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Tag: 10.16

  • WWDC 2020: Apple announces macOS “Big Sur,” highlights new features en route

    Apple on Monday previewed the latest version of macOS, entitled “Big Sur,” and cited it as the biggest update since Mac OS X oh so many years ago. The update offers a dramatic redesign, new features for Safari, updates to Messages, and other new features.

    Starting off, Apple has described the new design as “spacious,” offering easier navigation while offering redesigned elements such as the curvature of window corners to the palette of colors and materials.

    Dock icons have been redesigned to be more consistent with icons across Apple’s ecosystem, reducing visual complexity, and bringing users’ content front and center.

    One major change is Control Center, which offers quick access to controls from the desktop. Notification Center has been redesigned to offer more interactive notifications and redesigned widgets in different sizes, making it more akin to the design of iOS 14.

    Apple has announced that Safari will receive “the biggest update to Safari since its original launch in 2003.” Tabs have been redesigned to make navigating Safari faster, with favicons displayed by default so it’s easier to see where to click at a glance.

    Upon opening Safari, users will be offered a new start page that can be customized with a background image as well as sections like a Reading List and iCloud tabs. Safari will offer built-in translation tools covering seven languages while browsing. Safari will also support a Privacy Report system that allows users to choose when and which websites a Safari extension can work with.

    Apple’s Messages application will feature pinned conversations as well as a refined search function. Screen effects will be supported on macOS, and users will be able to create and customize their Memoji on a Mac. In conversations, there will be a new photo picker and #images support, making it possible to share GIFs on the macOS ‌Messages‌ app without a third-party app.

    In addition, group messaging features will offer inline replies and @mentions, allowing users to directly address someone, or a specific text, amid a large group or long conversation. Users will also be able to set a photo or emoji for their group conversation that can function as their personal icon during the chat.

    macOS Big Sur will be released this fall as a free update. It’s currently available to Apple Developer Program members as of today, and will be offered as a public beta come July.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors

  • WWDC 2020: Apple posts full WWDC keynote for playback

    If you missed Apple’s WWDC keynote, the company just posted it to both its website as well as its YouTube channel, Apple Developer app, and more.

    The keynote highlights Apple’s transition to ARM processors, iOS 14, iPadOS 14, macOS Big Sur 10.16, and other changes to come.

    Take a gander at the links below and please let us know what you think in the comments.

    Via 9to5Mac, Apple’s Special Events website, YouTube, Apple Developer app

  • Apple releases macOS Catalina 10.15.4 update

    Apple on Tuesday released macOS Catalina 10.15.4, its fourth update to its macOS Catalina operating system.

    The update, which weighs in around 2.97 gigabytes, can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for free using the Update feature in the System Preferences app.

    The update offers the following fixes, changes, and new features, as well as offers the standard reliability, performance, and security fixes:

    Finder

    – iCloud Drive folder sharing from Finder
    – Controls to limit access only to people you explicitly invite or grant access to anyone with the folder link
    – Permissions to choose who can make changes and upload files and who can only view and download files

    Screen Time
    – Communication limits for controlling who your children can communicate with and be contacted by throughout the day and during downtime
    – Playback control of music videos for your children

    Music
    – Time-synced lyrics view for Apple Music, including the ability to jump to your favorite part of a song by clicking a line in lyrics view

    Safari
    – Option to import Chrome passwords into your iCloud Keychain for easy AutoFill of your passwords in Safari and across all your devices
    – Controls for duplicating a tab and for closing all tabs to the right of the current tab
    – HDR playback support on compatible computers for Netflix content

    App Store with Apple Arcade
    – Universal Purchase support enables the use of a singular purchase of a participating app across iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV
    – Recently played Arcade games appear in the Arcade tab so you can continue playing on iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV

    Pro Display XDR
    – Customized reference modes that you can tailor to specific workflow needs by selecting from several color gamut, white point, luminance, and transfer function options

    Accessibility
    – Head pointer preference for moving a cursor on the screen based on the precise movements of your head

    This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements.
    – High Dynamic Range output to HDR10-compatible third-party displays and TVs connected with DisplayPort or HDMI
    – OAuth authentication support with Outlook.com accounts for improved security
    – CalDav migration support when upgrading to iCloud reminders on a secondary device
    – Resolves an issue where text copied between apps may appear invisible when Dark Mode is active
    – Fixes an issue in Safari where a CAPTCHA tile may display incorrectly
    – Resolves an issue where Reminders may send notifications for completed reminders
    – Fixes an issue with screen brightness for the LG UltraFine 5K display after waking from sleep

    macOS Catalina 10.15.4 is thought to be among the final major updates before Apple releases its macOS 10.16 operating system later this year.

    If you’ve had a chance to try the update and have any feedback to offer, please let us know about your experience in the comments.

    Via MacRumors

  • Apple shifts WWDC 2020 to online-only format in wake of coronavirus pandemic

    Look on the bright side: You won’t have to travel.

    Apple has announced that while it won’t be canceling this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, it will be shifting to an online-only format in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

    In a recent statement, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller offered the following comments:

    “…new WWDC 2020 format that delivers a full program with an online keynote and sessions, offering a great learning experience for our entire developer community, all around the world.”

    Schiller did not specify the actual dates for WWDC 2020, though the event usually occurs in June and lasts for five days of programming.

    Similar tech giants such as Google and Facebook have canceled the physical components of their I/O and F8 tech conferences, with no clear announcement of what the virtual shows will look like. Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi said in the statement that WWDC is going to be “big” and filled with “new products and technologies.” Those products and technologies will almost certainly include iOS and iPadOS 14, tvOS 14, watchOS 7, and macOS 10.16.

    Apple has held its WWDC event in San Jose over the past few years. In order to offset the negative economic impact to the city from the event’s cancelation, the company has said that it will commit more than $1 million to unspecified “local organizations.”

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via Macworld