iPhone and Mac update: Apple users urged to update devices to new software
Apple has released a whole range of updates, fixing bugs and issues in almost all of its products.
The company has rolled out software updates for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Watch and even its HomePods.
The updates include different features across all of those platforms. But all of them are focused on bug updates and security fixes, rather than new updates.
Some of those updates may be key, however, and users are urged to install them as soon as possible.
MacOS 13.2.1, the new version of the latest Ventura operating for Apple’s computers, includes a fix for a security flaw that was found in Safari, the built-in web browser.
The bug allows users to run their own code by exploiting a security loophole, the company said. What’s more, the company is “aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited”, meaning that hackers may already be aware of how to use it.
Downloading the update should fix that problem because of “improved checks”, Apple said. A similar update is available for the Safari browser itself, which should make those on older versions of MacOS safe too.
On the iPhone, Apple fixed a number of issues including bugs in iCloud and Siri. But perhaps most notable is what it says are “optimisations” to the crash detection feature that arrived with the iPhone 14 models and the latest Apple Watch.
Apple did not say what those optimisations do. But the company has been working to avoid false positives from the feature, which users say is being triggered by a number of events that are not the car crashes it was built to activate for.
Initially, those reports mostly related to rollercoasters and other rides. But in recent months, the devices have also been activating during winter sports, such as when people fall over when skiing.
The company has released a number of updates apparently aimed at ensuring the feature only goes into effect for real car crashes. Though it relies on the new hardware inside the latest devices, Apple is able to change the algorithm that checks that data in an attempt to let it become more accurate.
