macOS

As reported by AppleInsider and MacRumors, today Apple released a second developer beta for iOS / iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 updates with Apple Intelligence features.

There’s also a sixth set of developer betas for the initial updates set to hit iPhones, Macs, and other devices this fall, and an update for the AirPods Pro 2 set that’s in line for some new features.

Last we heard, Apple doesn’t plan to make a 27-inch iMac equipped with its custom silicon chips. But a larger version of its slender all-in-one is still “something Apple is exploring,” wrote Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg today.

He adds that it’s not clear whether that will happen in time for the M4 chip generation or later, though.

If you update to macOS Sequoia, you’ll have to go to Settings > Security & Privacy and approve the app on first open, because Apple is taking away the current right-click (ctrl-click) workaround.

The warning signifies the developer never had Apple malware scan and notarize the app. Sensible security step or not, I’ll still grumble every time I have to open Settings to run something.

Mark Gurman reports for Bloomberg that “Apple Intelligence” features will be available for developers to beta test this week.

However, he also says the first ones won’t be released publicly until weeks after Apple’s big September updates for iPhone / iPad / Mac, etc. Rollouts for others from its WWDC showcase, like upgraded Siri, could stretch into 2025.

Improve your workflow by getting distracted and bouncing a virtual ball around your screen instead of doing whatever it was you were supposed to be doing.

The new versions of Final Cut Pro are rolling out to the iPad and Mac starting today. While the iPad version of the app includes a new live multicam feature and external project support, the Mac update features new AI editing features. Both apps are available as a free update for existing users.

Apple’s long-included macOS Chess game has a new look in the first macOS Sequoia beta.

Shiny as it is, it’s missing things like the “Grass” board and the style picker for the pieces, 9to5Mac writes. Here’s the current version (using “Fur” pieces on the Grass board, of course) compared to a screenshot posted to Reddit of its coming replacement.

TechCrunch has put together a list of features announced during WWDC that are already available on Apple devices via third-party services. That notably includes the new password app (1Password, LastPass), voice transcription (Otter, AudioPen), the ability to mirror iPhones on a Mac (Bezel), and more.

While Apple has to keep up with its competitors, “Sherlocking” developers at WWDC is a long-running and well-documented tradition.

Here’s how Apple describes the feature, per MacRumors:

A rotating Wi-Fi address helps reduce tracking by changing your Wi-Fi address at various times. Tracking can happen when your address always appears the same to other devices and people using the same network as you.

It’s coming to iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia.

From Apple’s post-WWDC 2024 keynote release (emphasis mine):

visionOS 2 also adds mouse support for additional workflow options, and Vision Pro will now reveal the user’s physical Magic Keyboard — even when they are fully immersed in an Environment or app.

I can’t wait to see my keyboard floating in the clouds like Falkor from The Neverending Story when visionOS 2 comes out this fall.