Apple this week released the first beta of macOS Monterey 12.3, which comes with new features like Universal Control and secure notes in Safari’s password manager. The update also prepares Apple’s desktop operating system for new technologies, as internal system files hint at ultra wideband (or UWB) coming to the Mac.
The latest beta version of macOS 12 includes the frameworks and daemons (which are parts of the system that runs in the background) needed to support ultra wideband technology. These are the same tools already used to provide UWB support on iOS devices with the U1 chip.
For those unfamiliar, ultra wideband technology is a short-range wireless communication protocol that is used for space awareness. This way, two or more UWB devices in the same room can precisely locate each other.
Apple first introduced UWB technology to its devices with the iPhone 11 in 2019, and then expanded it to the Apple Watch, HomePod mini, and AirTags. In Apple’s ecosystem, it enables faster AirDrop, CarKey authentication without even having to take the iPhone out of your pocket, quick AirPlay transfer, and the precise location used by the Find My network.
These benefits could be extended to the Mac if Apple decides to bring the U1 chip to its computers. However, it’s worth noting that not even the latest iPad models feature ultra wideband technology, so the only certainty we have now is that Apple has been experimenting with UWB technology with more devices. It’s still unclear when exactly we’ll see Macs and iPads with the U1 chip.
Apple is rumored to be holding a special event this spring, so perhaps we’ll hear more about Apple’s plans to expand UWB technology across its devices at the event.
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Apple today released new developer betas of iPadOS 15.4 and macOS Monterey 12.3, and the updated software adds the long awaited and highly anticipated Universal Control feature. We tested out Universal Control, and even in an early beta form, Universal Control is an easy to use and convenient multi-device control option.
To use Universal Control, the iPadOS 15.4 beta and the macOS Monterey 12.3 beta must be installed on your iPad and Mac, respectively. When you update, the feature is enabled by default and should work automatically, but we did run into an issue where we needed to restart the Mac to get it to work.
Settings for Universal Control on the Mac can be found under Displays > Advanced if you want to turn it off for some reason or change the functionality, and on the iPad, you can find the toggle under General > AirPlay & Handoff.
After updating, if you have a Mac and an iPad next to each other, or even multiple Macs and iPads, you can use the keyboard and cursor on one device across all of them. So, for example, if you have a MacBook Pro and an iPad Pro on your desk as we do in our video, the MacBook Pro’s trackpad can be used over on the iPad just by swiping across, as can the keyboard. The same is true of the iPad if you have a keyboard attached. Universal Control works between multiple Macs and between multiple Macs and iPads.
You can drag files from the Mac to the iPad and vice versa, but on iPad, you will need to have the appropriate app open. So if you’re dragging a photo from Mac to iPad, you need to open Photos — it can’t go on the Home screen. Trackpad gestures for Mac do not appear to work on the iPad, which is also worth noting.
It’s an intuitive and simple-to-use feature because you can just swipe right over from one display to the next with no lag or other hindrances. You can use Universal Control on any Mac or iPad that’s signed into your iCloud account, and it’s a great example of an Apple feature that “just works.”
Have you tried out Universal Control? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Today, Apple released several new operating system updates to the public: iOS 15.3, iPadOS 15.3, macOS Monterey 12.2, watchOS 8.4, tvOS 15.3, and HomePod Software 15.3.
The update notes for these releases are some of the leanest I’ve seen. iOS, iPadOS, and macOS simply state that the update “includes bug fixes and security updates” and is “recommended for all users.”
iOS and iPadOS 15.3 do not add any new user-facing features. Rather, they fix several key security issues. The most notable is a zeroday vulnerability that was being exploited in the wild. Tracked as CVE-2022-22587, the threat stems from a memory corruption bug in the IOMobileFrameBuffer. Hackers who successfully exploit the bug can execute malicious code with kernel privileges on vulnerable devices. The vulnerability also resides in macOS Monterey.
“Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited,” Apple said in Wednesday’s release notes.
Apple also patched a previously reported Safari vulnerability that allowed websites that use the common IndexedDB API to access the names of databases from other websites. Note that this also affected other browsers on iOS and not just Safari (that’s because all iOS web browsers must use WebKit). macOS 12.2 fixes the same bug in the desktop version of Safari. (Unlike iOS, there are macOS web browsers that were not affected.)
For the full list of security updates in iOS and iPadOS, visit Apple’s support page on the subject. There’s a similar page for macOS, too.
macOS 12.2 also finally makes Apple Music fully native and AppKit-based in macOS, and the update improves the smoothness of scrolling in Safari on Macs with 120 Hz ProMotion displays.
As for the Apple Watch update, it’s all about bug fixes again. Specifically, watchOS 8.4 fixes a widespread issue that prevented some Apple Watch Series 7 owners from being able to properly charge the device from certain chargers.
Updates to the Apple TV and HomePod software also hit today. The HomePod 15.3 update “adds Siri voice recognition support for up to six users in a home in English (India) and Italian (Italy)” plus “performance and stability improvements.” The HomePod mini launched in both Italy and India late last year.
Apple didn’t publish any details about the tvOS update, but that update likely offered performance and stability improvements under the hood, too.
Apple has been busy outside the realm of software updates this week as well. For months, users have been complaining to app developers about iCloud syncing issues accompanied by error messages that say, “request failed with HTTP Status Code 503.” Developers quickly recognized that this was a problem on Apple’s end, even as many users assumed the fault was the developers’.
Now, developers are saying on Twitter and elsewhere that the iCloud Sync bug seems to be fixed. Apple hasn’t yet released a public statement on it, though.
All of the aforementioned software updates are available to all supported devices starting today.
Researchers have uncovered a never-before-seen backdoor written from scratch for systems running Windows, macOS, or Linux that remained undetected by virtually all malware scanning engines.
Researchers from security firm Intezer said they discovered SysJoker—the name they gave the backdoor—on the Linux-based Webserver of a “leading educational institution.” As the researchers dug in, they found SysJoker versions for both Windows and macOS as well. They suspect the cross-platform malware was unleashed in the second half of last year.
The discovery is significant for several reasons. First, fully cross-platform malware is something of a rarity, with most malicious software being written for a specific operating system. The backdoor was also written from scratch and made use of four separate command-and-control servers, an indication that the people who developed and used it were part of an advanced threat actor that invested significant resources. It’s also unusual for previously unseen Linux malware to be found in a real-world attack.
Analyses of the Windows version (by Intezer) and the version for Macs (by researcher Patrick Wardle) found that SysJoker provides advanced backdoor capabilities. Executable files for both the Windows and macOS versions had the suffix .ts. Intezer said that may be an indication the file masqueraded as a type script app spread after being sneaked into the npm JavaScript repository. Intezer went on to say that SysJoker masquerades as a system update.
Wardle, meanwhile, said the .ts extension may indicate the file masqueraded as video transport stream content. He also found that the macOS file was digitally signed, though with an ad-hoc signature.
SysJoker is written in C++, and as of Tuesday, the Linux and macOS versions were fully undetected on the VirusTotal malware search engine. The backdoor generates its control-server domain by decoding a string retrieved from a text file hosted on Google Drive. During the time the researchers were analyzing it, the server changed three times, indicating the attacker was active and monitoring for infected machines.
Based on organizations targeted and the malware’s behavior, Intezer’s assessment is that SysJoker is after specific targets, most likely with the goal of “espionage together with lateral movement which might also lead to a ransomware attack as one of the next stages.”
With the introduction of macOS Catalina in 2019, Apple finally brought the reign of iTunes to an end by splitting its features into dedicated Podcasts, TV, and Music apps. There was just one problem — the new Music app isn’t really that different from iTunes, and even the new streaming elements render like web pages instead of natively.
macOS 12.2 beta is now available, featuring smoother scrolling in Safari on the latest MacBook Pro with ProMotion, and a native Apple Music and TV experience backed by AppKit views instead of web views. https://t.co/jjM9THIxFc
— wondrous hydra (@wondroushydra) December 16, 2021
As 9to5Mac points out, developers testing a beta version of the next macOS Monterey update, 12.2, have spotted an updated version of the Music app that addresses some of those issues. While the iTunes-ish parts of the app remain the same, the word is that the Music and TV app now uses native AppKit views instead of web views, which should make everything run faster and be easier to use when you’re interacting with the streaming services. Searching for music or scrolling through content is where you may notice the most difference.
Even better, you can try it out yourself if you’re willing to install beta software on your laptop or desktop machine, as the public beta of 12.2 became available today. If you have one of the new MacBook Pro laptops and install the beta, you may also notice improved ProMotion scrolling supported in Safari.
The beta program is open to all on Apple’s website, and if you’re not sure about diving in, we have instructions on how to get set up. If you need to back up your software or would like to create a separate partition to install it without messing with your current installation, we’ve got you.
Apple on Monday released macOS Monterey 12.1, a major update to macOS. The update is 2.36GB and requires a system restart upon installation.
The marquee feature of version 12.1 is SharePlay, Apple’s FaceTime feature that allows users to share media. For example, a FaceTime group call can watch an Apple TV show or listen to Apple Music together. SharePlay was revealed at WWDC this past June, and Apple in August decided to push back its release. It was made available on iPhone and iPad in iOS/iPadOS 15.1.
Other new features include the new Apple Music Voice Plan, a revamped Memories section in the Photos app, child safety features in Messages, and the new Digital Legacy feature for Apple ID. The highly anticipated Universal Control feature, which lets you use a single mouse to control two Macs or a Mac and an iPad, was delayed until spring 2022.
The update also include several bug fixes and security updates. Among the security updates are critical fixes for Bluetooth, Webkit, and Graphics Drivers.
You can find the full list of security updates on Apple’s support page. The rest of the macOS Monterey release notes are below:
macOS Monterey 12.1 adds SharePlay, an entirely new way to have shared experiences with family and friends in FaceTime. This update also includes the Apple Music Voice Plan, new safety features for children and parents in Messages, redesigned Memories in Photos, and other features and bug fixes for your Mac.
SharePlay
• SharePlay is a new way to share synchronized experiences in FaceTime with content from the Apple TV app, Apple Music, and other supported apps • Shared controls give everyone the ability to pause, play, rewind or fast forward • Smart volume automatically lowers the audio of a movie, TV show or song when you or your friends speak • Screen sharing lets everyone on a FaceTime call look at photos, browse the web, or help each other out
Apple Music Voice Plan
• Apple Music Voice Plan is a new subscription tier that gives you access to all songs, playlists, and stations in Apple Music using Siri • Just Ask Siri suggests music based on your listening history and likes or dislikes • Play it Again lets you access a list of your recently played music
Photos
• Memories has been redesigned with a new interactive interface, new animation and transition styles, and multiple image collages • New Memory types include additional international holidays, child-focused memories, trends over time, and improved pet memories
Messages
• Communication safety setting gives parents the ability to enable warnings for children when they receive or send photos that contain nudity • Safety warnings contain helpful resources for children when they receive photos that contain nudity
Siri and Search
• Expanded guidance in Siri, Spotlight and Safari Search to help children and parents stay safe online and get help with unsafe situations
Apple ID
• Digital Legacy allows you to designate people as Legacy Contacts so they can access your iCloud account and personal information in the event of your death
TV App
• Store tab lets you browse, buy, and rent movies and TV Shows all in one place
This release also includes the following enhancements for your Mac:
• Hide My Email is available in the Mail app for iCloud+ subscribers to create unique, random email addresses • Stocks allows you to view the currency for a ticker and see year-to-date performance when viewing charts • Reminders and Notes now allow you to delete or rename tags
This release also includes bug fixes for your Mac:
• Desktop and Screen Saver may appear blank after selecting photos from the Photos library • Trackpad could become unresponsive to taps or clicks • External displays may not charge some MacBook Pro and MacBook Air computers when connected using Thunderbolt or USB-C • HDR video playback on YouTube.com could cause 2021 MacBook Pro computers to panic • Menu bar extras may be obscured by the camera housing on 2021 MacBook Pro computers • MagSafe may stop charging on 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro computers when lid is closed and system is shut down
Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222
How to install macOS Monterey 12.1 update
The update is free and you need to be connected to the internet. The installation will take several minutes (plan on about 30 minutes) and your Mac needs to restart. Here are the steps to do the installation:
Go to System Preferences in the Apple menu
Click on Software Update.
Your Mac will check to see if the update is available. when it is, an Install button will appear. Click it and your Mac will start downloading the update. After that, it will start the installation.
Roman has covered technology since the early 1990s. His career started at MacUser, and he’s worked for MacAddict, Mac|Life, and TechTV.
Apple has brought SharePlay to the Mac as part of macOS Monterey 12.1, which was released Monday. With SharePlay, you can now enjoy entertainment like movies, music, and games synchronized with your friends over FaceTime while on your Mac. (You can see a list of some supported apps here.) And if you want to share your screen with your group, SharePlay supports that as well. My colleague Monica Chin ran into some issues with SharePlay on Mac while the feature was in beta, however, so hopefully it works more smoothly now that it’s available widely.
macOS Monterey 12.1 adds some features also found in iOS 15.2. There’s the new Apple Music Voice Plan, a more affordable tier of the music streaming service that lets you access music with just your voice and Siri. You’ll be able to designate people as Legacy Contacts who can access your iCloud data when you die. And Apple will now let parents enable warnings that appear when their children receive or send iMessages with nude photos.
The new version of Monterey is still missing one big feature, though. Universal Control, which lets you use one mouse and keyboard across Macs and iPads, was supposed to launch this fall, but Apple delayed it Monday to “this spring.”
It is now apparently safe for all Mac users to update to macOS Monterey without the new software paralyzing their computers.
Earlier this week, reports surfaced that some older Macs were bricking after updating to the company’s new operating system. As if that wasn’t bad enough, some users said updating had also messed up their device’s ports, which means they couldn’t even turn them on to try to troubleshoot the problem. At the time, some users thought the issue could be related to the firmware on the devices, a theory the company confirmed on Friday.
Apple told YouTuber Rene Ritchie that it had identified and fixed an issue with the firmware on the Apple T2 security chip, which is used on 16 Mac models released in the last three years.
These include the 13, 15, and 16-inch MacBook Pros models released from 2018 to 2020; the 13-inch MacBook Air with a Retina display released from 2018 to 2020; the Mac mini from 2018; the Mac Pro from 2019; the Mac Pro Rack from 2019; the iMac Pro; and the iMac from 2020.
“We have identified and fixed an issue with the firmware on the Apple T2 security chip that prevented a very small number of users from booting up their Mac after updating macOS,” Apple said, according to Ritchie. “The updated firmware is now included with the existing macOS updates. Any users impacted by this issue can contact Apple Support for assistance.”
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Gizmodo reached out to Apple on Friday for comment on the matter, but we did not receive a response by the time of publication. We’ll make sure to update this blog if we hear back.
As pointed out by 9to5Mac, this unfortunately doesn’t mean that users who were already affected by the issue can breathe a sigh of relief. (After all, the poor people can’t even turn on their computers). These users have to contact Apple Support to get their devices fixed. However, Apple’s update to the firmware means that users who have computers with the Apple T2 security chip—such as yours truly, who has not updated out of paranoia—don’t have to worry about their computers dying when they download Monterey.
By all means, this is great news. Monterey is packed with cool new features, which I have been itching to try! Just, you know, not enough to potentially leave me without a computer for days. It really seems like affected users got the short end of the stick here, especially if they end up having to go to the Apple Store to fix their computers. I mean, all they did was update.
For those who were affected, I feel for you, and hope you are able to turn on your Mac soon.
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Apple features a redesigned Safari with macOS Monterey but as it happens, the biggest UI change isn’t seen with the default version. Let’s jump into what’s changed, what’s new, and how Safari in macOS Monterey looks and works.
Apple made its way through a lot of Safari iterations during the macOS Monterey beta period and it even changed from the 12.0 build that comes installed on the 2021 MacBook Pro to the official Monterey public 12.0.1 release.
While the default Safari experience on Monterey 12.0.1 and later looks very much like what came with Big Sur, you can opt for the new modern and minimal new tab design by heading to Safari > Preferences > Tabs > Compact.
Beyond the default classic and optional super modern UI, Safari in Monterey includes new tab groups, a redesigned sidebar, the new Quick Note feature, UI/button changes, and more.
Safari in macOS Monterey: What’s new and how it works
Start page
The start page in the new Safari looks about the same with your Favorites up top, followed by Frequently Visited, Privacy Report, and Reading List. Like Safari in Big Sur, you can customize your start page background image with the included options or your own. You can drag to reorder the different sections or turn them on/off.
New in Safari for macOS Monterey/iOS 15 is that background images automatically sync across devices via iCloud. You’ve also got the new “Use Start Page on All Devices” option and a checkbox to turn on/off iCloud Tabs for the start page.
You can head to the bottom right corner 3-line icon to customize your start page, including the background image.
Safari’s new unified tab/search/toolbar
Just like Safari in Big Sur, you can right-click at the top to customize the new unified tab/search/toolbar with more buttons (or in the menu bar, click View > Customize Toolbar).
By default, the toolbar includes five buttons: Sidebar/Tab Groups, back/forward, downloads, share button, and new tab + icon.
Here’s a look at how it comes and what’s available when you customize:
If you choose to stick with the default Safari in Monterey, you’re getting the same tab UI experience you’re used to with macOS Big Sur and earlier.
But for the new modern UI, it’s quite an aesthetic change. Head to Safari > Preferences > Tabs > Compact to use the new design:
This is how the modern, “Compact” tab design looks:
And here’s the default/traditional UI, what Apple calls “Separate” tabs:
Using tabs and tab groups in the new Safari
You can drag tabs or the URL/search bar to the left to pin a tab/open page. However, the mechanics can feel a little clunky in the modern Compact UI. For example, reordering pinned tabs requires some precision and patience.
With the new Sidebar/Tab Groups button (in either the Separate or Compact UI), click the dropdown arrow to pull up saved Tab Groups or create new ones:
You can create a new empty tab group or quickly make a new Tab Group your existing open tabs.
As you’ve already guessed, you can make multiple tab groups to quickly switch between different sets of saved web pages to work and play more seamlessly.
Just click the Tab Groups drop-down arrow anytime to get back to your saved groups. And alternatively, you can click the Sidebar button to see your Tab Groups.
Finally, you can click the Tab Overview button (four squares icon) to see all open tabs.
Refreshed Sidebar
For the new Sidebar, you’ll see “Start Page” up top with your Tab Groups below.
Under that, you’ll see links that have been shared by others, then Bookmarks and your Reading List at the bottom.
When the Sidebar is enabled, you’ll also have the two-window + icon show up to quickly create a new empty tab group.
Creating Quick Notes
Quick Notes are new for macOS Monterey and iPadOS 15. There are a couple of ways to use the feature with the new Safari.
You can click the three-dot icon in the URL/search bar > Add to Quick Note with the Compact UI.
With the Separate tabs UI, you can click the share button (square with up arrow > Add to Quick Note).
Or, when you highlight text on a webpage and do a right-click, you can choose Add to Quick Note.
Safari in macOS Monterey wrap-up
After a lot of changes for Safari throughout the Monterey beta, Apple seems to have landed on a build that satisfies people who want the classic browsing experience and tab design as well as including an all-new UI for those ready to change things up.
What do you think of the new Safari in macOS Monterey? Are you using the new tab UI or the default? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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If you have an older MacBook—i.e., anything not running on Apple silicon—and are thinking about updating to macOS Monterey: hold your horses. Updating right now could leave you without a computer for a while.
Several users are complaining on social media about how updating to Apple’s newest operating system, released on Oct. 25, completely killed their Macs. The complaints, which were spotted by MacRumors, in general state that after updating, users were unable to turn on their computers. Some also stated that the update messed up their ports, which caused them even more problems as they couldn’t even turn the machines on because they were out battery.
The issue appears to be affecting the older MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac. MacRumors points out that newer devices running on Apple silicon don’t seem to be affected based on the lack of complaints from these users.
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Gizmodo reached out to Apple about the issues with Monterey but did not receive a response by the time of publication. We’ll make sure to update this blog if we hear back.
Apple doesn’t appear to have addressed the issue directly on any of its channels yet, but the @AppleSupport Twitter account has tried to help users by linking to support articles on what to do if your Mac doesn’t turn on and what to do if your Mac restarted because of a problem.
One user whose Mac was reportedly bricked after installing Monterey and subsequently fixed said the issue was seemingly related to the computer’s firmware, which needs to be revived or restored. Unfortunately, the user reported that you can’t actually do this unless you have an additional Mac running the same OS or a later version. In this case, the user got the help they needed by visiting the Apple Store.
As a poor unfortunate soul with an older 2019 MacBook Pro, these reports alarmed me and immediately put me off updating to Monterey. Now, I am all for updating. It’s important for security reasons! And to experience innovation. I just can’t afford to have a computer that doesn’t turn on right now. Maybe nothing would happen, maybe my update would go smoothly, but until I see these issues resolved, I am not taking any chances. Monterey and its cool new features can wait.
