Apple unleashed an avalanche of updates today that are designed to not only fix the usual leftover bugs from previous OS releases but add features to devices, including the new iPad Pro announced earlier this week. As many people are working from home for the first time, we recommend caution in performing the updates, although they have been stable for us. Let’s take a look at the key features of each update.
macOS 10.15.4
Catalina received a hefty update today, with one of the universal features announced at WWDC 2019 — iCloud Drive Folder Sharing — finally arriving. This feature, which we’ll cover in more detail later this week, allows sharing of any iCloud Drive folder with other iCloud users. Be safe — be sure to have a bootable backup of your Mac available.
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.
iOS 13.4
In addition to iCloud Drive Folder Sharing, iOS 13.4 brings one fun feature — more Memoji Stickers. A long-standing complaint about the controls in the Mail app has been addressed as well.
Memoji
- Nine new Memoji stickers, including Smiling Face with Hearts, Hands Pressed Together, and Party Face
Files
- iCloud Drive folder sharing from the Files app
- 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
- Always-visible controls to delete, move, reply to, or compose a message in conversation view
- Responses to encrypted emails are automatically encrypted when you have configured S/MIME
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
- List view for See All Games
CarPlay
- Third-party navigation app support for the CarPlay Dashboard
- In-call information appears on the CarPlay Dashboard
Augmented Reality
- AR Quick Look supports audio playback in USDZ files
Keyboard
- Predictive typing support for Arabic
This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements
iPadOS 13.4
The changes in iPadOS are similar to those in iOS 13.4, but also include mouse and trackpad support.
Mouse and Trackpad Support
- All-new cursor design highlights app icons on the Home Screen and Dock and buttons and controls in apps
- Magic Keyboard for iPad support on iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation or later) and iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation or later)
- Magic Mouse, Magic Mouse 2, Magic Trackpad, Magic Trackpad 2, and third-party Bluetooth and USB mouse support
- Multi-Touch gestures on Magic Keyboard for iPad and Magic Trackpad 2 enable you to scroll, swipe between app spaces, go Home, access App Switcher, zoom in or out, tap to click, secondary click (right-click), and swipe between pages
- Multi-Touch gestures on Magic Mouse 2 enable you to scroll, secondary click (right-click), and swipe between pages
Files
- iCloud Drive folder sharing from the Files app
- 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
Memoji
- Nine new Memoji stickers, including Smiling Face with Hearts, Hands Pressed Together, and Party Face
- Always-visible controls to delete, move, reply to, or compose a message in conversation view
- Responses to encrypted emails are automatically encrypted when you have configured S/MIME
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
- List view for See All Games
Augmented Reality
- AR Quick Look supports audio playback in USDZ files
Keyboard
- Live Conversion for Zhuyin automatically transforms Zhuyin into the correct characters without pressing the space bar to convert text or select candidates
- Live Conversion for Japanese automatically transforms Hiragana into the correct characters without pressing the space bar to convert text or select candidates
- Predictive typing support for Arabic
- Swiss German keyboard layout supported on iPad Pro 12.9-inch
- On-screen keyboard layout for iPad Pro 12.9-inch now matches Smart Keyboard
watchOS 6.2
Even watchOS received an update today! Probably the biggest change is the addition of in-app purchase support for Apple Watch apps.
- Introduces in-app purchases for Apple Watch apps
- Fixes an issue where music playback could pause when switching from Wi-Fi to Bluetooth connectivity
- ECG app on Apple Watch Series 4 or later now available in Chile, New Zealand, and Turkey
- Irregular heart rhythm notifications now available in Chile, New Zealand, and Turkey
tvOS 13.4
The fourth- and fifth-generation Apple TV models also received an update, although it’s primarily cosmetic in nature. Apple TV owners who have automatic updates enabled will receive the update soon.
Option to import passwords from Chrome is grayed out.
It was grayed out on mine, too.
Did you see the message that said Chrome has to be closed for it to work?
When I closed Chrome, it worked.