After a three-week hiatus, Apple seeded to developers beta versions of all its operating systems on Tuesday. That includes macOS Monterey 12.4, iOS 15.5 and more. On Wednesday, the public was also given the option to test these.
These pre-release versions for iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, etc. first came out on the same day Apple announced the date for its WWDC Developers Conference. Beta testing for the five just-released OS versions is expected to end around the same time as the conference.
Hulu today joined the list of third-party video streaming services that offer SharePlay support on iPhone and iPad.
Its latest app update gives viewers the ability to enjoy movies and TV shows with their friends over FaceTime while everyone stays in sync. It also adds the ability to easily switch between channels for Live TV users.
It’s now been three weeks since any Apple operating system was in public beta testing. It seems work has stopped on significant updates to iOS 15, macOS Monterey and the other OSs.
And that’s a good thing. Here’s why.
Benchmark testing of nine different iPhone models shows that less than half of them experienced any improvement to battery life from the recent iOS 15.4.1 update, despite Apple describing that as a major feature of the new version. More of the handsets saw a decrease instead.
On the devices affected, the drop in battery life is generally small, but it’s nevertheless likely to leave some iPhone users holding off on the update. Which is unfortunate, as iOS 15.4.1 also closes a security hole that Apple says has been actively exploited.
Apple introduced bug fix updates for every one of its operating systems on Thursday. These updates should improve the battery life on iPhone and iPad. And for Mac users, the new version fixes well-publicized bugs recently introduced by macOS 12.3.
However, there are no new features in macOS Monterey 12.3.1, iOS 15.4.1, iPadOS 15.4.1, watchOS 8.5.1 and tvOS 15.4.1 — Apple just fixed small problems. All five updates are available to download immediately.
Apple Maps users in Canada can now enjoy a more detailed mapping experience, as well as enhanced navigation, in several big cities.
Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver are the latest to get Apple’s most recent Maps upgrades — which first debuted in London, Los Angeles, New York City, and the San Francisco Bay Area in iOS 15 last September.
One of the new features in iOS 15.4, released earlier this week, is a new, gender-neutral voice for Siri.
Apple developed the gender-neutral voice in response to criticism for using female voices as the default for the virtual assistant. If you want Siri to use a voice that is not explicitly female or male — maybe if you don’t identify that way yourself, or if you just want a nongendered voice assistant — now you have the option.
Here’s how to switch to the new voice on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Apple’s new Studio Display is incredibly impressive in more ways than one. And while some early reviews note that other excellent monitors are available for less, there are some things that make Studio Display completely unique.
Not only is it powered by an A13 Bionic chip, for instance, but Studio Display runs iOS 15.4. No, not a watered-down version of it, but exactly the same iOS 15.4 build that you have installed on your iPhone and iPad. You just can’t use it.
If you encounter firmware issues on Apple Watch, you can now wirelessly restore its software yourself using an iPhone — provided you’ve updated to iOS 15.4 and watchOS 8.5, which made their official debuts on Monday.
Is it the first time Cupertino has given Apple Watch owners this functionality. Until now, firmware issues often required users to take their device to Apple to be restored, since there is no way to connect the device to a Mac.
iOS 15.4 debuted on Monday, allowing users to unlock their iPhone with Face ID while wearing a mask. It also includes other new features.
And Apple released macOS Monterey 12.3, too. Plus, watchOS 8.5 and tvOS 15.4 went to the public as well.
