Apple’s newest macOS update makes it easier than ever to check MacBook battery health, and to prolong its lifespan. In this pro tip, we’ll show you where to find the new battery health features, and how to check the status of yours.
Mac users are venting in online forums about frequent system crashes that began after they updated to macOS Catalina 10.15.4.
The crash reports are popping up on a number of online forums with most saying kernel panics seem to happen after attempting large file transfers.
Ever since Safari 13, the Mac browser now prompts you every time you try to download a file. In this way, it behaves much like Safari for iOS. It’s a security feature, clearly designed to stop websites sneaking files onto your computer. But perhaps you value the convenience of uncontrolled downloads more than this added security? If so, you’re in luck, because you can turn this feature off. Better still, you can still block Safari downloads from “bad” sites, even while allowing new ones automatically.
Sidecar is the new iOS 13/macOS Catalina feature that lets you use an iPad as an extra display for your Mac. But it also lets you send any app off to your iPad. Then you can wander off and use that app on the iPad, pretty much independently, with the Apple Pencil.
This means you can use some high-level Mac music apps, like Logic Pro X and Ableton Live, on the iPad. There are a couple of catches, but it’s easy to use. In fact, Sidecar is so good that using Mac apps on the iPad like this is actually a viable, sensible option. It’s not just a neat trick that you’ll use once and then forget about.
Apple today made its first iOS 13.3.1 and macOS 10.15.3 betas available to developers.
The minor updates don’t have patch notes yet. But they likely fix a serious flaw in Communication Limits, which can allow messages to be received from unauthorized contacts, among other bugs.
New betas are also available for HomePod, iPad, and Apple TV.
While it is possible to get the Shortcuts app running in macOS Catalina via Catalyst, you can’t do much with it. But what about the next best thing? How about selecting something on your Mac, then tapping a shortcut on your iPhone, and then having the result show up back on your Mac?
I’ve been doing this for the past few weeks, and it’s not only a workaround, but a genuinely useful — and reliable — way to “run” iOS shortcuts on the Mac. Let’s get right into it.
We will never see a touchscreen Mac. Apple has made this clear over and over. Whenever one of its executives is asked about a touchscreen Mac in an interview, the answer is always the same: macOS is for trackpads, and iPadOS for is for touch. Combining them would compromise both.
I agree. While I do catch myself tapping the Mac’s screen from time to time, there’s no way I’d want the Mac redesigned for touch. For one thing, you’d lose all the accuracy of the mouse, because clicking targets would have to be big enough for your fingers. But it doesn’t matter, because Apple has already made a touch option for the Mac. It’s Sidecar, and it’s amazing.
Another image of a new 16-inch MacBook Pro (above) has been leaked by macOS 10.15.1 Catalina.
The photo reveals a redesigned keyboard layout, with a Touch ID sensor separated from the Touch Bar. But it does not confirm rumors of a return for the dedicated escape key.
It’s also hard to tell whether this keyboard uses the dreaded butterfly switches that MacBook Pro fans want Apple to abolish. And we could be waiting a long time to find out.
A seemingly small number of Mac users are reporting that their machines have been bricked after upgrading to macOS Catalina.
It is believed a potentially unsuccessful EFI firmware update is responsible for the issue. All affected users see nothing but a folder icon when attempting to boot up their Mac.
You know how you can double-press the side button on your Apple Watch, and then wave it over a contactless terminal to pay with your credit card? Wouldn’t it be great if you could do the same with your Mac login password? Instead of having to type your password to authenticate yourself, you’d be able to double-tap the Apple Watch’s side button to do it instantly.
Well, now you can do exactly this — if you’re running macOS Catalina.
Apple’s newest macOS Catalina upgrade has been causing all kinds of havoc for some Mac users. One issue seems to be killing certain eGPU setups — especially for those with a Mac mini.
This week on The CultCast: Apple’s AR glasses are about to be announced! At least according to one very reliable analyst…. we discuss. Plus: Mac OS Catalina is out, but you probably shouldn’t install it—we’ll tell you why. And Final Cut Pro just got massively faster thanks to a new update, and a long awaited iOS 13 feature finally goes live.
Our thanks to Linked In for supporting this episode. A business is only as strong as its people, and every hire matters… head to LinkedIn.com/cultcast and get a $50 credit toward your first job post.
Developers using Apple’s system to convert iPad software to macOS say Catalyst still needs lots of work before it can fulfill its promise.
The functionality is mostly there, but some features are missing and there are complaints about the style of the resulting apps.
Apple has quietly delayed the release of a new file sharing feature for iCloud Drive.
File sharing was initially scheduled to release later this fall following the release of macOS Catalina on Monday. Apple is now saying we won’t get our hands on it until next spring.
The latest version of Final Cut Pro X is out now with a new Metal engine that promises a big performance boost. It also make optimizations for the all-new Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR.
Apple is today bringing the same Metal engine to Motion and Compressor, too.
Mac users can start enjoying Apple Arcade, but only if they’ve installed the latest pre-release version of macOS Catalina. This move seems to be preliminary step in launching this big macOS upgrade.
If it isn’t obvious, this also means that Catalina didn’t debut today, as had been rumored.
Work has wrapped up on the full version of macOS Catalina, and Apple sent the resulting Golden Master to developers. This is the last step before releasing the first non-beta of version 10.15 to the general public.
Catalina splits iTunes into a number of other applications, and allows iPads to be easily used as a Mac’s second display.
An Apple October event hasn’t yet been announced, but there’s such an impressive list of products that are supposedly ready to launch that the company seems to need a big venue to show them all off.
There’s an epic new Mac, a big MacBook, fresh iPads and plenty more, all reportedly coming soon.
The Reminders app in iOS 13 is a massive upgrade, offering multiple new features to make this utility software more useful. But some people might be frustrated because they can‘t get their reminders to synchronize with their Mac. Apple warns that this will continue until the next version of macOS is released.
Apple has a long habit of unveiling new macOS versions in June, beta testing them all summer, then releasing them in September. Not this year.
Turns out Mac owners will have to wait until next month.
The day iTunes goes away for good moved a bit closer today with the release of a fresh developer beta of macOS Catalina. This is the sixth such, and the first in two weeks.
A version of this beta for the general public is expected shortly.
UPDATE: As expected, all can now access macOS Catalina Public beta 5. Devs got an extra beta early in this process, so this is the same version as Developer beta 6.
The debut of macOS 10.15 took a step nearer with the release of macOS Catalina Developer beta 5. Catalina is intended to let third-party software developers test if their apps are ready for the new version, which will bring significant changes including the end of iTunes.
Apple’s latest macOS Catalina beta revives the long-lost Expansion Slot Utility app for the new Mac Pro.
Now updated to version 2.0, the app helps users configure things like video cards, audio adapters, and more. It went away for a while after the introduction of the 2013 Mac Pro — but it will be called into action again when the 2019 Mac Pro makes its debut.
Apple security chief Ivan Krstic will be returning to the Black Hat security conference this summer to discuss iOS 13 and macOS Catalina — as well as the security protections in Apple’s new Find My service.
The 50-minute talk, titled “Behind the scene of iOS and Mac Security,” will take place on August 8. Krstic describes it as the “first public discussion of several key technologies new to iOS 13 and the Mac.”
We’ve explained why it’s really not a great idea to update to the iOS 13 and iPadOS public betas right now — and the same goes for macOS Catalina. Not only is it unstable in its current form, but some things don’t work properly.
One of those is multiple iTunes libraries. As things stand, you will have access to only one. And if it’s not the right one when you first install Catalina, there’s nothing you can do about it.