Apple has released iOS 15.6 and iPadOS 15.6 for all iPhone and iPad users. The new software updates are available now, alongside macOS Monterey 12.5 for Mac.

iOS 15.6 and iPadOS 15.6 include bug fixes, security updates, and small enhancements to the operating systems for iPhone and iPad. Perhaps most notable is a resolution to an issue where the Settings app may erroneously state that the storage is full, despite having storage available. Additionally, there are new options to pause, rewind, and restart live sports games in the TV app, and bug fixes for braille devices when using Mail, and a fix for a Safari problem where tabs may revert back to previous pages. iPadOS 15.6 also resolves an issue for iPad Mini where USB-C connections may not be recognized. The full release notes are further below for those interested.

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The Mac Finder and apps like Preview offer window title icons when you hover over the window title text, and once defaulted to show icons in the window title bar too. Sometimes these window icons were referred to as “proxy icons”, because they’re interactive and allow for things like dragging and dropping, and right-clicking to access dropdown menus.

In modern MacOS versions like Monterey, Big Sur, and newer, these window title icons still appear if you hover over the title bar texts, but you can enable a setting in System Preferences to always show the window title bar icons if you’d like.

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The iPad allows you to easily adjust the cursor tracking speed, whether you’re using a trackpad or a mouse with the iPad.

For some users, the default iPad cursor tracking speed may be too fast, and for others it may be too slow. Fortunately, there’s a wide variety of adjustment available, and you can make the mouse pointer move as fast or as slow as you’d like.

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The all new MacBook Air with M2 and MacBook Pro 14″ and 16″ with M1 Pro and M1 Max processors are impressive machines by most hardware standards, but not everyone is impressed with the Notch that takes up a portion at the top of the screen. The Notch holds the front facing camera, and dips down into the top of the display. So, what if you hate the way the notch looks? Are you stuck with it? Not entirely.

Fortunately for notch haters, there’s an app called TopNotch that hides the display notch, using a simple but ingenious method of turning the menu bar black to match the notch. This effectively makes The Notch blend into the menu bar, making it much more subtle.

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Release Candidate 2 of iOS 15.6 and iPadOS 15.6 are now available to beta testers, along with the first Release Candidate build of macOS Monterey 12.5.

Release Candidate builds are typically the final version of beta software that then gets finalized and released to the general public, so this suggests that iOS 15.6, iPadOS 15.6, and macOS Monterey 12.5 are likely to be released perhaps as soon as the coming week.

No major features or changes are expected in the builds, meaning iOS 15.6, iPadOS 15.6, and macOS Monterey 12.5 are probably bug fix updates that also include security enhancements.

Most beta testers are probably running the separate beta builds of iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura 13, but for those who are running betas for the current generation operating systems, you’ll find the release candidate builds available now through the respective software update mechanisms.

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Adventurous Mac users may be interested in trying out the macOS Ventura public beta on their Mac, which is now available for any user to download and install.

As is usual with beta system software, the macOS Ventura public beta is buggy, and users should expect to encounter quirks, bugs, and incompatibilities with certain things and apps. For this reason, it’s recommended to install the macOS Ventura public beta on a secondary Mac, and not a primary workstation.

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Now that iPadOS 16 public beta is available for any user to download, some curious iPad enthusiasts will undoubtedly be interested in installing the public beta onto their device.

As is usual with beta system software, assume the iPadOS 16 public beta to not be as stable as a final software version, meaning things like crashes, bugs, and apps not working as expected is normal. For this reason, only advanced users should bother running the beta, and preferably on a secondary device that is not your primary hardware.

iPadOS 16 beta includes some interesting new features, including a new multitasking interface called Stage Manager that is limited to M1 equipped iPads, the ability to edit and unsend iMessages, the inclusion of Weather app on iPad, Safari tab groups and tab pinning, the ability to connect Nintendo JoyCons to the iPad, and more. For those wondering, the lock screen widget customization feature is limited to iPhone with iOS 16, and will not be available on iPad. The iPadOS 16 beta is most compelling on an M1 equipped iPad or better, so earlier device users may be underwhelmed by the incremental features.

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Apple now supports the ability for verifiable COVID vaccination cards to be added to iPhone via the Apple Wallet application. The digital COVID-19 vaccine passport could be useful for situations where you must show your vaccine papers to travel, cross a border, enter into a restaurant, enter a building, or other for example. Rather than carrying around a delicate piece of paper, you can just simply use your iPhone and have a verifiable vaccine record with you instead to serve as your vaccine passport.

The ability to add Covid vaccine cards into Apple Wallet requires the iPhone be running iOS 15.1 or newer, as older versions do not offer this capability.

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If you want to try the public beta of iOS 16 on your iPhone, you’re in luck because it’s now available to download and update for any adventurous user.

iOS 16 includes some nifty new features for iPhone, most notably the redesigned customizable lock screen with widgets, but there are also other fun and interesting features like the ability to edit sent iMessages, have different lock screens for different Focus modes, the ability to schedule email sending, you can handoff FaceTime calls, and much more.

As usual, it’s important to remember that beta system software is buggy and far less stable than final versions that are released to the general populace. Additionally, features change and are adjusted throughout the beta period. If you do want to try out the iOS 16 beta, you’ll want to expect bugs, and for some apps may not work as expected (or at all).

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Apple has released the first public beta builds of iOS 16 and iPadOS 16. The public beta programs offers the opportunity for any user to beta test the upcoming system software versions, without having to be an Apple developer.

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Apple has released the first public beta version of macOS Ventura to any Mac user interested in participating in the beta testing program for macOS 13.

MacOS Ventura includes some new features like the all new Stage Manager multitasking capability, the addition of Weather and Clock apps, Continuity Camera to allow using an iPhone as a webcam, the ability to use HandOff with FaceTime, a redesigned System Preferences (now called System Settings), and more.

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Wondering what Mac and iPad models are supported to use Universal Control? If you’re interested in knowing which iPad models support Universal Control, and which Macs can use Universal Control, you’re in the right place. Below we’ll go through the list of supported devices for Universal Control, and cover the other system requirements for using the feature as well.

For the unfamiliar, Universal Control is the great feature which allows a single keyboard and mouse to control multiple other Macs and iPads. It’s really handy, and makes using multiple Apple devices easier than ever.

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Do you still see two-factor authentication codes for accounts that you no longer use in the Google Authenticator App? Then, it’s time to clean up your list of accounts. A moment of your time is all it takes to remove old accounts from your Google Authenticator app.

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All Macs have a bundled SSH server that is disabled by default, but can be turned on at any time if you’d like to grant remote command line access to a machine.

The SSH server in MacOS is turned on by using a sharing feature called Remote Login. With Remote Login enabled, the Mac now has SSH and SFTP available to it for remote connections.

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You can enable Tap-to-Click on the iPad if you use a trackpad with the device, whether it’s with a Magic Keyboard, a Magic Trackpad, or any other external trackpad device.

Tap to Click is a popular feature for trackpads that allows a simple tap on the trackpad to register as a click. For many iPad users, they may like this setting since it has familiarity to tapping on the devices touch screen. Additionally, many PC laptops use tap-to-click by default, so if you’re coming to the iPad from another platform you may appreciate the familiarity of using tap to click on the iPad as well.

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The third beta version of macOS Ventura 13 has bene released by Apple to Mac users participating in the developer beta program.

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Apple has released iOS 16 beta 3 and iPadOS 16 beta 3 to uses participating in the developer beta testing programs for Apple system software.

The new builds are available now for anyone who has installed iOS 16 beta or iPadOS 16 beta onto their iPhone or iPad, respectively.

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Apple has released the fifth beta builds of macOS Monterey 12.5, iOS 15.6, and iPadOS 15.6.

No specific features or changes are expected in the releases, suggesting that iOS 15.6, iPadOS 15.6, and macOS Monterey 12.5 will all be bug fix releases with security improvements.

These betas are being worked on alongside the separate betas of iOS 16, macOS Ventura 13, and iPadOS 16, which are set to be released to the general public this fall.

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