This week’s big news is Apple’s announcement of the new M3-based 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air. Along with the faster chip, the M3 MacBook Air models can drive two external displays when the lid is closed. Adam Engst reports on the results of our Do You Use It? poll surrounding Software Update and macOS update approaches, explaining the options and providing advice. Finally, we briefly cover reports of Apple canceling its electric car project and the European Commission fining Apple $2 billion for App Store antitrust violations. Notable Mac app releases this week include Acorn 7.4.4, Affinity Designer, Photo, and Publisher 2.4, BusyCal 2024.1.2 and BusyContacts 2024.1.2, Camo Studio 2.1.3, DEVONthink 3.9.6, FastScripts 3.3.1, and Zoom 5.17.10.
Apple has introduced M3 versions of the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air, increasing performance, enabling them to drive two external displays, and updating them to more modern wireless networking standards.
The results of our poll asking how TidBITS readers engage with macOS updates reveal that most people stick with Apple’s default settings and follow our advice about how quickly to install. That’s good!
Watchlist
Introduces new Super Resolution ML resizing feature. ($39.99 new, free update, 36.8 MB, macOS 10.14+)
Adds Layer States feature to Affinity Designer and Affinity Publisher. (Various prices new, free update, various sizes, macOS 10.15+)
Maintenance updates for the calendar and contact management apps. ($49.99 new for each, free update, various sizes, macOS 10.15+)
Maintenance release for the virtual camera system with improvements and fixes. ($39.99 annual subscription, free update, 50.4 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Addresses issues discovered after the previous release of the document and information manager. ($99 new, free update, 127.4 MB, macOS 10.14+)
Brings new Mouse Automation scripting additions for moving, clicking, and dragging the mouse. ($39.95 new, free update, 4.8 MB, macOS 10.15+)
Adds native screen-sharing support in macOS 14 Sonoma. (Free, 124.2 MB, macOS 10.13+)
