14 DAY TRIAL // A new round of updates has been released by Apple this week, including a fresh Mavericks beta, iOS 7.1.1 and Apple TV 6.1.1, an important security update for Mac users, as well as FaceTime 1.0.5. Minor updates to the iWork suite were also rolled out.
On April 21, Apple seeded the latest OS X 10.9.3 beta to registered developers adding just two new increments to the build number, while asking testers to focus their attention on the same focus areas as before: Graphics Drivers, Audio, Safari, Mail, and Contacts & Calendar sync over USB in iTunes.
We speculated that Apple could roll out the final bits as early as this week (considering the rapid succession in seeded betas), but it seems the company has more plans with the software. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Mac maker opened up its OS X seeding program to the public for the first time ever. It seems Apple needs a few extra helping hands.
On April 22, iOS 7.1.1 was released for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad with improvements for Touch ID fingerprint recognition, keyboard responsiveness, and to fix an issue with Bluetooth Keyboards used with VoiceOver enabled. Subsequent reports noted that Apple also addressed battery drain issues, though such corrections were not mentioned in the official change log.
Alongside the iOS firmware, the Cupertino giant deployed Security Update 2014-002 for OS X customers. Targeting Lion, Mountain Lion and Mavericks users, the installer included various patches for known vulnerabilities.
Apple TV 6.1.1 came up next with “general performance and stability improvements,” and on the same day (April 22), the company released updates to Pages, Keynote and Numbers, the desktop iWork productivity suite. All three updates contain “stability improvements and bug fixes.”
On April 23, following complaints from the FaceTime user base, a new update was released for users of the video chatting client on desktop computers running Snow Leopard. According to the release notes, version version 1.0.5 “resolves connection issues in FaceTime, and is recommended for all users of FaceTime on OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.”
Apple subsequently published a Support article outlining the basic steps required for addressing these connectivity issues not only on desktop computers, but also on iOS devices. The Cupertino giant offers the newest firmware / OS updates as a fix and, in the case of desktop users, the latest security update is also required to address the situation.
Join us next week for a new round of Apple software releases, and have a great weekend!