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macOS High Sierra beta 2 rolling out

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 21, 2017

Apple today rolled out a second beta of macOS High Sierra to its registered developers and members of the Apple Developer Program. macOS High Sierra beta 2 is now available via the Updates tab on Mac App Store on your Mac that has an appropriate configuration profile installed, which can be obtained through Dev Center.

macOS High Sierra 10.3 beta 2 doesn't offer new features, but instead focuses on performance improvements and bug fixes.

The general public should soon have the chance to test-drive macOS High Sierra via the Apple Beta Software Program. macOS High Sierra debuted as a developer-only preview at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5. The software update will exit beta and release publicly this fall.

Should you spot new user-facing features and other changes in macOS High Sierra beta 2, ping us on Twitter or shoot us an email via tips@iDownloadBlog.com. Feel free to attach any screenshots, if necessary. We'll be making sure to update the post with any relevant new information, as it becomes available.

Apple seeds fourth macOS Sierra 10.12.6 beta to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 19, 2017

Apple on Monday released a fourth beta of what would become the sixth major update to macOS Sierra since its official debut last fall. The most recent macOS Sierra 10.12.6 beta 4 (build number 16G18a) is now available through Apple's Software Update feature via Mac App Store's Updates tab on any supported Mac with an appropriate configuration profile installed.

This new build is being released to Apple's registered developers and members of the Apple Developer Program. Public beta testers should see it popping up on their devices later today or tomorrow. When it releases later this summer, macOS Sierra 10.12.6 will be a mostly bug-fix update with security and performance improvements.

macOS Sierra 10.12.6 beta 4 arrived less than a week after the third beta dropped and more than a month after the bug-fix macOS Sierra 10.12.5 update released on Mac App Store.

Apple, of course, previewed macOS High Sierra at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

The next major version of the desktop operating system powering Macs, macOS High Sierra is currently available as a developer-only preview. It should hit Apple Beta Software Program later this month or in July, ahead of its official release this Fall.

Box introduces macOS client for its cloud syncing service

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Cloud-storage service Box has (finally?) decided to provide a native macOS client app for its Apple customers. The new app, currently in public beta, is available at no charge at box.com/resources/downloads.

With the Box Drive app, users can access Box files on their Mac, natively integrated into the Finder, as well as easily share and collaborate on documents and more. You can edit like you would any local file and have the app save it automatically to the Box cloud, with the enterprise-grade security protecting everything you do.

According to the company, the app includes the following features:

The cloud doesn’t fit on your hard drive. While it's super convenient to sync files to your desktop, the amount of syncing you can actually do is limited by your hard drive space. So while you'd like to access ALL your files (especially your team files), more often than not, you end up syncing only a subset of your files, which limits the amount of work you can actually do straight from your desktop. Storing work on your desktop is risky business. IT teams have been pulling their hair out for years, because they haven’t had proper visibility or control over how files are being accessed, shared, and managed. Plus, if your computer was ever lost or stolen, there wasn’t much you could do about the work files that went along with it. Network files shares were great—20 years ago. Teams are clamoring for greater mobility, easier collaboration, and better compliance–and network shares just can’t keep up. Not to mention the constant maintenance, unpredictable growth, storage sprawl, and never-ending costs that come with them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl6eKWkTYVI

Apple's new Files app on iOS 11 features built-in support for a number of cloud-storage service, including Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud Drive, Adobe Creative Cloud and more.

iWork apps gain editing improvements, 500 shapes & more in latest update

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 13, 2017

Apple's iWork productivity suite was updated today on Mac App Store and App Store with several new editing features and other improvements available across iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac devices.

For starters, Pages, Numbers and Keynote for Mac, along with their iOS counterparts, now come with a brand new library of over 500 professionally drawn shapes that you can readily use in your documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

Across all the iWork apps, users can now reply to comments and join threaded conversations, making collaborative editing even easier than before, while new auto-correction and text replacement options save time while typing.

In Numbers, the new Insert Stock Quote feature and the Stock and Currency functions let you get data from the previous market day’s close. Keynote now lets you scroll like a pro on your Mac's trackpad with new pan and zoom options and your presenter notes can be edited while displaying slides in Light Table view.

Here's the full list of new features, fixes and enhancements in Pages 6.2, Numbers 4.2 and Keynote 7.2 for Mac, iPhone and iPad listed in release notes accompanying these downloads:

What's new in Pages 6.2 for Mac Enhance your documents using a library of over 500 professionally drawn shapes Reply to comments and join threaded conversations Add linked text boxes so text easily flows from one place to another New auto-correction and text replacement options save time while typing Export documents as fixed layout ePub books Change margins, headers, footers and paper size while collaborating Improved support for Hebrew and Arabic languages

Learn more about the new Pages for Mac features on Apple's website.

What's new in Numbers 4.2 for Mac Enhance your spreadsheets using a library of over 500 professionally drawn shapes Reply to comments and join threaded conversations Support for print preview in collaborative spreadsheets New auto-correction and text replacement options save time while typing The Insert Stock Quote feature and the Stock and Currency functions now return data from the previous market day’s close

Learn more about the new Numbers for Mac features on Apple's website.

What's new in Keynote 7.2 for Mac Enhance your presentations using a library of over 500 professionally drawn shapes Reply to comments and join threaded conversations New auto-correction and text replacement options save time while typing Scroll anywhere with new pan and zoom options Edit presenter notes while displaying slides in Light Table view Improved support for Hebrew and Arabic languages The Stock and Currency functions now return data from the previous market day’s close

Learn more about the new Keynote for Mac features on Apple's website.

What's new in Pages 3.2 for iOS Enhance your documents using a library of over 500 professionally drawn shapes Reply to comments and join threaded conversations Add linked text boxes so text easily flows from one place to another New auto-correction and text replacement options save time while typing New page thumbnail view allows you to easily navigate your document Export documents as fixed layout ePub books Change margins, headers, footers and paper size while collaborating

Learn more about the new Pages for iOS features on Apple's website.

What's new in Numbers 3.2 for iOS Enhance your spreadsheets using a library of over 500 professionally drawn shapes Reply to comments and join threaded conversations Support for print preview in collaborative spreadsheets New auto-correction and text replacement options save time while typing The Insert Stock Quote feature and the Stock and Currency functions now return data from the previous market day’s close

Learn more about the new Numbers for iOS features on Apple's website.

What's new in Keynote 3.2 for iOS Enhance your presentations using a library of over 500 professionally drawn shapes Easily rearrange your slides with the new Light Table view Edit presenter notes while viewing slides Reply to comments and join threaded conversations New auto-correction and text replacement options save time while typing Improved support for Hebrew and Arabic languages

Learn more about the new Keynote for iOS features on Apple's website.

These apps used to be paid downloads, but Apple recently made them free for all users.

Grab Pages, Numbers and Keynote for free from Mac App Store.

Pages, Numbers and Keynote for iPhone and iPad are available free on App Store.

iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra automatically update your Apple ID to use Two-Factor Authentication

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 12, 2017

If you haven't upgraded your Apple ID from Apple's older Two-Step Verification system to the more secure Two-Factor Authentication, iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra will do that for your when you install either operating system on your devices.

Apple communicated the change in an email to customers with Two-Step Verification enabled for their Apple ID. Here's the full text of the email communique, as obtained by MacRumors:

If you install the iOS 11 or macOS High Sierra public betas this summer and meet the basic requirements, your Apple ID will be automatically updated to use two-factor authentication. This is our most advanced, easy-to-use account security, and it's required to use some of the latest features of iOS, macOS, and iCloud.

Once updated, you'll get the same extra layer of security you enjoy with two-step verification today, but with an even better user experience. Verification codes will be displayed on your trusted devices automatically whenever you sign in, and you will no longer need to keep a printed recovery key to make sure you can reset a forgotten password.

Significantly improving the security of your Apple ID, Two-Factor Authentication requires both your Apple ID password and a one-time code when you sign in to a new device or browser with your Apple ID.

TUTORIAL: How to protect your Apple ID with Two-Factor Authentication

Unlike Two-Step Verification, which sends a six-digit verification code via SMS, Two-Factor Authentication is deeply integrated in iOS 9, OS X El Capitan, watchOS 2 and tvOS or later and features a mechanism that automatically delivers verification codes via push notifications to all trusted devices registered to a given Apple ID.

If you're not using either system to protect your Apple ID, you're wholeheartedly recommended to enroll your devices in Two-Factor Authentication. If your account isn't eligible for two-factor authentication, you can still use two-step verification to protect your Apple ID information.

One way or another, anyone installing Apple's latest OS updates this fall shall be asked to upgrade their Apple ID to the more modern Two-Factor Authentication system. Two-Factor Authentication is available in more than a hundred countries, listed in Apple's support document.

How to create a macOS High Sierra 10.13 installer on a USB drive

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated January 26, 2023

In this guide, we'll demonstrate how to create a USB install drive from your downloaded macOS High Sierra software update so that you can install it to multiple machines without redownloading, perform clean install, keep a copy safe for troubleshooting purposes and more.

How to test your RAM’s integrity with MemTest86

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated November 2, 2018

If you've been experiencing strange behaviour from your computer, or have recently upgraded or replaced your RAM, it might be a good idea to test its integrity. This ensures that it is installed correctly, that no part of it has failed, and that it has no intermittent problems.

More macOS High Sierra features that slipped under the radar

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 6, 2017

Although Apple announced a host of new features for its upcoming macOS High Sierra operating system for Mac computers at WWDC 2017 on Monday, they didn’t quite have time to cover everything.

In this piece, we’ll outline a number of new features that are coming in macOS High Sierra that Apple didn’t demonstrate at the keynote.

Can your Mac run macOS High Sierra?

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 6, 2017

During yesterday's keynote talk at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Apple announced macOS High Sierra, the next major version of the desktop operating system powering Mac desktops and notebooks. It packs in a number of new and updated core technologies to help apps get the most out of your Mac's CPU and GPU.

macOS High Sierra sets the stage for more powerful hardware down the road, such as the upcoming iMac Pro. Thanks to the technologies like Metal 2, enhanced GPU support and other core OS improvements, it should let you do things Macs traditionally were not very good at, like AR and VR content creation, high-end gaming and so forth.

But is your rusty old Mac able to run macOS High Sierra?

According to Apple itself, the supported configurations for macOS High Sierra are the same as those for its predecessor, macOS Sierra.

The following Mac models are compatible with macOS High Sierra.

Late 2009 or newer MacBook or iMac 2010 or newer MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini or Mac Pro

Bottom line: if your Mac runs macOS Sierra, it's able to run macOS High Sierra as well.

Some features in macOS High Sierra require more modern hardware: a more powerful Mac will deliver better HEVC (H.265) performance, as an example. Speaking of which, playback of 4K HEVC content requires a Mac with a sixth‑generation Intel Core chip or newer.

To see your Mac's model year and other stats, choose About This Mac from the Apple menu.

And now, check if your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch is supported by iOS 11.

Will you be updating to macOS High Sierra when it comes out this fall?

Video: Top 6 WWDC 2017 announcements

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 6, 2017

Apple had a pretty big day at yesterday's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, revealing a bunch of new or updated products and technologies that have set the stage for other important hardware announcements this fall.

If you didn't have the time to sit through the entire keynote talk and are wondering about the big takeaways, our video editor Andrew O'Hara has put together a short five-minute video highlighting the top six announcements Apple made during the WWDC 2017 keynote.

Andrew's main topics of interest include:

tvOS 11 with Amazon's Prime video-streaming app coming to Apple TV watchOS 11 with all the major improvements for workouts, notifications and more macOS High Sierra and core technologies aimed at AR/VR content creation iOS 11 with all of the improvements for your iPhone and iPad iPad Pro and iMac Pro changes and enhancements HomePod, Apple's high-end Siri-enabled speaker with hi-fi sound

And here's the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQBulSRR9Fc

Subscribe to iDownloadBlog on YouTube

What's your favorite WWDC 2017 announcement so far?

MacBook Pro gets faster CPU/GPU/SSDs, non-Touch Bar model now $200 cheaper

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 5, 2017

Apple has refreshed its notebook lineup during this morning's keynote presentation at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose. Like its updated 12-inch MacBook, the refreshed MacBook Pro lineup now provides Intel's latest seventh-generation processors, code-named “Kaby Lake”, that were announced in March.

All MacBook Pro models now include enhanced SSDs, up to 50 percent faster than before.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar starts at $1,799. If you need a notebook with a 15-inch display and Touch Bar, that'll be a cool $2,399, at least.

The 13-inchers have Intel CPUs up to 3.5 GHz Core i7 with Turbo Boost up to 4.0 GHz while their 15-inch counterparts include up to 3.1 GHz Core i7 chips with Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz.

In terms of graphics, the baseline non-Touch Bar model uses Intel's Iris Plus Graphics 640. The more powerful Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650 is powering other 13-inchers without Touch Bar.

All models of the 15-inch MacBook Pro have been upgraded to Radeon Pro 555 discrete graphics with 2GB video memory. A Radeon Pro 560 GPU with 4GB memory is available as a build-to-order option on Apple's web store.

Here are the stock MacBook Pro configurations:

$1,299 13-inch MaBook Pro

13.3-inch LED-backlit 2560-by-1600 display with IPS technology at 227PPI, with 200 nits of brightness and wide color (P3) support 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz 8GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory 128GB SSD storage Integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 2x USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports

$1,499 13-inch MaBook Pro

13.3-inch LED-backlit 2560-by-1600 display with IPS technology at 227PPI, with 200 nits of brightness and wide color (P3) support 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz 8GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory 256GB SSD storage Integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 2x USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports

$1,799 13-inch MaBook Pro

13.3-inch LED-backlit 2560-by-1600 display with IPS technology at 227PPI, with 200 nits of brightness and wide color (P3) support 3.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz 8GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory 256GB SSD storage Integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650 4x USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports Touch Bar and Touch ID

$1,999 13-inch MaBook Pro

13.3-inch LED-backlit 2560-by-1600 display with IPS technology at 227PPI, with 200 nits of brightness and wide color (P3) support 3.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz 8GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory 512GB SSD storage Integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650 4x USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports Touch Bar and Touch ID

$2,399 13-inch MaBook Pro

15-inch LED-backlit 2880-by-1800 display with IPS technology at 220PPI, with 200 nits of brightness and wide color (P3) support 2.8GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz 16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory 256GB SSD storage Discrete Radeon Pro 555 graphics with 2GB video memory 4x USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports Touch Bar and Touch ID

$2,799 13-inch MaBook Pro

15-inch LED-backlit 2880-by-1800 display with IPS technology at 220PPI, with 200 nits of brightness and wide color (P3) support 2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz 16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory 512GB SSD storage Discrete Radeon Pro 560 graphics with 4GB video memory 4x USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports Touch Bar and Touch ID

The updated machines are available with 1-day shipping, in Silver or Space Gray.

It's worth reiterating that the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro model without Touch Bar now costs $1,299 instead of $1,499. Being a cool $200 cheaper actually makes in comparison MacBook Air a tougher sell as it's only gotten a faster 1.8GHz Intel chip today.

Apple also continues to offer the previous-generation MacBook Pro with a 15-inch screen, Intel's 2.2GHz quad-core Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz, 16GB 1600MHz memory, 256GB SSD storage, Intel Iris Pro Graphics and two Thunderbolt 2 ports.

It's available in Silver finish only and costs $1,999 a pop.

These updated MacBook Pro models, plus improved iMacs and the 13-inch MacBook Air models with a faster 1.8GHz CPU, are all available to order today on Apple.com.

You can buy them in Apple Stores starting on Wednesday, June 7.

Apple just increased CPU and SSD speed on 12″ MacBook

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 5, 2017

During the keynote address earlier this morning at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Apple announced that its twelve-inch MacBook models are getting faster Intel chips and speedier flash storage. MacBooks now ship with Intel's seventh-generation Intel Core CPU platform, code-named “Kaby Lake”, that was unveiled in March.

The clock frequency has been increased to 1.3 GHz, but Intel's Turbo Boost technology can temporarily increase the CPU clock speed to up to 3.6 GHz during heavy workloads. Flash storage is now up to fifty percent faster and the notebooks now support up to twice the RAM than before, for up to 16GB of RAM.

Configure-to-order options available via Apple's online store allow you to outfit your new 12-inch MacBook with up to a 1.4 GHz Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz.

The following stock configurations are available:

$1,299 MacBook

12-inch 2304-by-1440 LED-backlit display with IPS technology and 16:10 aspect ratio 1.2GHz dual-core Intel Core m3 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.0GHz 8GB 1866MHz LPDDR3 memory 256GB SSD storage Intel HD Graphics 615 Built-in keyboard with second-generation butterfly mechanism

$1,599 MacBook

12-inch 2304-by-1440 LED-backlit display with IPS technology and 16:10 aspect ratio 1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz 8GB 1866MHz LPDDR3 memory 512GB SSD storage Intel HD Graphics 615 Built-in keyboard with second-generation butterfly mechanism

“Weighing just two pounds and measuring 13.1mm thin, MacBook is our thinnest and lightest notebook for all-day, on-the-go computing,” says the company. The refreshed MacBooks continue to be available in Apple's standard Gold, Rose Gold, Silver and Space Gray color finishes.

The updated MacBook models—along with improved iMacs, specc'd up MacBook Pros and a slightly updated 13-inch MacBook Air with a faster 1.8GHz processor—are available to order today on Apple.com. You can buy them in Apple Stores starting on Wednesday, June 7.

For other tech specs, configure-to-order options and accessories, visit apple.com/mac.