Apple has released MacOS Ventura 13.6.4 and macOS Monterey 12.7.3, each containing important security fixes, for Mac users who are not yet running macOS Sonoma. The security updates correspond with the macOS Sonoma 14.3 update that was issued for Sonoma users.
It’s not unusual for many Mac users to continue to run older versions of system software for a number of reasons, and Apple typically supports the prior two versions of MacOS with continued security updates.
No new features are included in either Ventura 13.6.4 or Monterey 12.7.3.
Apple has released iOS 16.7.5 and iPadOS 16.7.5 as updates for older model iPhone and iPad devices that are not running iOS 17.3.
These updates are available for iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPad 5th generation, iPad Pro 9.7-inch, and iPad Pro 12.9-inch 1st generation, whereas newer devices will find iOS 17.3 and iPadOS 17.3 available as updates instead.
No new features are included in iOS 16.7.5 or iPadOS 16.7.5, as the updates are focused on security fixes.
Apple has released security updates to old model iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices running iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. Yes, you read that correctly and you do not need to check your calendar (or your eyes), iOS 15.8.1 and iPadOS 15.8.1 are new releases of system software for old hardware.
iOS 15.8.1 and iPadOS 15.8.1 security updates are available specifically for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone SE 1st generation, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4th generation, and iPod touch 7th generation.
These security updates are recommended for all users to install on their eligible devices, particularly since they’re not capable of running the concurrent modern releases of iOS 17.3, iPadOS 17.3, nor iOS 16.7.5, or iPadOS 16.7.5. Given that Apple took the time to release updates to these older devices running three year old system software, you can assume the security fixes are important, and thus should be installed onto any eligible devices.
iOS 17.3 for iPhone has been released by Apple, along with iPadOS 17.3 for iPad. The software updates include some minor new features, as well as security enhancements and bug fixes, and are therefore recommended for all iPhone and iPad users to install onto their devices.
The most notable new feature to arrive with iOS 17.3 is Stolen Device Protection, which aims to make it more difficult to access your device by requiring Face ID or Touch ID to make certain changes, even if it is stolen by someone who knows the device password. Additionally, Apple has added a new Black Unity wallpaper of doodled blooming flowers on a black background to honor Black culture for Black History Month. There’s also now an ability to share Music playlists with friends. The full release notes for iOS 17.3 are further below.
Separately, Apple has also released macOS Sonoma 14.3 for Mac, along with updates to Apple Watch with watchOS 10.3, tvOS 17.3 for Apple TV, and HomePod.
macOS Sonoma 14.3 is now available for Mac users running the Sonoma operating system on their computer. The software update includes bug fixes, security enhancements, and adds a few very minor new features, like the ability to collaborate on playlists with Apple Music and use Emoji reactions there. The full release notes for macOS Sonoma 14.3 are barren but included below.
Aside from the update to Sonoma, Apple has also released iOS 17.3 for iPhone, iPadOS 17.3 for iPad, watchOS 10.3 for Apple Watch, tvOS 17.3 for Apple TV, and an update for HomePod.
40 years ago on January 22, 1984, Apple ran the famous “1984” advertisement for the Macintosh during the Super Bowl.
The commercial features an unidentified heroine wearing a Macintosh tank top who runs into a gathering of enthralled sycophants staring up at a screen of a droning Big Brother, wherein the protagonist tosses an anvil into the screen to destroy the spell. The tagline “On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 wont be like ‘1984.’” then appears on screen and is spoken. Quite a commercial eh? If you’ve never seen the commercial, it’s embedded below and worth a watch.
Looking for a new fun wallpaper to spruce up your Apple devices? Apple released a creative new graffiti-themed wallpaper to celebrate the launch of a new store in the Hongdae area of Seoul, South Korea. Hongdae is apparently known for being a trendy area, and has a street affectionately named “Picasso Street” that features prominent artwork and graffiti.
Tetris is a classic and fun game that has hallmark simple yet challenging gameplay. Something about trying to piece together falling geometric shapes into lines is satisfying, and considering there are some studies that demonstrate Tetris may be good for the brain, what’s not to like? But if you want to play Tetris on your Mac, it’s harder than you might expect.
Fortunately there are a few options to play Tetris on the Mac, and technically they work on any other device too because they’re web based, so you can play the same Tetris games on an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows PC, Linux, Android, or whatever else you’ve got with a capable web browser. And there’s also a way to play Tetris from the Terminal app on Mac, if you’re into the command line.
If you’re the type of person who likes to keep track of their daily step count by using iPhone as a step counter, it is frustrating when the iPhone Health app step counter does not update as frequently as you’d like. Additionally, there are some challenges that are linked to specific step counts, and many people have step count goals, so being able to rely on that iPhone Health app as your step counter is important for many users.
If you find the iPhone Health app step counter to be updating too slowly for your needs, and you’d like to see a real-time live view of your steps as detected by iPhone, you can do that.
You can quickly change your Apple Watch face by swiping on the watch face – that is, if you enable this feature first.
While older versions of watchOS system software allowed users to switch watch faces easily by swiping, that feature was later changed because apparently some users were accidentally activating it. However, as long as you have updated to the latest available version of Apple Watch system software, you will have regained the option to change watch faces by swiping on the screen. So while some users may be wondering what happened to the ability to change the watch face by swiping, it still exists but it has to be enabled first.
Apple has issued Release Candidate builds for iOS 17.3, iPadOS 17.3, macOS Sonoma 14.3, watchOS 10.3, and tvOS 17.3, for users involved in the beta testing programs.
Release Candidate (RC) builds are typically the final version of a beta release cycle before the update becomes broadly available to all users. Occasionally, a second (or even third) RC build is released, if some notable bug or security issue is addressed.
The final versions of iOS 17.3, ipadOS 17.3, and macOS Sonoma 14.3 will be released next Tuesday, on January 23, according to Apple.
If you’ve installed macOS Sonoma into a UTM virtual machine you may get into a situation where you’d either like to restore the VM from a Time Machine backup, or even reinstall Sonoma in the VM, or perform other actions on the virtual machine from Recovery Mode. But, as you likely have noticed by now, booting into recovery on an Apple Silicon Mac requires holding down the Power button.
If you’ve ever attempted to do this within a UTM virtual machine, you’ll quickly notice it doesn’t work – instead, pressing the power button during the boot sequence will lock the Mac screen, as pressing the power button does on all Apple Silicon Macs (M1, M2, M3, etc included).
How do you boot into macOS recovery mode in UTM? It’s actually pretty easy once you learn how.
The latest Apple Watch models are apparently facing another sales ban starting tomorrow, due to an ongoing patent dispute with a company named Masimo, according to reports.
This basically means that Apple will be temporarily blocked from selling Apple Watch models that have blood oxygen sensors, which includes Series 9 and Ultra 2, though there are suggestions that Apple will release a software update to watchOS to try and get around any patent issues.
Now, despite all this patent drama regarding Apple Watch, if you’re in the market to buy one, you’ll be pleased to know that Amazon is continuing to sell fully functional Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 models with bloody oxygen sensors intact, at least for the time being, and at nice discounts too, taking $70 off the price of Series 9, and $50 off the Ultra 2.
Apple Watch Series 9 for $329 (down $70)
Apple Watch Series 9 is discounted to $329 (down from $399 MSRP) in select colors and band size combinations. Apple Watch Series 9 offers a 41mm display, fantastic fitness tracking capabilities, a heart rate monitor, blood oxygen reader, ECG capability, crash detection, fall detection, ovulation tracking, always-on display, GPS, pinch gesture support for interacting with the Apple Watch with just one hand, and a powerful new chip to make the watch faster than ever before.
The rugged Apple Watch Ultra 2 has all the fitness tracking capabilities you know and love of Series 9, including the blood oxygen sensor, plus a tough enclosure, an action button, longer battery life, and water resistance down to 100 meters.
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One of the fun ways to customize your iPhone experience is to change the default alert sound effect to something you like or prefer.
For a long time, the default alert sound effect was Tri-Tone and could not be changed, and then with later iOS releases Apple changed the default alert sound to the Rebound sound effect. But in the most recent versions of iPhone system software, you can change the default alert sound to anything you want it to be, whether it’s Tri-Tone, Rebound, or anything else.
Some Mac users are interested in viewing their Health data, workout data, activity and fitness data, all that is gathered from Apple Watch and iPhone, on their Mac. Recently, Apple added the Health app to iPad, so where is Health app for Mac? This should be easy, right?
Many people get an Apple Watch specifically for fitness tracking, working out, activities, and to better learn about their health and fitness. One important metric to be aware of for cardiovascular fitness is your heart rate relative to your individual heart rate zone data, and Apple Watch will calculate this information based upon your age and activities.
While many athletes know that you can get your maximum heart rate by taking 220 minus age (for example if I am 31, then the calculation would be 220-31=189, with 189 being my maximum heart rate), but it’s a little bit trickier to get your different zone information, so let’s turn to the data that is gathered by Apple Watch and see the heart rate zones on your iPhone.
The iPhone now has a Journal app, where you can jot down your day, highlights, including notes, pictures, videos, workouts from Apple Watch, and more, plus the Journal app even has journaling suggestions that are available as well. If you don’t find the suggestions of what to write about or journal about to be particularly helpful, you can turn this feature off easily.
Apple Watch users may potentially see an error message on their iPhone that states that “Could Not Connect to Apple Watch”, which then advises a few troubleshooting tips. Often those troubleshooting tips offered in the error message will fix the issue, but sometimes you need some additional help in fixing the error message and connecting the iPhone to Apple Watch again.
Let’s review some troubleshooting tips that will help to resolve the connection issue between Apple Watch and iPhone.
