

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An M3 MacBook Air running macOS Sonoma.

Enlarge / An M3 MacBook Air running macOS Sonoma.

Andrew Cunningham

Apple has just released version 14.4.1 for macOS Sonoma, a small-but-significant patch that claims to fix several issues with third-party software and accessories that cropped up in the 14.4 update. The 14.4.1 release also includes a pair of security fixes.

Apple’s release notes highlight fixes for three major problems:

  • USB hubs connected to external displays may not be recognized
  • Copy protected Audio Unit plug-ins designed for professional music apps may not open or pass validation
  • Apps that include Java may quit unexpectedly

Users and companies began noticing problems shortly after the macOS 14.4 update was released earlier this month. Reports of broken USB hubs cropped up on Reddit, the Apple Support Communities forums, and elsewhere within the first couple of days, and issues with Java and iLok audio software DRM devices were reported later on. Some users also reported broken printer drivers and deleted file revisions in iCloud Drive, though Apple’s release notes don’t mention those problems.

At least some of these bugs reportedly weren’t present in preview builds of the 14.4 update, which could explain why they weren’t discovered during the public beta period.

Both of the security patches are for so-called “clickless” exploits that can allow remote code execution after a system displays a compromised image. Apple has also released macOS Ventura 13.6.6 to patch the security vulnerabilities for Macs that haven’t upgraded to Sonoma (or can’t upgrade to Sonoma).

Apple released other minor updates to iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS last week to patch the same security vulnerabilities. None of those updates listed any specific non-security bug fixes in their release notes beyond the broad “important bug fixes and security updates” boilerplate that accompanies most minor OS updates from Apple.

macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 released to fix the stuff that the 14.4 update broke Read More »

usb-hubs,-printers,-java,-and-more-seemingly-broken-by-macos-14.4-update

USB hubs, printers, Java, and more seemingly broken by macOS 14.4 update

Apple, Apple M1, Apple M2, Apple M3, Apple silicon, Apple Silicon Mac, macOS, macOS 14, macos sonoma, Tech / /

pobody’s nerfect —

Issues seem to be related to security fixes made in Apple’s latest OS.

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USB hubs, printers, Java, and more seemingly broken by macOS 14.4 update

A couple of weeks ago, Apple released macOS Sonoma 14.4 with the usual list of bug fixes, security patches, and a couple of minor new features. Since then, users and companies have been complaining of a long list of incompatibilities, mostly concerning broken external accessories like USB hubs and printers but also extending to software like Java.

MacRumors has a good rundown of the list of issues, which has been steadily getting longer as people have run into more problems. It started with reports of malfunctioning USB hubs, sourced from users on Reddit, the Apple Support Communities forums, and elsewhere—USB hubs built into various displays stopped functioning for Mac users after the 14.4 update.

Other issues surfaced in the days after people started reporting problems with their USB hubs, including some instances of broken printer drivers, unexpected app crashes for some Java users, and problems launching apps that rely on the PACE anti-piracy software (and iLok hardware dongles) to authenticate.

At least some of the problems seem localized to Apple Silicon Macs. In fact, iLok recommends running digital audio software in Rosetta mode as a temporary stopgap while Apple works on a fix. According to iLok, Apple has acknowledged this particular bug and is working on an update, but “[has] not indicated a timeline.”

The USB hub issue may be related to the USB security prompts that Apple introduced in macOS 13 Ventura, asking users to confirm whether they wanted to connect to USB-C accessories that they were connecting to their Mac for the first time. Some users have been able to get their USB hubs working again after the 14.4 update by making macOS request permission to connect to the accessory every time the accessory is plugged in; the default behavior is supposed to recognize USB devices that you’ve already connected to once.

Scanning Apple’s release notes or security update disclosures for the update doesn’t reveal any smoking guns, but many of the security bugs were addressed with “improved checks” and “improved access permissions,” and it’s certainly possible that some legitimate accessories and software were broken by one or more of these changes. The Oracle blog post about the Java problems refers to memory access issues that seem to be causing the crashes, though that may or may not explain the problems people are having with external accessories. The blog post also indicates that these bugs weren’t present in the public developer betas of macOS 14.4.

My desktop M2 Mac Studio setup, which is connected to a 4K Gigabyte M28U with a built-in USB hub, hasn’t exhibited any unusual behavior since the update, so it’s also possible that these issues aren’t affecting every user of every Mac. If you haven’t updated yet, it may be worth waiting until Apple releases fixes for some or all of these issues, even if you don’t think you’ll be affected.

USB hubs, printers, Java, and more seemingly broken by macOS 14.4 update Read More »

sixty-four-is-a-beautiful-system-design-toy-that-reveals-something-rather-dark

Sixty Four is a beautiful system design toy that reveals something rather dark

gaming, idle clicker, idle game, idle games, macOS, sixty four, Windows / /

What is an idle clicker, really? —

Please do not load up this game if you have real tasks to accomplish, I beg you.

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Your author is eight hours in and only recognizes roughly 50 percent of the objects and resources in this provided screenshot. It gets deeper—and weirder.

Enlarge / Your author is eight hours in and only recognizes roughly 50 percent of the objects and resources in this provided screenshot. It gets deeper—and weirder.

Playsaurus

There haven’t been many times in my life where I’ve wondered if this feeling I have is something that oil barons must have felt at the height of their Gilded Age powers.

But Sixty Four got me there. I’m still not sure I’ve ever played a $6 game that had me so fully engaged while also deeply disquieted about the nature of humanity.

Sixty Four (Windows and Mac, on Steam) has been running for more than seven hours on my computers. “Running” isn’t quite right, though. Early on in Sixty Four, you’re actively clicking, upgrading, and figuring out what’s going on. As the game goes on, and you figure out some virtuous loops, you can technically leave it running in the background while you do other things, checking in occasionally to fuel a machine or start a conversion. I write “technically” because while the game is capable of working in the background, indifferent to the human need to build, refine, and expand, you very well may not be.

Trailer for Sixty Four.

What are you building, and why? Where are you? It’s not clear. Sixty Four starts you in a blank white space, with a single machine, an Extracting Channel. Push it down, and you’ll see big black cubes emerge from the ground. Click on those cubes many times and they break into 64 smaller cubes, then eventually burst and collect in your inventory. With enough black cubes (Charonite) stashed, you can build machines that make cubes easier to break and faster to extract. Eventually, you can keep your extractor pressed down with a pressure pump and have an “Entropy resonator” click the cubes for you.

Your job shifts from cube-clicker to system-builder to optimizer. You set up machines to do things, machines that improve those other machines, machines to feed those machines that improve those other machines, machines that help you recover more resources from machines you later discard. At one point, the blocks cover so much of your screen that you build a radio tower that turns them into tiny lines, blowing like dandelion fluff from source to storage.

  • All I need is this extraction channel. And these fans to speed it up. The fans, a pressure pump, and some destabilizers. That’s it.

    Playsaurus

  • Well, okay, maybe I’ve built out a few more things, but it’s only because the resources changed.

    Playsaurus

  • The game’s forced isometric perspective can be a bit stifling, but you can peek through stuff with a keypress.

    Playsaurus

  • Resources don’t just get collected, they fly out from origin point into your upper-left inventory. It’s fun to watch.

    Playsaurus

  • The game’s night mode is perfect, doing just enough shading while not obscuring things too much.

    Playsaurus

The resources flow at mesmerizing rates, with a beautifully chaotic, percussive sound. There is literally no reason you are doing this except that you can, in fact, do it. It gets more expensive to build another Extracting Channel, but you have to, because you need the Elmerine for your desablizers and pump stations, and we’ve dug way past Elmerine now. It only seems excessive if you don’t know how elegant this system you’ve built is, and how, with the next machine, it works even better.

Meanwhile, your friend keeps messaging you. You were supposed to head to their house, but you started messing with these machines. They can’t find you, and your messages about putting yellow stones inside machines, and how you can use the “Q” key to clone or destroy machines, are making them worry. The last few messages sent in my game regard Hell Gems, rare green cubes that show up very deep into … whatever it is from which we’re extracting. At this point, the friend is more bemused by my plight than worried. You can hide the friend’s messages, so you have more room for the important stuff.

From screenshots and glimpses in the trailer, you can glimpse how Sixty Four will go beyond mining (there’s a dev commentary video, too, but I’ve yet to watch it). I’ve seen some things, like Hollow Fruit and fission. The trailer suggests players will “Face the darkness” and “Find the light.” Is it going to get a bit meta? Probably, but that’s fine by me.

Each new object is a marvel of Sim City 3000-era micro-design, including a kind of unexplained but consistent numbering scheme for your machines. The isometric view can block your view sometimes, but there’s a transparency button to help, and (also like classic Sim City) you can make design choices specifically to address this, putting your less needy devices behind the resources. I dig the sounds the game makes, especially when your setup is semi-automated, but you can, of course, turn off the sound. There’s also a night mode toggle, too, which doesn’t crudely inverse the colors, but dulls the white background quite a bit.

Update: I’m now at eight hours in. Since I started writing this, I’ve spent another hour feeding my machines. I just need 32 Hell Gems to feed the Hell Gem Injector, which ups their occurrence in blocks. Once I’ve pulled 128 Hell Gems, I can swing an Excavating Channel, which puts me back into Elmerine and Qanetite, so I can feed the smaller devices. If I’m not expanding, I’m failing, and we can’t have that.

Sixty Four is a beautiful system design toy that reveals something rather dark Read More »

visionos-1.1-tries-to-make-personas-less-unsettling,-plus-other-apple-os-updates

visionOS 1.1 tries to make Personas less unsettling, plus other Apple OS updates

Apple, macOS, Tech, tvos, visionOS, watchos / /

persona non grata —

Apple starts picking low-hanging fruit in visionOS; other OSes see minor improvements.

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A blurry, ghostly Persona in visionOS 1.0. They should at least look less bad in visionOS 1.1.

Enlarge / A blurry, ghostly Persona in visionOS 1.0. They should at least look less bad in visionOS 1.1.

Samuel Axon

Apple has released a long list of medium-sized software updates for most of its devices today. The macOS Sonoma 14.4, watchOS 10.4, tvOS 17.4, and visionOS 1.1 updates are all available now, and most of them add at least one or two major features as they fix multiple bugs and patch security vulnerabilities.

The visionOS 1.1 release is the first major update for Apple’s newest operating system, and as our coverage of the headset has demonstrated, there’s still plenty of low-hanging fruit to fix. Most notably for people who are trying to use the headset for work meetings, Apple says that there have been multiple changes to the look of Personas, the 3D avatars that show up in your place when you’re video chatting with the Vision Pro on your face. The update improves “hair and makeup appearance,” “neck and mouth representation,” and “rendering of the eyes,” and while it’s clear that it’s an improvement over the 1.0 release of Personas, the core uncanniness still seems to be intact. The Persona feature is still labeled as a beta.

Apple has also made tweaks to the appearance and functionality of the headset’s virtual keyboard, improved the Virtual Display feature’s Mac connectivity, and added a handful of mobile device management features for IT administrators.

Apple’s headlining feature for macOS 14.4 is the addition of new Unicode 15.1 emoji, plus podcast transcriptions in the Apple Music app. It’s unclear whether this release enables multiple external displays for users of the $1,599 M3 MacBook Pro, a feature that Apple announced alongside the new M3 MacBook Airs.

Apple Watch owners can look forward to the resolution of one annoying bug I’ve run into a few times on my own watch: a bug that would make the screen act as though it was receiving touch input even when you weren’t touching it. Sometimes referred to as a “ghost touch” or “phantom touch” bug, the only way to get it to go away was to reboot the watch. I haven’t noticed the bug since I installed one of the later watchOS 10.4 betas a couple of weeks ago.

Version 17.4 of the HomePod operating system now allows users to set their preferred music service, so telling Siri to play music will automatically use whatever service you want instead of defaulting to Apple Music unless you specify. The tvOS 17.4 update doesn’t appear to include any particular features or fixes of note.

All of the new releases follow iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4, which came out a few days ago with mostly minor changes unless you happened to live in the European Union. For European users, that update ushers in Apple’s first attempt at compliance with new regulations that require the company to allow the use of third-party app stores, alternate browsing engines, and sideloaded apps. These changes come with plenty of conditions and caveats, as Apple seeks to remain the ultimate arbiter of what software can and can’t run on iPhones and iPads.

visionOS 1.1 tries to make Personas less unsettling, plus other Apple OS updates Read More »

ios-17.3-adds-multiple-features-originally-planned-for-ios-17

iOS 17.3 adds multiple features originally planned for iOS 17

Apple TV, apple watch, iOS, iOS 17, iOS 17.3, ipad, iPadOS, iPadOS 17, iPadOS 17.3, IPhone, Mac, macOS, macos sonoma, macOS Sonoma 14.3, Stolen Device Protection, Tech, tvos, tvOS 17, tvOS 17.3, watchos, watchOS 10, watchOS 10.3 / /

New Features —

macOS 14.3, watchOS 10.3, and tvOS 17.3 were also released.

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An iPhone sits on a wood table

Enlarge / The iPhone 15 Pro.

Samuel Axon

Apple yesterday released iOS and iPadOS 17.3 as well as watchOS 10.3, tvOS 17.3, and macOS Sonoma 14.3 for all supported devices.

iOS 17.3 primarily adds collaborative playlists in Apple Music, and what Apple calls “Stolen Device Protection.” Collaborative playlists have been on a bit of a journey; they were promised as part of iOS 17, then added in the beta of iOS 17.2, but removed before that update went live. Now they’re finally reaching all users.

When enabled, Stolen Device Protection requires Face ID or Touch ID authentication “with no passcode fallback” for some sensitive actions on the phone.

And a related feature called Security Delay requires one use of Face ID or Touch ID, then a full hour’s wait, then another biometric authentication before certain particularly important actions can be performed, like changing the device’s passcode.

Other iOS 17.3 additions include support for AirPlay in participating hotels, an improved view for seeing the warranty status of all your devices, a new Unity wallpaper honoring Black History Month, and “crash detection optimizations.”

As is so often the case for these simultaneous operating system updates from Apple, iOS is the most robust. macOS 14.3 also adds the collaborative playlist feature and the AppleCare & Warranty Settings panel, but that’s about it as far as user-facing additions.

watchOS 10.3 adds a new 2024 Black Unity face that is meant to pair with a new watchband by the same name. And tvOS 17.3 simply reintroduces the previously removed iTunes Movie and TV Show Wishlist feature.

iOS 17.3 release notes

Stolen Device Protection

  • Stolen Device Protection increases security of iPhone and Apple ID by requiring Face ID or Touch ID with no passcode fallback to perform certain actions
  • Security Delay requires Face ID or Touch ID, an hour wait, and then an additional successful biometric authentication before sensitive operations like changing device passcode or Apple ID password can be performed

Lock Screen

  • New Unity wallpaper honors Black history and culture in celebration of Black History Month

Music

  • Collaborate on playlists allows you to invite friends to join your playlist and everyone can add, reorder, and remove songs
  • Emoji reactions can be added to any track in a collaborative playlist

This update also includes the following improvements:

  • AirPlay hotel support lets you stream content directly to the TV in your room in select hotels
  • AppleCare & Warranty in Settings shows your coverage for all devices signed in with your Apple ID
  • Crash detection optimizations (all iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 models)

macOS 14.3 Sonoma release notes

  • Collaborate on playlists in Apple Music allows you to invite friends to join your playlist and everyone can add, reorder, and remove songs
  • Emoji reactions can be added to any track in a collaborative playlist in Apple Music
  • AppleCare & Warranty in Settings shows your coverage for all devices signed in with your Apple ID

iOS 17.3 adds multiple features originally planned for iOS 17 Read More »

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Apple releases iOS 17.2 and macOS 14.2, delays two features to 2024

Apple, iOS, iOS 17, iOS 17.2, macOS, macOS 14.2, macos sonoma, Tech, watchos, watchOS 10, watchOS 10.2 / /
The iPhone 15 Pro Max with three cameras

Enlarge / The iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Samuel Axon

Today, Apple pushed out the public releases of iOS 17.2, iPadOS 17.2, macOS Sonoma 14.2, watchOS 10.2, and tvOS 17.2.

iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2’s flagship feature is the new Journal app, which Apple teased when it first introduced iOS 17 earlier. The app mimics several existing popular journaling apps in the App Store from third-party developers but leverages data from your Photos, workouts, and other Apple apps to make journaling suggestions.

Other features include the ability to tap a “catch-up arrow” to scroll to the first missed message in a conversation in Messages, the ability to take spatial video photos for later viewing on Vision Pro, and several tweaks and additions to the Weather app.

There are a few iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max-specific updates, too: The Translate app is now one of the main supported mappings for the Action button, and Apple says there have been improvements to the telephoto camera focusing speed in some situations.

There are still a couple of iOS features that were initially promised for the iOS 17 cycle that haven’t yet materialized: AirPlay for hotel room TVs and collaborative playlists in Apple Music. Those features will arrive sometime in 2024.

As is so often the case now, the latest macOS update (14.2) is comparatively modest. macOS gets some of the same tweaks to Messages and Weather. Additionally, “Enhanced AutoFill identifies fields in PDFs and other forms enabling you to populate them with information such as names and addresses from your contacts.”

We’ve included Apple’s full release notes for its major operating system updates below.

iOS 17.2 release notes

Here are Apple’s release notes for iOS 17.2:

This update introduces Journal, an all-new way to reflect on life’s moments and preserve your memories. This release also includes Action button and Camera enhancements, as well as other features, bug fixes, and security updates for your iPhone.

Journal

  • Journal is a new app that lets you write about the small moments and big events in your life so you can practice gratitude and improve your wellbeing
  • Journaling suggestions make it easy to remember your experiences by intelligently grouping your outings, photos, workouts, and more into moments you can add to your journal
  • Filters let you quickly find bookmarked entries or show entries with attachments so you can revisit and reflect on key moments in your life
  • Scheduled notifications help you keep a consistent journaling practice by reminding you to write on the days and time you choose
  • Option to lock your journal using Touch ID or Face ID
  • iCloud sync keeps your journal entries safe and encrypted on iCloud

Action Button

  • Translate option for the Action button on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max to quickly translate phrases or have a conversation with someone in another language

Camera

  • Spatial video lets you capture video on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max so you can relive your memories in three dimensions on Apple Vision Pro
  • Improved Telephoto camera focusing speed when capturing small faraway objects on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

Messages

  • Catch-up arrow lets you easily jump to your first unread message in a conversation by tapping the arrow visible in the top-right corner
  • Add sticker option in the context menu lets you add a sticker directly to a bubble
  • Memoji updates include the ability to adjust the body shape of any Memoji
  • Contact Key Verification provides automatic alerts and Contact Verification Codes to help verify people facing extraordinary digital threats are messaging only with the people they intend

Weather

  • Precipitation amounts help you stay on top of rain and snow conditions for a given day over the next 10 days
  • New widgets let you choose from next-hour precipitation, daily forecast, sunrise and sunset times, and current conditions such as Air Quality, Feels Like, and wind speed
  • Wind map snapshot helps you quickly assess wind patterns and access the animated wind map overlay to prepare for forecasted wind conditions for the next 24 hours
  • Interactive moon calendar lets you easily visualize the phase of the moon on any day for the next month

This update also includes the following improvements and bug fixes:

  • Siri support for privately accessing and logging Health app data using your voice
  • AirDrop improvements including expanded contact sharing options and the ability to share boarding passes, movie tickets, and other eligible passes by bringing two iPhones together
  • Favorite Songs Playlist in Apple Music lets you quickly get back to the songs you mark as favorites
  • Use Listening History in Apple Music can be disabled in a Focus so music you listen to does not appear in Recently Played or influence your recommendations
  • A new Digital Clock Widget lets you quickly catch a glimpse of the time on your Home Screen and while in StandBy
  • Enhanced AutoFill identifies fields in PDFs and other forms enabling you to populate them with information such as names and addresses from your contacts
  • New keyboard layouts provide support for 8 Sámi languages
  • Sensitive Content Warning for stickers in Messages prevents you from being unexpectedly shown a sticker containing nudity
  • Qi2 charger support for all iPhone 13 models and iPhone 14 models
  • Fixes an issue that may prevent wireless charging in certain vehicles

Apple releases iOS 17.2 and macOS 14.2, delays two features to 2024 Read More »