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Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Apple Releases Second Public Beta of macOS Catalina to Public Beta Testers

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Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming macOS Catalina update to its public beta testing group, one week after seeding the first public beta and a day after seeding the third developer beta.

Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will be able to download the macOS Catalina beta through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences after installing the proper profile. Those who want to be a part of Apple's beta testing program can sign up to participate through the beta testing website, which gives users access to iOS, macOS, and tvOS betas.

Potential beta testers should make a full Time Machine backup before installing macOS Catalina, and it may not be wise to install it on a primary machine because betas can be unstable and often have many bugs.

macOS Catalina eliminates the iTunes app, which has been a key Mac feature since 2001. In Catalina, iTunes has been replaced by Music, Podcasts, and TV apps. The new apps can do everything that iTunes can do, so Mac users aren't going to be losing any functionality, and device management capabilities are now handled by the Finder app.

macOS Catalina has a useful new Sidecar feature, designed to turn the iPad into a secondary display for the Mac. It can work as a traditional second display or with a mirroring feature. Apple Pencil support works with Sidecar, so you can turn your iPad into a drawing tablet using apps like Photoshop.

For those with an Apple Watch set up to unlock the Mac, there's now an option to approve security prompts in Catalina by tapping on the side button of the watch. Macs with a T2 chip in them also support Activation Lock, making them useless to thieves much as it does on the iPhone.

There's a new Find My app that lets you track your lost devices, and previously, this functionality was only available via iCloud on the Mac. There's even a new option to find your devices even when they're offline by leveraging Bluetooth connections to other nearby devices, something that's particularly handy on the Mac because it doesn't have a cellular connection.

Apple is expanding Screen Time to the Mac in Catalina, letting Apple users track their device usage across Mac, iOS, and iPad for a better overall picture of time spent using electronics.

For developers, a "Project Catalyst" feature lets apps designed for the iPad be ported over to the Mac with just a few clicks in Xcode and some minor tweaks. Apple's ultimate goal with Project Catalyst is to bring more apps to the Mac.

Photos features an updated interface that better highlights your best pictures, Safari includes a new start page with Siri Suggestions, Mail has a new feature for blocking emails and another new option for muting threads, and the Reminders app has been overhauled and is now more useful.

Before installing macOS Catalina, be aware that it does away with 32-bit app support, so some older apps that have not been updated in some time may stop working. For more on macOS Catalina, make sure to check out our macOS Catalina roundup.

Related Roundup: macOS Catalina

This article, "Apple Releases Second Public Beta of macOS Catalina to Public Beta Testers" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple Seeds Second Beta of tvOS 13 to Public Beta Testers

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Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming tvOS 13 update to its public beta testing group, one week after seeding the first public beta and a week after seeding the third developer beta.

Public beta testers can download the new update by going to the Settings app on the Apple TV and navigating to the Software Updates section under "System." "Get Public Beta Updates" will need to be toggled on, and once it is, the Apple TV will download the beta software.

Those who want to beta test the software can sign up to do so on Apple's beta testing website.

tvOS 13 includes a new Home screen that's aimed at making it easier to find new content, with support for autoplaying videos to show off new TV shows, movies, and apps, similar to Netflix.

Multi-user support is new in tvOS 13, letting each member of the family have their own customized Apple TV interface with separate recommendations, music playlists, and Watch Now lists. A new Control Center lets you swap between profiles.

tvOS 13 gets the Apple TV ready for Apple Arcade, Apple's new gaming service that's coming to the Apple TV, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS later this year. Apple Arcade will offer unlimited access to more than 100 new and exclusive games, for one subscription fee.

Apple Arcade preparations include support for the Xbox Wireless Bluetooth Controller and the PlayStation DualShock 4 Controller, both of which can be connected to an Apple TV over Bluetooth.

Apple is also adding new under-the-sea themed screensavers made in partnership with the BBC Natural History unit, also known for "Blue Planet," and the new software brings support for a picture-in-picture mode that lets you watch TV while doing other things on the Apple TV.

For more on what's new in tvOS 13, make sure to check out our tvOS 13 roundup.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 12, tvOS 13

Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

This article, "Apple Seeds Second Beta of tvOS 13 to Public Beta Testers" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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HP Chromebook 14 Review: The Cost of Affordability

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Damaged 15-Inch 2015 MacBook Pro Demonstrates Why Apple Initiated Battery Recall Program

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Apple in June launched a voluntary recall and replacement program for 15-inch MacBook Pro models with Retina display sold between September 2015 and February 2017, citing defective batteries that could overheat and pose a fire safety risk.

Right after the replacement program was announced, designer Steven Gagne shared some images of a MacBook Pro that caught fire, and those images were today surfaced by PetaPixel, giving us a look at why 2015 MacBook Pro owners should take this recall seriously.

Gagne said that the battery in his MacBook Pro exploded, causing a small fire and filling his house with smoke. He heard the sound of the battery popping, and then smelled a strong chemical scent. The MacBook Pro wasn't plugged in and it was in sleep mode.

He was able to get to it quickly enough to extinguish the fire before it did real damage, but the seriousness of the damage to the MacBook Pro emphasizes that this could have been far worse.

Apple has asked customers with a 15-inch MacBook Pro from 2015 to stop using it until the battery inside can be replaced. Apple has a website outlining the recall program, with MacBook Pro able to enter a serial number to see if they need a battery replacement.

The recall affects the 15-inch MacBook Pro from 2015 and does not impact later models released in 2016 and beyond. Those with 15-inch 2015 machines will need to visit an Apple retail location, an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or contact Apple support to arrange a mail-in repair.

You can determine which Mac you have by clicking on the Apple logo in the menu bar and selecting "About This Mac." The year of the machine is listed in parentheses, and affected machines will say "15-inch, Mid 2015."

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Apple has received a total of 26 reports of batteries overheating, including five reports of minor burns and 17 reports of minor damage to nearby personal property.

Apple sold approximately 432,000 affected MacBook Pro units in the United States and 26,000 in Canada.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro

Buyer's Guide: MacBook Pro (Buy Now)

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Testing the New FaceTime Attention Correction Feature in iOS 13

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The most recent beta of iOS 13 was released yesterday, and it brought an interesting new "FaceTime Attention Correction" feature that changes the way that FaceTime works.

FaceTime Attention Correction, when enabled, adjusts the set of your eyes so that it looks like you're making eye contact with the person you're FaceTiming even when you're looking at the iPhone's screen rather than the camera itself. It's a little difficult to explain, so we've made a hands-on video to demo how it works.

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When you're using FaceTime, you naturally want to look at the display to see the other person you're talking to rather than the camera, which has the effect of making you look like you're not maintaining eye contact.

As can be seen in the video, iOS 13 corrects this and makes it so that when you're looking at the iPhone's screen, your gaze appears to be on the camera, allowing eye contact to maintained be maintained while still letting you keep your gaze on the friend or family member you're FaceTiming with.

In iOS 12 and with FaceTime Attention Correction disabled, FaceTime looks like it always does - with no direct eye contact.

FaceTime Attention Correction appears to use an ARKit depth map captured through the front-facing TrueDepth camera to adjust where your eyes are looking for a more personal and natural connection with the person that you're talking to.

Twitter users have discovered the slight eye warping that Apple is using to enable the feature, which can be seen when an object like the arm of a pair of glasses is placed over the eyes.

You can access FaceTime Attention Correction on an iPhone XS or XS Max running the third developer beta of iOS 13. It's a setting that's available in the FaceTime section of the Settings app.

There's no word on why it's limited to the XS and XS Max at this time, but it could potentially expand to the iPhone X, XR, and iPad Pro models in the future as all of these devices have TrueDepth camera systems. Public beta testers will get this feature when the next public beta is released.

Related Roundups: iOS 13, iPadOS

This article, "Testing the New FaceTime Attention Correction Feature in iOS 13" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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