Testers, start your engines! Apple has posted the public betas of iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and tvOS 14, with betas for macOS 11 Big Sur and watchOS 7 coming soon. As always, avoid installing on your daily driver devices and be sure to report bugs as you find them. One of the changes that’s coming could make it easier to locate lost electronic gear of various types—Glenn Fleishman explores the news of Apple expanding its Find My service to third-party devices. Finally, Apple veteran David Shayer joins us once again to explain how you can decode Apple’s operating system version and build numbers and why you might want to do so. Notable Mac app releases this week include Bookends 13.4.3; Pages 10.1, Numbers 10.1, and Keynote 10.1; 1Password 7.6; and Alfred 4.1.
Apple has opened public betas of some of its next-generation operating systems, but remember that these aren’t for daily use. Only install on hardware that you can dedicate to testing.
In a move that has received little attention so far, Apple will let other makers’ products send privacy-protected “I’m lost” signals to Macs, iPhones, and iPads, as soon as year’s end.
You undoubtedly know about Apple’s version numbering scheme for its operating systems—iOS 13.5.1 and macOS 10.15.5, for instance. But did you know Apple also has a hidden build numbering scheme that can be even more useful? Former Apple engineer David Shayer explains how to decode build numbers and learn from them.
Watchlist
Brings an improved Bookends browser and enables you to import PDF attachment names with import filters. ($59.99 new, free update, 71.0 MB)
Updates all three iWork apps with new video capabilities and more. (Free, various sizes)
Brings a variety of notification improvements to the password manager. ($64.99 new, free update, 55 MB)
Major update bringing new and refined features to the keyboard-driven launcher. (£23 new, free update, 3.1 MB)
