macOS is Apple’s operating system for the Mac. It has been around quite a long time, but in its current form it really started in 2001 with Mac OS X 10.1. It’s built on top of a UNIX core, which makes it very stable, versatile, and great for developers. It’s popular with creators too, as a good platform for video editing and photography. More recently, Apple has begun working to bring iOS apps to the Mac, which could change how MacBooks, iMacs, Mac Pros, and Mac Minis work for everybody.
So says Mark Gurman in the latest Power On newsletter for Bloomberg. That’s not all — in addition to two iPad Air models (one a 12.9-inch!) and OLED iPad Pro tablets, he writes that 13- and- 15-inch MacBook Air models will be updated with M3 chips at the same time.
That would be the first refresh of each iPad and the 13-inch MacBook Air since 2022.
Tim Cook shared a fun animation celebrating the 40th anniversary of the original Macintosh, and hidden amongst the colorful array of products and iconography is none other than Clarus, a lesser-known piece of Mac history otherwise referred to as the “dogcow.”
Designed by legendary graphic designer Susan Kare for the original Macintosh as part of the Cairo font, Clarus continues to make cameos in Apple’s software. Stephen Hackett has a great write-up at 512 Pixels on Clarus that I highly recommend, especially on a day like today.
In case Apple’s new security features weren’t reason enough to update to iOS 17.3 and iPadOS 17.3, Apple has also confirmed that it addresses a WebKit vulnerability that “may have been exploited” in the wild, alongside other security updates. Its macOS 14.3 and tvOS 17.3 updates include a similar fix, and there are also fixes for devices stuck on older versions of macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. Get updating!
Or iPad, Mac, or any AirPlay-enabled device, including smart TVs. According to Apple’s website, the Vision Pro will support 720p AirPlay mirroring, however earlier on Friday, it said it would support 1080p AirPlay.
Correction, Friday, January 19th, 2023, 8:11PM ET: The description on Apple’s website changed after this post was originally published, and it has been updated to note the new resolution listed.
The Resident Evil 4 remake, where you can hear Leon Kennedy say one of the cheesiest lines of all time (once again), is now available for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPads and Macs with M-series chips. Thanks to Universal Purchase, you can buy the game once and play it across devices without buying it again.
Hopefully RE4 can tide you over if you’ve been looking forward to the recently-delayed release of Death Stranding: Director’s Cut on Apple platforms.
macOS Sonoma 14.2.1, which was released today, patches an issue that might show windows you thought were hidden while you’re screen sharing, as reported by 9to5Mac. Craig Hockenberry, who Apple credits with reporting the bug, explains on Mastodon why the bug could be a problem.
Apple also released iOS 17.2.1 today, which the company says has “important bug fixes.”
iFixit published a video teardown today, and yeah, it’s a second verse, same as the first affair. Well, the video did call out that there’s one fewer CMOS battery.
iFixit didn’t give it a reparability score (the original model got a 2 out of 10), but did call out the “smart, repairable design” of its non-goopy screen adhesive.
This video from CNBC offers a behind-the-scenes look at the facilities where Apple tests its M-series chips for Macs and the A-series chips for iPhones. You can see the labs at around 3:21 and 7:05.
Aside from that, Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware, also hints at the possibility of the company developing its own modems, stating “We care about cellular and we have teams enabling that.”
The updates fix two WebKit vulnerabilities that “may have been exploited against versions of iOS before iOS 16.7.1,” according to an Apple support page. macOS Sonoma 14.1.2 is out, too, with fixes for the same vulnerabilities.
[Apple Support]
There are riches at the bottom of this TidBits story — a list of shortcuts that use the Fn key instead of command, option, or control. Some are easier than Apple’s listed alternatives (like using Fn-F versus the hand-contorting Control-Command-F to enter fullscreen.)
This delights me, a person who rages when using any interface that doesn’t support tabbing between text input fields.
7
Verge Score
The latest version of Apple’s venerable all-in-one desktop is an excellent and beautiful computer. It just doesn’t fit most modern computing needs.
9to5Mac spotted that Apple updated the Mac and iPad versions of Logic Pro today. Updates include an automatic mastering tool called Mastering Assistant and 32-bit float recording.
Apple also ported over the iPad’s Sample Alchemy and Beat Breaker features to the Mac version, while the subscription iPad version gets drag-and-drop support from other apps.
Look for Logic Pro 1.1 (iPadOS) and Logic Pro 10.8 (macOS)
iPhones have been able to alert users to liquid in the Lightning port since the iOS 10 beta period, and now the ability to at least detect liquid is in macOS Sonoma 14.1.
9to5Mac reported that the update brought a new “Liquid Detection and Corrosion Mitigation Daemon,” though the outlet reports that it seems limited to analytics for now.
I still have sketchbooks full of perspective and figure-drawing practice, experiments with comic book layouts, shading, endless sketches of my feet and hands.
But somehow I never decided to just study how light works in a water droplet? This post from Apple design alum Michael Darius about the influence of Wes Modes’ “Anatomy of a Water Drop” on the Aqua design of Mac OS X has a fun scan to pore over.
[skeuomorphic.design]
Dan Seifert runs down the news from Monday night’s Scary Fast primetime product event, covering what’s new about these updates to the MacBook Pro and iMac lineup and who should be the most interested in an upgrade. (Anyone who needs that Space Black exterior or someone who is replacing an Apple machine with an Intel processor or the first-gen M1 chip.)
The Bloomberg Power On newsletter sees Mark Gurman as sure as he’s been about Apple’s “Scary Fast” event tomorrow. Here’s a summary of the chips expected in the new iMacs and high-end 14- and- 16-inch MacBook Pro models:
• Base M3 chip: 8-core CPU / 10-core GPU, likely with “improved memory configurations.”
• M3 Pro chip: Gurman mentions a 12-core CPU / 18-core GPU configuration, but with a likely upgrade to a 14-core CPU / 20-core GPU.
• M3 Max: 16-core CPU / 40-core GPU, and he mentions a 32-core GPU option. (The M2 Max is currently available in 30-core / 38-core GPU configs.)
A home space that helps keep an eye on work, the cat, and the kids — all at the same time.
Whispers have percolated for a while saying there’s a bigger iMac coming. But whatever happened to that rumored mini-LED display?
Well, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revived that particular rumor today with a post predicting a 2025 iMac with mini-LED. Otherwise, he says the next 24-inch iMac refresh is due next year. What, no October iMac?
Developer Steve Troughton-Smith spotted a fun little note today on the download page for the Xcode 15.1 beta that says a Mac with Apple Silicon is required if you want to develop for visionOS.
So alas, you can’t use a decked-out 2019 Mac Pro ($400 wheel upgrade included, of course). But buy a base-model M1 MacBook Air from 2020 for under a grand? Go forth, my friend.
