Dec. 13th to 17th, 2021 Apple/Mac/macOS News, Updates, Tips and Tech Articles

Archive of December 13th to 17th, 2021 News Go to Current News Page

Safari 15.2 Update for macOS Big Sur & Catalina
Available via software update for Big Sur & Catalina. (Included in Monterey 12.1.)
Here's the article on Security fixes in Safari 15.2.
Webkit fixes for CVE-2021-30934, -30936, -30951, -30952, -30984, -30953, -30954.
(Article on security fixes revised Dec. 20.)
Related webkit.org article on new WebKit Features in Safari 15.2.

macOS Monterey 12.1, Big Sur 11.6.2, & Security Update 2021-008 Catalina
(VPN or 3rd party Security software may cause problems with OS or security updates.
Read Apple's article on VPN and 3rd party software issues & the usual advice on updates.)

What's new in the updates for macOS Monterey 12.1
- What's new for enterprise in macOS Monterey 12.1
- About the security content of macOS Monterey 12.1 (long list)
- Apple's macOS Monterey discussion forum
What's new in macOS Big Sur 11.6.2
"This update is recommended for all users and improves the security of macOS."
- About the security content of macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 (long list)
(Article on security fixes revised Dec. 20.)
- To get 11.6.2 instead of macOS 12.x, check "Other Updates" in Software Update.
- Apple's macOS Big Sur discussion forum

macOS 11.6.2 M1 Macs Firmware Update
After the macOS 11.6.2 install, M1 Mini Firmware updated to version 7429.61.2.
About the security content of Security Update 2021-008 Catalina (long list)
- Download Security Update 2021-008 Catalina (1.49 GB)
(After installing Security Update 2021-008, the Catalina build number is 19H1615.)
- Apple's macOS Catalina discussion forum

iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2, watchOS 8.3, tvOS 15.2 updates
(VPN or 3rd party Security software often has problems with OS or security updates.
Read Apple's article on VPN and 3rd party software issues.)

HomePod Software Update 15.2
See About HomePod Software 15.2 for details on changes.
Here's Apple's article on how to update HomePod.
You can check for feedback in Apple's HomePod forum.
(Our Tips page has a HomePod Apple Guides section.)

Xcode 13.2.1 includes these bug fixes:
- Apps built with Swift concurrency may crash on launch.
- Xcode was unable resolve Swift packages.
Xcode 13.2 (for macOS 11.3 or later).
- Support for Swift Playgrounds 4 app projects.

- Xcode Organizer displays smart insight notifications for monitoring power and performance in your app.

- Swift Concurrency available for apps that deploy to iOS 13, iPad OS 13, tvOS 13, watchOS 6, and macOS 10.15 or newer.

- TextureConverter adds support for error metrics, decompressing textures at build time, and skipping compression when output textures are up-to-date.

- Additional bug fixes and stability improvements.

Firefox 95.0.1 update (bug fixes)
(Download links are on release notes page.)

(Previous Firefox 95.0 included several improvements for macOS.)

Topic based page of Guides, Tips & Troubleshooting for Mac & iPhone/iPad/watchOS Users.

Understanding the Impact of Apache Log4j Vulnerability (google)
Microsoft Office for Mac (365/2019) version 16.56 (build 21121100)
- See Dec. 14 release notes for changes/new features.
- Includes security update for Office Suite.
LG BX OLED TVs Firmware Update 04.30.50
- Applicable Models List also includes many LG LCD TV models.
- post includes info and firmware update download link.
Chrome 96.0.4664.110 Stable Channel Update for Desktop (Google)
- includes 5 security fixes.
iOS Chrome browser version 96.0.4664.101 (for iOS/iPadOS 14.0 or later)
- Stability and performance improvements. (Also check user reviews.)
RIVAGE PM Editor 5.0.2 for Mac macOS 12, 11 (Intel/Apple silicon), 10.15-10.13
- See system requirements down the page. (Lists Support for Intel & Apple M1 Macs)
- Supports new RIVAGE PM Firmware V5.02.

Recent Updates, Tips, DIY Upgrades and Repairs:
List of Updates, DIY Upgrades, Repair Articles, Tips and more you may have missed. (Topics range from OS/software/driver updates and troubleshooting, to hardware upgrades and repairs.)

Previous News Archives:
For links to older news pages, see the Archives.

= Popular Links =

macOS Updates