macOS 14.6 Enables Double Display Support for 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro
Apple has released what are likely the final X.Y releases of the macOS 14/iOS 17 generation of operating systems. Only macOS receives any feature changes that Apple documents in release notes; the rest merely admit to “important bug fixes and security updates.” The company also updated older versions of macOS, iOS, and iPadOS to address numerous security vulnerabilities. Our general advice is that these updates are all worth installing soon, but with one exception, you can wait until it’s convenient since none of the vulnerabilities are being exploited in the wild. The exception is macOS 12.7.6 Monterey, which fixes a zero-day vulnerability previously fixed in macOS 14 Sonoma and macOS 13 Ventura.
The people for whom macOS 14.6 Sonoma may be most exciting are owners of the 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro because the update adds support for using up to two external displays when the laptop lid is closed. Previously, the M3 model of the 14-inch MacBook Pro was limited to its built-in display and one external display—Apple hasn’t yet updated its tech specs page. (The M3 Pro models of the 14-inch MacBook Pro support two external displays without closing the lid, and the M3 Max models support up to four external displays.)
However, the M3 MacBook Air introduced the enhanced capability of supporting two external displays when the lid is closed. Since the M3 chip is the same across all Macs that use it, it makes sense that Apple was able to bring the MacBook Air’s double-display feature to the 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro as well.
Howard Oakley also reports that the release candidate for macOS 14.6 claimed that it:
fixes app crashes when running iPhone and iOS apps on Apple silicon Macs, and a complex bug resulting in the hardware video decoder not being used when it should have been.
The other group that will be interested in the remaining changes in macOS 14.6 are enterprise admins. These changes include:
- The login keychain is correctly created the first time a mobile user logs in.
- Enforcing a specific software update version no longer fails if it’s not the most recent available update.
- The FileVault recovery key is no longer shown after updating when configured by MDM to not show the key.
- Users can successfully be added to the access list for Remote Management in System Settings.
- The allowAssistant restriction correctly prevents the Siri app from being opened.
Security Updates
Apart from those changes in macOS 14.6, Apple offers no details about bug fixes in any other operating systems. For security updates, however, the company has provided its usual lists.
- macOS 14.6 Sonoma: 54 vulnerabilities fixed
- macOS 13.6.8 Ventura: 36 vulnerabilities fixed
- macOS 12.7.6 Monterey: 32 vulnerabilities fixed, one zero-day
- iOS 17.6 and iPadOS 17.6: 30 vulnerabilities fixed
- iOS 16.7.9 and iPadOS 16.7.9: 20 vulnerabilities fixed
- iOS 15.8.3 and iPadOS 15.8.3: No fixes with CVE entries
- watchOS 10.6: 24 vulnerabilities fixed
- tv0S 17.6: 16 vulnerabilities fixed
- visionOS 1.3: 15 vulnerabilities fixed
IMHO the “big deal” about this update lies in this:
Of course it’s a bit unsettling that now that Apple has published some “release notes” (extremely terse as they are) those two items have vanished compared to the notes for the RC. I checked the 14.6 security notes to see if they might have been moved over there, but I couldn’t find them there either.
Courtesy of Howard Oakley.
Sounds like Monterey users should download the macOS update as soon as possible because the update fixes a zero-day exploit that was previously patched for Sonoma and Ventura:
https://www.macintouch.com/post/41253/macos-14-6-13-6-8-and-12-7-6/#more-41253
and
Drat! Thanks for reminding me of Howard’s post—I’d seen it earlier in the day but then forgot about it when I was writing because the release notes (such as they were) had arrived. And I’m not sure how I missed the Monterey zero-day initially, since I thought I ran my usual search for “aware” across all the security notes. I’ve updated the article.
@mjtsai passes on a warning that iOS 17.6 now prompts to enable Stolen Device Protection at first boot.
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/07/31/ios-17-6-and-ipados-17-6/
These updates seem to be crucial for security purposes. They cover most Apple devices. So far my updates (Macs, iPhones, iPads, Apple TV, watch & Homepods) have gone smoothly.
My only odd outcome has been that my phone failed to send audio to the car audio system when Carplay started - sound came out of the phone. I disconnected the phone and reconnected it and the audio output was fixed.
One annoying problem for me with these updates is that we get no idea how long our computers will be unavailable during them. I often need access to my Mac most of the working day, and because I have no idea how long the update will take, I worry that something will happen then that I need to access the Mac to deal with. The time needed for an update differs widely between my 2018 MacMini (typically about half an hour or more) and the 2017 MacBook (maybe 10 minutes), and only the MacMini can access all my files.
I guess Apple heard you! At least–and for the first time I can recall–the 14.6 update said something like “Your computer will be unavailable for approximately 20 minutes from the time you click the Start button.”
It actually said something approximately 20 minutes from the time download was completed. Downloading took something like 20-30 minutes, so I would say the whole time was about 45 minutes, although I did not time it carefully. This is for my 2018 MacMini, which tends to be slower than newer Macs.
I learned from bitter experience not to try updating if I’m likely to need my computer soon – which has sometimes meant putting off updates for days or even weeks. Not often, but too often, an update has rendered my machine unusable and required that I spend some hours repairing the damage. So some fantasy “this will take approximately 27.325 minutes” wouldn’t be terribly helpful to me.
For those who have not committed yet, here’s where to look. This is my Mac mini (M1, 2020).
A week later and iOS 17.6.1 is out!
(post deleted by author)
It sounds like there’s something hosed on your Mac since I’ve seen no other reports along these lines. Does this Terminal command reveal any System Extensions? I seemingly don’t have any installed, so I’m not quite sure how to suggest auditing them.
systemextensionsctl listIf it were my Mac, I’d run Disk Utility to check for corruption, and if the problem continued, I’d boot into macOS Recovery and reinstall macOS.