macOS ‘Device Support Update’ ensures iPhone and iPad upgrades work correctly

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Apple News+ in Australia
Keep your Mac, iPad and iPhone working like they should with a macOS Device Support Update.
Photo: Apple

Apple released a rare Device Support Update on Thursday for macOS Big Sur. While details are thin, the patch fixes a problem with Macs communicating with iPhones and iPads.

It’s a free download available now.

What’s in the macOS Big Sur Device Support Update

Essentially all that’s known for sure about the patch is Apple’s release note that says, “This update ensures proper updating and restoring for iOS and iPadOS devices with a Mac.” It didn’t make it onto Apple list of Big Sur updates.

iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 reached customers last week. As did the iPhone 13, iPad 9 and iPad mini 6. That’s a lot of fresh hardware and software that potentially could be causing interoperability problems with macOS Big Sur.

And the issue is apparently severe enough to justify a stand-alone patch. Otherwise, it would have been built into a larger update, like the recent macOS 11.6 release. It seems an important update for anyone who uses an iPhone or iPad.

To install the update on your Mac, go to System PreferencesSoftware Update. Select Device Support Update then tap on Install Now.

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