2020 is winding to a close, and this is the last email issue of TidBITS for the year. We’ll publish our next issue on 11 January 2021. In the meantime, check our site for continuing coverage of the Apple world. Last week, Apple released surprise iOS 12.5 and watchOS 6.3 updates to those otherwise-unsupported operating systems to add COVID-19 exposure notifications and an important security fix. We also report on the latest developments in the increasingly high-stakes battles surrounding the App Store. Finally, if you’re in the market for a monitor for your Mac, Josh Centers has a detailed review of the LG 27UK850-W, which is a decent and affordable 4K monitor for your Mac. Notable Mac app releases this week include Audio Hijack 3.8, Piezo 1.7, and SoundSource 5.2, Safari 14.0.2, Firefox 84, TextExpander 6.8.1, BBEdit 13.5.3, Ulysses 21.3, Scrivener 3.2.2, DEVONagent 3.11.4, Airfoil 5.10, Fantastical 3.3.3, Alfred 4.3, GraphicConverter 11.3.3, Typinator 8.6, Evernote 10.5.7, and macOS Server 5.11.
In keeping with our tradition, we’re going to take off the last few weeks of 2020, which this year means staying safe with our immediate households and scheduling virtual gatherings with our extended families. You can expect the next email issue of TidBITS on 11 January 2021. Thanks for reading TidBITS, and we hope you’ve found our content useful, accurate, and enjoyable!
Apple has released a pair of surprise updates to a pair of older operating systems, iOS 12.5 and watchOS 6.3, to bring COVID-19 exposure notification capabilities and an important security fix to older devices.
Josh Centers chronicles the latest battles revolving around the App Store, including Facebook joining Epic Games’ lawsuit against Apple, a group of big-name publishers signing on to the Coalition for App Fairness to pressure Apple and Google, and Apple making the Brave browser put its crypto wallet away.
Discerning Mac users will be hard-pressed to find a satisfactory monitor, but the LG 27UK850-W is close enough and not too expensive.
Watchlist
Brings full compatibility with macOS 11 Big Sur to the three Rogue Amoeba audio apps, as well as support for M1-based Macs. ($49/19/39 new, free updates, various sizes, macOS 10.13+)
Updates Apple's Web browser to patch a single security vulnerability. (Free, various sizes, macOS 10.15+ and 10.14+)
Introduces native support for M1-based Macs. (Free, 126 MB, macOS 10.12+)
Updates the user interface for macOS 11 Big Sur and adds native compatibility with M1-based Macs. ($40 annual subscription, free update, 42.6 MB, macOS 10.14+)
Now asks you if you want to reopen documents after a crash or force quit. ($49.99 new, free update, 18.7 MB, macOS 10.14.2+)
Brings a spate of improvements and bug fixes to the writing app. ($49.99 annual subscription, free update, 30.6 MB, macOS 10.14.4+)
Maintenance release with improvements and bug fixes for the long-form writing tool. ($49 new, free update, 85.3 MB, macOS 10.12+)
Adds support for M1-based Macs and importing bookmarks from the Brave Web browser. (Free/$4.95/$49.95, free updates, various sizes, macOS 10.10+)
Adds full compatibility with macOS 11 Big Sur and initial support for M1-based Macs. ($29 new, free update, 311.5 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Maintenance release for the calendar app adds an option to choose which browser to use for conference calls. ($39.99 new, free update, 41.3 MB, macOS 10.13.2+)
Keyboard-driven launcher now runs natively with both Intel-based and M1-based Macs. (ÂŁ23 new, free update, 4.8 MB, macOS 10.11+)
Adds support for importing Apple ProRAW, Photoshop PSB, and Canon CR3 files. ($39.95 new, free update, 250 MB, macOS 10.9+)
Text expansion utility brings user interface and compatibility improvements with macOS 11 Big Sur. (€24.99 new, free update, 7.2 MB, macOS 10.8+)
Improves performance for note loading, the sidebar, and attaching files, plus adds several user interface improvements. (Free, 148 MB, macOS 10.10+)
Adds new restrictions, payloads, and commands for Profile Manager and now requires macOS 11 Big Sur. ($19.99 new, free update, 79.2 MB, macOS 11+)
