Install macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 to make your Mac less buggy. Photo: Apple/Pixabay/Pexels
Mac users should install macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a patch to remove a bug that affected USB hubs (and made headlines). The update, released Monday, also takes care of a couple of other problems.
Currently, it’s the only OS update coming out of Cupertino on Monday, meaning Apple Watch and tvOS users are still waiting.
iOS 18 could finally let you create a blank Home Screen row. Concept: Kevin Kall
Apple will allow for greater iPhone Home Screen customization in iOS 18, including the ability to place app icons anywhere on the screen, according to a new report.
iPhone owners also supposedly will gain the flexibility to create blank rows and columns, though the icons will still snap to a grid.
There's a patch waiting for your iPhone's operating system. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
iPhone users can now install iOS 17.4.1, a “bug fix” update on the major upgrade released early this month. iPadOS 17.4.1 is also available for tablet users.
And Vision Pro got its own patch, but there are no updates out Thursday for Mac or Apple Watch.
Add art therapy to your emotional health regimen with Groodles, on sale for less than $40 for life. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Art therapy can be a powerful tool for your emotional well-being, yet it can be difficult to find accessible tools to use it to its maximum potential. Groodles changes that by putting an art therapy app on your iPhone or iPad.
Named one of AppAdvice’s top apps of January 2024, Groodles is designed for all ages and to be as accessible as possible. Children and adults alike can benefit from Groodles and its promotion of art therapy for self-expression and stress relief. Right now, lifetime access costs just $39.99 (regularly $149).
macOS Sonoma 14.4 brings in a couple of nice tweaks. Photo: Apple
The wait is over for macOS Sonoma 14.4, with the new version going out a bit sooner than expected. It brings in new emoji plus auto-generated transcripts in the Apple Podcasts app.
watchOS 10.4 also went to all users on Thursday, as did tvOS 17.4 and visionOS 1.1.
iMessage is about to achieve a higher level of security than any of its widely used rivals. Image: Apple
An iMessage upgrade with post-quantum cryptography will make Apple’s instant messaging platform ready to fend off future hackers. Today’s encryption methods likely won’t be able to stand up, which is why Apple is bringing in the cutting-edge protocol.
The new tech will launch in March, making iMessage the most secure, widely used messaging service in the world, according to Apple.
Get a good deal on an Apple Watch 8 with blood-oxygen sensing. Photo: Apple
Ready to bag an Apple Watch with a working blood-oxygen sensor/app? While you can often find good deals on Amazon, the company’s bargain site, Woot, often does it one better. A good example would be Woot’s current deal on refurbished Apple Watch Series 8. You can get the GPS-only model for 34% off, at $264.99 — and it even comes with a one-year Apple warranty.
Amazon’s deals on that model fall a little short of Woot’s mark, but the parent site does offer one incredible deal — a GPS and cellular Apple Watch 8 at 46% off.
See how five Amazon and Woot deals on Apple Watch 8 compare below.
iOS 17.3 introduces a major new security feature for iPhones. Image: Cult of Mac
iOS 17.3, the third major release of iOS 17, arrived Monday. It packs several new features, one of which is Stolen Device Protection. It also brings the much-delayed Apple Music playlist collaboration.
Once you install iOS 17.3 on your iPhone, check out the new features you must try below.
The Apple Watch Blood Oxygen app is at the heart of a sales ban for the wearable. Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple lost a court appeal Wednesday, which means Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 might once again get pulled from U.S. store shelves. The court agrees with previous rulings that the wearables are in violation of a patent held by a medical-device company.
But Apple has a workaround: it’s almost certainly going to remove the application at the center of the patent dispute.