Apple has turned on the tap at Software Update. A bunch of system updates are flowing for Apple’s main computing platforms. While we can typically expect a point release like this x.4 update to be relatively minor, Apple has decided to pack in a bunch of new features.
Given all the consternation about Apple Intelligence and how Apple has failed to delver on its AI promises, it’s no surprise that the headline change for this update concerns Apple’s maligned AI platform. Notifications in iOS and iPadOS get a new prioritization feature that puts the most important (as far as Apple Intelligence can tell) notifications at the top of the pile. There’s also support for an additional eight languages and Image Playground, on all platforms, gets a new Sketch tool.
macOS also gets some new Apple Intelligence features. You’ll be able to create a Memory movie by describing the story you want to see in Photos.
If you have an Apple Vision Pro, you’ll find a new app on your iPhone and News+, Apple’s subscription news service, gets a boost with an all new food section with recipes, restaurant information and a Recipe Catalog.
Photos gets a spruce up as well with new sorting and filtering options so you can find your favourite pics more easily.
Apple says there are also a slew of other updates.
- 8 new emoji including objects, plants, and a smiley face are now available in the emoji keyboard
- Safari recent search suggestions help you quickly get back to previous search topics when starting a new query
- Setup Assistant streamlines steps parents need to take to create a Child Account for a kid in their family, and enables child-appropriate default settings if parents prefer to complete setting up a Child Account later
- Screen Time App Limits persist even after a child uninstalls and reinstalls an app
- App Store includes summaries for user reviews so you can get helpful insights from other users at a glance
- Pause and resume of an app download or update on App Store without losing progress
- New widgets for Podcasts including a Followed Shows widget to track your favorite shows and a Library widget to get to your most used sections, such as Latest Episodes, Saved, and Downloaded
- Ambient Music offers the ability to instantly play music from Control Center, giving access to a set of hand-curated playlists that offer soundtracks for daily life
- Apple Fitness+ Collections can now be added to Library
- Matter-compatible robot vacuum cleaners can be controlled in the Home app as well as be added to scenes and automations
- Support for 10 new system languages including Bangla, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu
You can either wait for the update to come through automatically, assuming you have enabled Automatic Updates, or go to Software Update by opening System Settings, General, Software Update on your device.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.