Apple has today released macOS Mojave 10.14.6, watchOS 5.3, and tvOS 12.4.
According to Apple's release notes via MacRumors, macOS Mojave 10.14.6 brings some enhancements to Apple News and several bug fixes:
This update:
- Makes downloaded issues available in the My Magazines section of Apple News+, both online and offline
- Adds all publications in Apple News+, including newspapers, to the catalog at the top of the News+ feed
- Adds the ability to clear downloaded magazine issues in Apple News+ by selecting History > Clear > Clear All
- Addresses an issue which prevents creation of a new Boot Camp partition on iMac and Mac mini with Fusion Drive
- Resolves an issue that may cause a hang during a restart
- Resolves a graphics issue that may occur when waking from sleep
- Fixes an issue that may cause fullscreen video to appear black on Mac mini
- Improves file sharing reliability over SMB
MacRumors reports that watchOS 5.3 fixes a major bug in the Walkie-Talkie app that could allow it to be used to spy on users.
The watchOS 5.3 update also brings ECG support and irregular heart rhythm notifications to Apple Watch Series 4 owners in both Canada and Singapore.
Apple traditionally does not provide release notes for tvOS updates, so it is unknown if tvOS 12.4 brings any notable changes. However, MacRumors reports that no user facing changes were identified during the beta cycle and that “the update likely focuses on introducing performance improvements and bug fixes”.
Apple has also today released new 7.3.1 Apple TV software for the third-generation Apple TV.
It's anticipated that these updates include foundation support for Apple Card, which is due for launch in the United States this Summer.
We weren't able to test any of these releases ourselves during the beta cycle, so do not know if there are any changes for blind or low vision users. However, as Apple's development focus will already have mostly switched to the major releases coming this fall, we do not anticipate any fixes for the outstanding problems present on each platform. If you notice any fixes, enhancements, or regressions, please let us know by posting a comment below.
To install macOS Mojave 10.14.6, choose System Preferences from the Apple menu, then click the Software Update preference pane to check for updates. If any updates are available, click the Update Now button to install them. Or click ”More info” to see details about each update and select specific updates to install.
watchOS 5.3 is available by going to the Watch app on your iPhone and navigating to General> Software Update. To install the update, your Watch must be connected to its charger and have at least 50% battery power.
To install tvOS 12.4 on Apple TV 4K or Apple TV (4th generation), go to Settings > System > Software Updates and Select Update Software. If there's an update, select Download and Install. Wait for your Apple TV to download the update. Don't disconnect or unplug your Apple TV until the update completes.
Comments
New issues for low vision users
Sorry, I mentioned these in the original (year old) Mojave blog post. Oops!
10.14.6 introduces a few new issues with invert colors and zoom related to how fonts are rendered. Fonts now appear to be thinner or not as high contrast as previously (though increasing contrast does little to help). It's hard to say with precision, blind as I am, but in previous releases, invert colors gave me white text on a black background (in general). With 10.14.6, it appears to be more of a medium gray on a back background.
Also, with invert colors enabled, if I zoom in, the font seems to distort and render even less clearly.
Neither issue occurs in dark mode. However, dark mode isn't an option for me, as both Safari and Pages fail to support it. So, the only workaround for me at this time is to rely more on VoiceOver. It's quite reminiscent of the iOS7 release, in which many low vision users felt pushed by the new thinner fonts to use VoiceOver.
iOS 12.4
Someone forgot to mention iOS 12.4 or I miss something?
Re Issues for low vision users
Sorry, folks. I tried to make 10.14.6 work, really I did. But ultimately I decided to back out to 10.14.5 rather than be dragged kicking and screaming into VoiceOver-only usage. I hope Apple addresses these issues with desktop rendering.