Apple has issued the second beta versions of iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, macOS Sonoma 14.4, watchOS 10.4, tvOS 17.4, along with the first beta version of visionOS 1.1 for Apple Vision Pro.

What new features are expected in betas of iOS/iPadOS 17.4, macOS Sonoma 14.4?

These beta updates to iOS, iPadOS, and macOS include a few new features like transcripts within the Podcasts app, HomePod SharePlay support, and new Emoji characters including a mushroom, shaking head, lime, and broken chain. Additional emoji are typically incredibly popular and drive many users to software updates.

The typical array of bug fixes and security enhancements are also likely to be included in the final releases.

European users will see the biggest changes in the new iOS beta system software, as Apple is working to comply with new regulations from the European Union, offering alternative methods to install apps that are outside of the Apple App Store. These changes are specific and limited to the EU, and are unlikely to be available to other regions anytime soon.

It’s important to remember that beta system software is actively under development, and features can change at any time before being finalized and released to the general public.

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Modern versions of Safari for Mac include an incredibly useful Autofill Security Code feature, that allows security codes that are texted to your number to be automatically filled in when you are logging into secure websites in Safari on the Mac. For example, you may be logging into a banking website which requires a security code to verify your identity, which is sent to you via text, and Safari will automatically detect the authentication code in Messages and then autofill that security code in Safari, allowing for you to seamlessly login. But sometimes, Safari Autofill for Security Codes does not work as expected on a Mac, or does not work at all.

We’re going to show you a quick tip for quickly handling security codes on the Mac when Safari Autofill for Security Codes is not working as expected.

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Modern versions of MacOS have a built-in alarm clock, thanks to the addition of Clock app for Mac. This means that you can set an alarm clock on the Mac, a feature that has been long wanted as a native capability by many Mac users, especially since the alarm clock feature on iPhone has been around for so long. And finally, here it is! Using the Clock app and Alarm functionality is super easy in MacOS, as we’ll demonstrate in this guide.

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Amazon continues to be one of the best places to shop for discounted Apple hardware, whether you’re looking for AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, Mac, or iPhone.

Today we’ve put together some great Amazon deals on Apple products, including M2 MacBook Air for $200 off, AirPods starting from $89, AirTag 4 pack for $79, Apple Watch SE 2 for $189, Apple Watch 9 for $329, iPad 10th gen for $349, iPhone 15 series for just $0.01 (yes a penny, with a contract from Boost Mobile), and more. Why pay full price for Apple gear when you can get a discount? Check out the deals below.

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VO2 Max is a commonly used measure of cardiovascular fitness, and the higher your VO2 Max score, the better your overall health and longevity. For those of us using Apple Watch for cardio fitness, your iPhone and Apple Watch is able to calculate and track your VO2 Max score, giving you an idea of your cardiorespiratory fitness and endurance.

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Amazon has some great Apple deals today, particularly on select colors of Apple Watch Series 9 at just $299, and M2 MaceBook Air 15″ 512GB model for just $1199. These are substantial discounts, but stock is changing quickly depending on color, so if you see the deal, act fast, otherwise you might try refreshing the Amazon page after some time to see if the availability has changed. And they’re also offering $100 off select iPad models, starting from just $249. And, if you’re looking to get a new iPhone 15 Pro and don’t mind signing a contract and porting your phone number over to a new service, Boost Mobile and Amazon are offering a ridiculously good deal to get any iPhone 15 model for just $0.01!

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Ever wished your Apple Watch had a Sauna setting for workouts? Me too, so I found a way to add one. And yea, Apple says we shouldn’t use Apple Watch in the sauna, but I am interested in observing my heart rate and associated stats from sauna sessions, so I am doing it anyway.

Something I quickly noticed after getting an Apple Watch is that my heart rate and heart rate recovery data was becoming skewed by the fact that I often go into the sauna immediately after finishing a workout. But the Apple Watch does not know I’m in the sauna (why don’t these things have temperature sensors yet?), and there is no workout setting for sauna, so Apple Watch and Health app would observe that my heart rate either stays elevated or raises after finishing my standard workout, thereby skewing the heart rate recovery and other related data.

A simple solution to this is to create a new custom workout on your Apple Watch, called Sauna, and then activate that when you enter into the sauna. And as a bonus, you get a nice little timer and heart rate monitor while sitting in the sauna.*

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Some Mac users may run into a situation where the Messages app for Mac shows phone numbers instead of contact names, despite those contacts numbers being saved and associated with names. Typically you can resolve this issue with a few simple solutions, which we’ll get into here.

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Apple is well known for being a privacy centric company and building tons of security and privacy features into the iPhone and iPad to control things like location tracking and app tracking, but some big name app developers are coming up with creative ways to pry details about your device. One such crafty method of device snooping uses the push notification system to gather system information about your iPhone.

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The Stocks app for iPhone, Mac, and iPad, now offers a super convenient way of knowing when a companies upcoming earnings reports will be, and, even better for you earnings season enthusiasts, you can add those earnings report dates directly to your calendar immediately from the Stocks app. Because who doesn’t love listening in on an earnings call for a company you may or may not own stock in? Tongue-in-cheek aside, many people have jobs, careers, hobbies, or personal interest in tuning into earnings reports for any number of reasons, and so knowing when these dates are and having them on your calendar can be very important.

This earnings report trick works the same with Stocks app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and here’s how it works.

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Do you need to convert images to webp format from the Mac? Converting images to WebP offers tremendous file size savings, often compressing an image up to 70% without losing image quality, so it’s understandable why many Mac users and web developers, designers, and workers would wish to convert and compress images into WebP format.

While it’s super easy to convert webp to JPG and other images file formats on the Mac, going the other direction is curiously absent at the moment. But with a little command line action, we can easily convert images like JPG or PNG to webp on MacOS.

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Amazon is back again with some really great deals, featuring some all-time-low prices on select Apple hardware in specific colors and configurations. From Apple Watch Series 9 from just $309 (down from $399), to M1 iPad Air for just $449 (down from $599), to M2 MacBook Air 15″ 512GB model for $1199 (down from $1499), shop these deals while they’re hot!

Apple Watch Series 9 from $309 (down $90)

The brand new Apple Watch Series 9 is available for $309 in select color options, and $329 in other color options. This is one of the lowest possible prices seen on the Apple Watch Series 9. The deal price is available in a variety of color options and band size combinations, down from the Apple retail price of $399. 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.

• Get Apple Watch Series 9 for $309 (select colors at $309, other colors $329, down from $399 MSRP)

iPad Air M1 5th generation for $449 (Save $150)

The M1 iPad Air 5th gen model is available for just $449, down from the $599 retail price. The 5th gen iPad Air features the powerful M1 chip, 10.9″ Liquid Retina Display, 64GB storage, 12MP front and 12MP back cameras, Touch ID, all day battery life, and full compatibility with Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil 2. Available in select color options at this price. This is a great iPad that is quite powerful, and combined with a Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil is quite a package.

• iPad Air M1 for $449 (down from $599)

M2 MacBook Air 15″ 512GB Model for $300 Off

The 15″ MacBook Air M2 models feature the powerful M2 processor, 512GB SSD storage, a 1080p FaceTime webcam, Touch ID, backlit keyboard, and a great slim lightweight design, and is available in Silverlight color at a whopping 20% discount.

• 15″ MacBook Air M2 – 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD – $1199 (down from $1499)

FTC: OSXDaily is an affiliate partner with Amazon, meaning if you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment which goes towards keeping the site running.

Some iPhone users have discovered they are not able to share their location in Messages or Find My, and instead get an error message stating “No Active Device Used For Your Location. You can check your settings in Find My.” This issue, when present, prevents the user from sharing your location, until it has been resolved.

Location sharing is a very popular feature for iPhone users, and so it’s understandable that running into problems with this feature can be frustrating. There are a few different reasons you could encounter this error message when attempting to start sharing your location from Messages on iPhone, so let’s review them and resolve this problem.

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Apple has released the first beta version of macOS Sonoma 14.4 to users enrolled in the beta testing programs for Mac system software.

The new MacOS beta arrives alongside new betas for WatchOS, and a few days after the first beta of iOS 17.4 debuted.

No major new features are expected in macOS Sonoma 14.4, but it’s assumed that new Emoji icons will be included in the system update since those arrived with iOS 17.4 beta, alongside a standard array of bug fixes and security enhancements.

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MacOS Sonoma is a perfectly great operating system for most Mac users, and many feel its variety of features and general enhancements offer improvements over its predecessor. However, not all MacOS Sonoma users are thrilled, and some people feel their Mac is slower after updating to MacOS Sonoma 14, experiencing more sluggish general performance, unresponsiveness to some apps, seeing more beachballs and wait cursors, and just a general perception that their computer is now slower.

If you are experiencing performance issues with macOS Sonoma and feel like your Mac is slower since updating, take a look a these tips to correct the problem.

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Apple is running a commercial for Apple Vision Pro that shows off the devices appearance when wearing, and the interface the wearer sees overlayed onto the world.

The ad shows people interacting with various spatial computing interfaces and apps, from general computing tasks, to watching movies, making FaceTime video calls, interacting with panoramic photos, all while the song “Dreamer” by Roger Hodgson plays in the background of the advertisement.

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Would you believe that one of the original promotional videos for the Macintosh featured none other than Microsoft’s Bill Gates?!

In this fun video from 1984 you’ll see a young Bill Gates from Microsoft expressing his enthusiasm and extolling the virtues of the Macintosh computer. The famous rivalry between Apple and Microsoft hadn’t quite heated up yet, but that would begin soon after, and the rest is computing history.

Watch the full video embedded below, it’s just under 3 minutes long.

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The Mac turned 40 this week, and if you’re still on an Apple history kick, there’s a fun website that’s worth exploring called Mac40th.

Mac40th.com showcases every desktop and portable Mac ever made by Apple in a continuous stream of Macs, displayed in random order. But it’s not just Macs, interspersed with tons of photos, you’ll find embedded Apple commercials and promo videos to watch too.

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