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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 »

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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 »