Updates Apple iOS & iPadOS 14.3 and macOS 11.1 available


Updates for iOS, iPadOS and macOS

Apple has important updates ready for its mobile and desktop operating systems. Especially with regard to macOS 11.1, it is important to install it quickly, because it solves many teething problems.

Many of the new features found in the new versions of iOS and iPadOS 14.3 and macOS 11.1 are ‘shared’. In other words, all updates provide support for Apple’s latest over-ear headphones AirPods Max. An Apple TV + tab has also appeared in the Apple TV app. Handy, because previously that ‘plus content’ was only available after some scrolling work, even if you had taken out a subscription (or received it with a new device). From now on you will also find privacy labels in the app stores of all operating systems, in which developers explain exactly what they do and what not do with your data. With every update, the privacy information is also adjusted if necessary. By the way, this is an obligation for app makers and therefore a good thing that shows you, for example, that it might be better to look for a paid alternative to an app. To prevent all kinds of information about you from ending up on the street somewhere in Southeast China, for example.

Handy, via the new tab (or button if you want) you can quickly reach your '+' content in the Apple TV app.
Handy, via the new tab (or button if you want) you can quickly reach your ‘+’ content in the Apple TV app.

ProRAW (and the alternatives)

The Photos app will receive support of ProRaw format after updates for all mentioned operating systems. That’s Apple’s proprietary RAW photo format that photographers can indulge in. Already in the Photos app itself you can now work with the raw image as if it were a dark room. At the same time, the Camera app in iOS 14.3 is getting an update that makes it possible to shoot in ProRaw format. Apple has been selective in this: only the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max get this option.

That is somewhat strange, because the hardware under the hood of these devices and the ‘normal’ iPhone 12 is almost the same. Only the zoom lens is missing on the standard version and Lidar is not available. Both things that are not required for RAW photography. It is possible that an update will roll out later that also makes the feature available for the standard iPhone 12s. If you don’t feel like waiting for that, then there is no man overboard. iOS has long offered the ability to shoot in RAW format, just not through the standard Camera app. You must then use an alternative camera, such as Halide or, if necessary, the camera module Lightroom for iOS.

Does your iPhone not support ProRaw?  No drama!  There are plenty of alternative camera apps that will help you out, such as Halide.
Does your iPhone not support ProRaw? No drama! There are plenty of alternative camera apps that will help you out, such as Halide.

Environmentally friendly search

Furthermore, all updates offer smaller innovations, such as the option to set the ‘environmentally friendly’ Bing-based search engine Ecosia as the default. This company promises to put the money it earns into planting new trees. In other words: the more you search, the more trees will grow. Furthermore, some extra options in the Health app regarding pregnancy, breastfeeding and contraceptive use, while the paid Fitness + service is being rolled out in countries outside the Netherlands.

Filed down the sharp edges of Big Sur

Especially for users of macOS 11 it is important to install the ‘.1’ update quickly. After installation, you are free of the sharp edges that the introduction version brought with it. What immediately stood out after installing 11.1 is that Handoff is working again. For many (almost everyone), after upgrading to Big Sur, it was suddenly no longer possible to use, for example, the shared clipboard – select and copy a text or something similar on your iPad and paste it into a document on your Mac). Awkward if, for example, you use your iPad to search for things and paste it as a reference in a Word document you are working on. Fixed now, anyway. This bug fix, not mentioned by Apple, may have something to do with largely resolved Bluetooth crazies.

Logging in with your Apple Watch also works reliably again. If you happen to already have a MacBook with Apple silicon (the M1) on board in front of you, then you can now easily switch your iPad / iPhone apps from portrait to landscape to fill your entire screen if you want. .

Fortunately, Handoff will also work again after the update to macOS 11.1, which allows a shared clipboard between different Macs or, for example, a Mac and an iPad.
Fortunately, Handoff will also work again after the update to macOS 11.1, which makes a shared clipboard between different Macs or, for example, a Mac and an iPad possible again.

Slightly different update process

In any case, macOS Big Sur has now completed the first major (also in terms of size) update. You will notice that the update is slightly different than under Catalina and previous versions of macOS. First, there is a longer preparation time under the normal running OS. After the restart for implementing the actual update we saw more restarts, but this part also seems to be a bit faster. The total update time will ultimately not differ very much from before.

Updating to Big Sur!

For anyone who has just taken a close look at the upgrade to Big Sur, now is the time to take the plunge. Check whether all your apps are compatible with macOS 11. Especially with virus scanners – which always intervene deeply into the system – you have to be careful. It is also important to uninstall your virus scanner before upgrading to avoid annoying problems during (or shortly after) the upgrade. You can also consider other software that uses so-called kernel extensions to be risky. Keep in mind that the vast majority of those extensions are blocked under Big Sur. Have you seen warnings under Catalina regarding programs with kernel extensions that will no longer work under Big Sur, so you know where you stand.

Either you install – if available – a Big Sur compatible version or you uninstall the program and look for an alternative. Fortunately, there are few programs that make use of this option, which can cause instability without more.

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