MacOS Catalina 10.15.1 Update Download Available Now
Apple has released MacOS Catalina 10.15.1 update for all Mac users who are running MacOS Catalina. 10.15.1 is the first major point release software update to MacOS Catalina after Apple had previously issued a smaller set of Supplemental Updates to the operating system.
MacOS Catalina 10.15.1 arrives as build 19B88 and includes bug fixes and improvements, along with new Emoji icons and gender neutral emoji, support for AirPods Pro, returned support for titles and filtering in Photos app, improvements to Siri privacy, and other changes and enhancements. The full release notes are shown below, it’s unclear if some other reported bugs and issues with Catalina are addressed with the 10.15.1 update.
Separately, for Mac users running prior MacOS versions, Apple has released a new Security Update for MacOS Mojave 10.14.6 and macOS High Sierra, along with Safari 13.0.3 for those system software versions too.
How to Download & Update MacOS Catalina 10.15.1
Be sure to backup a Mac with Time Machine or your backup method of choice before installing any system software update.
- Go to the Apple menu, then choose “System Preferences”
- Go to the “Software Update” preference panel, then choose to update when “macOS 10.15.1 update” is shown as available
The macOS 10.15.1 update weighs in around 4.5GB to download, and installation requires around 15GB of free storage to complete. Installation also requires the computer to reboot.
Note that MacOS Catalina 10.15.1 updates are only available to Macs currently running Catalina. If you’re running macOS Mojave or MacOS High Sierra, then a Security Update will show as available rather than MacOS Catalina 10.15.1.
Installing the 10.15.1 software update is recommended to all MacOS Catalina users.
Some Mac users have chosen to ignore MacOS Catalina update for the time being due to software compatibility issues, other problems with Catalina, or because their current system is adequate and doesn’t need a change. If that describes you then be sure to install the Security Updates as they become available instead. Similarly, if you ignored the Catalina update but wish to install it now with 10.15.1, you’d need to reset the ignored software update list as described here.
Download Links for MacOS Catalina 10.15.1 & Security Updates for Mojave & High Sierra
Mac users can choose to download and install macOS 10.15.1 with package update files if they’d prefer to do that than use the software update mechanism. Using a combo update package installer to update MacOS is relatively easy, much like installing any other software package.
(Updating…)
MacOS Catalina 10.15.1 Release Notes
Release notes for MacOS Catalina 10.15.1 are as follows:
The macOS Catalina 10.15.1 update includes updated and additional emoji, support for AirPods Pro, HomeKit Secure Video, HomeKit-enabled routers, and new Siri privacy settings, as well as bug fixes and improvements.
Emoji
- Over 70 new or updated emoji, including animals, food, activities, new accessibility emoji, gender-neutral emoji, and skin tones selection for couple emoji
AirPods support
- AirPods Pro support
Home app
- HomeKit Secure Video enables you to privately capture, store, and view encrypted video from your security cameras and features people, animal, and vehicle detection
- HomeKit enabled routers let you control how your HomeKit accessories communicate over the internet or in your home
- Adds support for AirPlay 2-enabled speakers in scenes and automations
Siri
- Privacy settings to control whether or not to help improve Siri and Dictation by allowing Apple to store audio of your Siri and Dictation interactions
- Option to delete your Siri and Dictation history from Siri Settings
This update also includes the following bug fixes and improvements:
- Restores the ability to view file names in the All Photos view in Photos
- Restores the ability to filter by favorites, photos, videos, edited, and keywords in Days view in Photos
- Fixes an issue where Messages would only send a single notification when the option to repeat alerts was enabled
- Resolves an issue that caused Contacts to launch to the previously opened contact instead of the contact list
- Adds a two-finger swipe gesture for back navigation in Apple News
- Resolves issues that may occur in the Music app when displaying playlists inside folders and newly added songs in the Songs list
- Improves reliability of migrating iTunes library databases into the Music, Podcasts, and TV apps
- Fixes an issue where downloaded titles were not visible in the Downloads folder in the TV app
Enterprise content
- When using the built-in keyboard with a non-U.S. keyboard layout, passwords with certain characters are no longer rejected at the Mac login window.
- When sign in with Apple ID is not allowed by a configuration profile, the Sign In button in System Preferences is now dimmed.
Apple recently released iOS 13.2 and ipadOS 13.2 updates to iPhone and iPad users with many of the same new features and changes, including the new Emoji icons. Updates for Apple Watch are also available.
Latest update, has required update for my Microsoft Office for Mac
However after updating word,excel, PowerPoint and outlook apps – they offer free months trial or register and pay again
Can I go back to previous version before update
This “security update” was a train wreck for me. It took almost as much time to do the 19B88 build update than the whole Catalina update!!
The photos app.. just awful!! It can not do a simple “rotate a video” in the library!! Really!!!
The wifi on my mac mini is a nightmare… it drops a signal and forgets the password often..a known problem for several years..never addressed.
No Apple. You’re getting it wrong more and more. I switched to Apple in 20011.. it worked great..the OS and hardware. Now.. its a blur between Windows and back OS. The price of hardware is not blurry at all!!! My next purchase WILL be a PC.
I don’t normally comment but I had to. I totally AGREE with you. MacOS continues to be antiquated, with minor feature updates and is hilariously out of touch with its incapabilities to do even the most trivial of tasks.
It turns out the main reason I’ve been buying MBPs and iMacs for over 12 years is OSX/MacOS as much as the hardware.
I’m having to use Windows 10 at work and find the software has caught up and Windows 10 is “not bad at all” and more than capable. The Windows hardware is also very strong and very well designed.
I will also be saving myself the £1000-£15000 and buying a powerful and fairly priced Windows device next time.
So far been OK on my 2019 MacBook Air, really OK with Catalina been happy with performance, battery life, and my only occasional bug is if I leave my screen open over night its hard to wake up MacBook Air. I try the spacebar, then the power/TouchID button a couple times before it wakes up. Talk about DEEP SLEEP!
My 2018 Mac mini with a thunderbolt EGPU won’t boot. (it use to in Mojave) I have to attach a second monitor to the HDMI port to get it to boot. Iv reported this with every new update, and nothing has changed.
Since I installed the 10.15.1 update, my system crashes at least twice a day, even when not working on it, something that NEVER happened before. The whole system freezes, and after a few seconds I get a message saying “The system restarted because of a problem…”
FYI, I’m running Mojave and Updates is showing the Full 10.15.1 as the upgrade, all 8.x GB–not just the security update.
The Apple feedback site has no way to report bugs in Preview or Finder. And I have a stack of them.
Still no support for AMD Navi cards in Mojave though. It was announced a few days ago in Catalina for developers and it is now available to everyone running Catalina. Too bad for those of us that still need to run 32-bit apps…
I wish i had not updated. Catalina offers me nothing that i want and removes a lot that i needed. Very disappointed.
Can I go to 10.15.1 and skip the previous supplement which I have not yet installed
A lot of my software is 32 bit and will not work with Catalina. I can’t install Catalina as a result. Tell Apple to allow 32 bit to work with upcoming systems! Thanks.
Apple, these update sizes are insane if you continue to insist that there is only a single way to achieve the downloads (using the target Mac). Are you aware that not everyone is on unlimited data capacity fiber?
I agree I don’t think Apple is aware that many people have slow DSL connections that max out at 3mbs and that’s the top broadband available in certain areas. This is a problem for iCloud backup and restore too.
But Apple never monitors fan sites like this. Maybe they actually read the feedback given to their website post it there I have tried it before: https://www.apple.com/feedback/