Archive for January 22, 2024

Monday, January 22, 2024

Runestone Rejected From the App Store

Simon B. Støvring:

Apple rejected an update to Runestone because its App Store description mentions the app’s price. This text has been included in the description for two years on iOS and for two releases on visionOS. I was inspired by Overcast, which also has a similar text, to add it to my app.

[…]

We need a third outcome for app reviews, something that falls between approving and rejecting an app.

I suggest “Approved with Changes Requested”, indicating that an update was approved, but an issue needs to be addressed in the next update. Apple could use this when disagreeing with something that has remained unchanged for years but still requires attention.

[…]

I am aware that in 2020 Apple has stated that they would no longer delay updates due to guideline violations. However, the reality is:

1. Apple still delays all types of updates due to guideline violations.

2. This should apply to all updates, not just those that address bugs, but also those that add new features and general improvements.

The guidelines do not actually say that you can’t mention the price or explain how your IAP works.

Marco Arment:

I think mine says that because they made me add it once.

Adrian Thomas:

This was absolutely required at some point. It was ridiculous at the time since the price can be changed dynamically whereas the description can’t but now to reject you is equally dumb.

Bourvill:

I’ve had the same kind of problem lately. I have been trying to validate my application since December. blocked since January 2 in review. I sent a first email, the team told me it was in progress. I sent an email on Thursday and miraculously my app became valid.

Previously:

Update (2024-01-30): Simon B. Støvring:

Once again, Apple has rejected Runestone for visionOS. They still claim that the app does not have a “Restore Previous Purchase” button. They are providing me with a screenshot of the “Request Refund” functionality that is shown after a user has bought Premium or restored a previous purchase.

If there is anything wrong with my in-app purchase, Apple fails to communicate the issue by providing contradictory screenshots and descriptions.

Simon B. Støvring:

So I replied Apple and explained my confusion above their rejection. Along with it, I sent a screen recording of the app running in the simulator and asked them to point out exactly what I need to change.

Around 18 hours later, the update to Runestone for visionOS was approved 🎉

Previously:

Best Mac Monitors and Displays 2024

Macworld:

However, picking a new monitor can be daunting. Not only are there many manufacturers to choose from, but there are also lots of sizes, resolutions, and features to consider–and when we say lots, we mean lots.

[…]

Apple sells displays for its Macs, and you could go with its offerings, but its displays are a quite bit more expensive than what third parties have. Buying from a different company may mean you may not get a feature that Apple offers, but it may also be a feature that you don’t need, depending on how you use the monitor.

There are indeed many available displays, but the Apple Pro Display XDR and Apple Studio Display are the only ones they list that have the proper Retina resolution. The Studio Display’s camera is presented as a “Pro.” LG and Samsung do still sell Retina 5K displays, but I’m not aware of any other options.

Previously:

Update (2024-11-19): Casey Liss:

There’s been a handful of not-Apple 5K monitors that have come out in the last year or two. Does anyone have a list these days?

(I’m leaving aside the LG UltraFine 4K/5K.)

shac ron:

In 5K 27-inch there’s

  • Samsung Viewfinity S9
  • Dell UP2715k

That’s it. That’s the end of the list.

Dell released a 6k monitor that uses the same panel as the XDR display. It is inexplicably hideous.

Paul Haddad:

Samsung 5k @ $600.

Saagar Jha:

This [ASUS ProArt Display 5K PA27JCV] is probably the new one Casey is thinking of.

Paul Haddad:

The new Asus 5k is also an interesting option, arguably better connectivity (though its USB-C not Thunderbolt), internal power supply, better warranty and I think/hope less aggressive anti-glare coating.

Previously:

Update (2024-11-25): Miguel Arroz:

BenQ is also going to release a 5K 27 inch display!

Miguel Arroz:

Also, a review of the Asus 5K that shows local dimming being turned off (thanks for the link @daveeed). Sadly the display has no macOS integration for brightness control.

Paul Haddad:

Around 5:20 is the main issue I have with the Samsung 5k display and every other display that’s not made by Apple. @#$@!@# matte coatings!

Classical Music and CarPlay

Joe Rossignol:

Apple Music Classical was updated today with what appeared to be CarPlay support, but this was quickly reversed in a follow-up update.

How about making classical music work for all users by adding scrolling or smaller fonts? Currently, I can’t even tell which track I’m playing because the unique part of the title is truncated on the Now Playing screen. I think I used to be able to see more information in the list screen, but recently that has been truncating the text, too. It’s just absurd how many pixels CarPlay has available, and yet it shows less information than the iPod classic.

macOS 14.3

Juli Clover (release notes, security, developer, full installer, IPSW):

macOS Sonoma 14.3 brings collaborative playlists in Apple Music, so that Apple Music subscribers can create playlists with friends and family members. The software also has an updated AppleCare & Warranty section in Settings that shows coverage for all devices signed in with an Apple ID.

See also: Mr. Macintosh and Howard Oakley.

Previously:

Update (2024-01-23): Ric Ford (Hacker News):

Mac users, including longtime expert users, are reporting that Apple has force-installed macOS 14 Sonoma on their computers against their will.

Previously:

Update (2024-02-01): Howard Oakley:

One serious bug it was claimed to address is the ability to change the password on an encrypted sparse bundle, lost a year ago in Ventura.

[…]

There also appear to be several bugs fixed in lightweight virtualisation on Apple silicon Macs. Most significant among these are the restoration of shared folders with the host Mac, and a bug that prevented VMs of older versions of macOS from being updated with security releases[…]

Adrian Schönig:

macOS Sonoma 14.3 is out, but sadly the #MusicKit bugs that block the release of Longplay for Mac are still there.

Howard Oakley:

This article summarises the most serious of those in 14.2.1 that have been fixed in 14.3, and mentions some that remain outstanding.

Joe Rossignol:

Over the past few weeks, some Mac users have complained that their computer automatically upgraded itself from macOS Ventura to the latest macOS Sonoma release, even with the automatic updates setting turned off.

There are widespread complaints about this issue across the Apple Support Community, MacRumors Forums, Reddit, X, and other websites.

[…]

However, despite dismissing the notification and having automatic updates turned off, affected users said their Mac proceeded to install macOS Sonoma regardless.

Howard Oakley:

We don’t know how Apple decides to push out these notifications, nor whether some triggered a bug or an intended feature to start the upgrade. If you dismiss this type of notification and want to check whether an upgrade has started, open Software Update settings (or the pane) and check whether an upgrade has started to download. If it has, try cancelling it. If that doesn’t work, or Activity Monitor’s Network view shows a download in progress, sever your Mac’s connection from the network, close all open apps, and restart your Mac. Then keep a watchful eye to see whether that download resumes.

Francisco Tolmasky:

I’m so tired of macOS re-enabling Bluetooth on every OS update.

Daniel Jalkut:

Safari on Mac has become very slow to auto-complete URLs, and I think it correlates with the Sonoma 14.3 update. Anybody else witnessing the same?

jnpdx:

I’ve encountered a bug in macOS 14 while using ScreenCaptureKit.

Steve Troughton-Smith:

Here’s a fun Messages bug in macOS 14.3:

If you have selected some text in a received message, and command-tab out then back into Messages, you can start typing to overwrite the message in the message bubble.

Update (2024-02-07): Mario Guzmán:

Apple. For the love of god please stop with the silly features like collaborative playlists in Apple Music and fix your damn bugs!

This started happening with macOS 14.3 and I can assure you I don’t have another device playing music.

[…]

Not to mention… these are iTunes Store Purchases. Why do you care whether or not I play them on more than one device. I “own” the song. I paid for it. This also wasn’t an issue until recently with Apple Music. Streaming songs sure, but paid songs?! No, you don’t get to put up fake restrictions on purchased music when you haven’t since 2003 when the iTunes Music Store was launched.

Adam Engst:

Many people are reporting weird text display problems with various apps in macOS 14.3, most notably Apple’s Mail, Notes, and Safari, but also third-party apps that rely on WebKit, including Mimestream and MarsEdit. Words or entire lines will seem to disappear and reappear, jump around, or overwrite other text.

[…]

I’ve learned that the bug has been fixed in WebKit, so it’s just a matter of Apple integrating the fix into an update to Sonoma.

macOS 13.6.4 and macOS 12.7.3

Apple (full installer):

This document describes the security content of macOS Ventura 13.6.4.

Apple (full installer):

This document describes the security content of macOS Monterey 12.7.3.

Previously:

iOS 17.3 and iPadOS 17.3

Juli Clover (release notes, security, developer):

With iOS 17.3, Apple is adding Stolen Device Protection to the iPhone, limiting access to private information just in case someone gets ahold of both your iPhone and your passcode.

[…]

The update also includes support for AirPlaying content directly to some hotel room TVs, creating collaborative Apple Music playlists with friends and family, and more.

Juli Clover:

Apple with iOS 17.2, iPadOS 17.2, and tvOS 17.2 killed wishlists without warning when it moved the option to purchase TV shows and movies from the iTunes Store app to the TV app.

[…]

iPhones and iPads running the iOS 17.3 beta will now have a “Go to Your Wish List” button under the Movie and TV Show sections, which provides access to everything that’s been added to the list in the past.

Niléane Dorffer:

Collaborative playlists in Apple Music allow you to share a playlist with friends and family members, who can then contribute to the playlist with their favorite songs. Members of the collaborative playlist can reorder songs, they can share the playlist to their own contacts, and they can also leave the playlist at any time. The playlist owner has a couple of additional controls over the playlist: they can manually approve new collaborators, and have the option of generating a new invite link, which automatically expires after six days.

[…]

While it was previously already possible to see your warranty coverage in Settings for the device in use, that section will now also list your current warranty coverage for all devices linked to your Apple ID.

Previously:

Update (2024-01-30): Ric Ford:

VMware notes configuration/compatibility issues for MDM [Mobile Device Management] systems with Apple’s new Stolen Device Protection mode, which arrived in iOS 17.3 but is turned off by default.

watchOS 10.3

Juli Clover (release notes, security, developer):

The watchOS 10.3 update includes a new Unity Bloom watch face to celebrate Black History Month.

Plus bug and security fixes.

Previously:

tvOS 17.3

Juli Clover (release notes, security):

Apple today released tvOS 17.3, the third major update to the tvOS 17 operating system that came out last September. tvOS 17.3 comes over a month after tvOS 17.2, an update that brought the revamped Apple TV app.

[…]

No new features were found in the tvOS 17.3 beta testing process.

Previously:

audioOS 17.3

Juli Clover (release notes):

Apple does not specify what’s included in the HomePod 17.3 software, and the generic release notes only say that it brings stability and performance improvements.

I saw a regression in that the Home app continued showing that the update was “Installing…” long after it had finished. I had to close and re-open the HomePod to see that it had completed.

Of course, the first thing I tried was playing some of my old iTunes Store purchases. Unfortunately, the same problematic ones still fail, saying that it couldn’t find them on Apple Music.

Next, I tried playing an album that had worked before, and HomePod said that it would play it but then said, “Sorry, there was a problem with Apple Music.”

So HomePod still does not work as advertised.

Previously:

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