Apple (downloads):
The Command Line Tools package now supports using the swift test command to build and run package tests written with Swift Testing.
[…]
Sometimes running parallel Tests on macOS run destinations never finishes.
[…]
macOS projects that use hardened runtime but no sandboxing may run into timeout errors when attempting to preview if the project is complex enough.
[…]
Simulator process launch may stall for around 3-5 minutes per runtime as GateKeeper scans the simulator dyld shared cache.
[…]
Memory leaks can occur when calling async functions bridged from Objective-C and building in the Swift 6 language mode.
Workaround: Pass -checked-async-objc-bridging=off to the Swift compiler using “Other Swift Flags” in Xcode build settings.
Paul Hudson:
“Swift Assist is coming later this year,” said Apple in June. It’s now December [11th], so that means we’re only a few weeks from seeing it in action – Xcode 16.3 beta 1, presumably?
Previously:
Apple Intelligence Gatekeeper Mac macOS 15 Sequoia Objective-C Programming Swift Concurrency Swift Programming Language SwiftUI Testing Xcode
Juli Clover (iOS/iPadOS release notes, security, no enterprise, no developer):
iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 introduce new Apple Intelligence features, including the first image generation capabilities. Image Playground is a new app for creating images based on text descriptions, and you can add all kinds of costumes, items, backgrounds and more. You can even make your images look like your friends and family members.
Genmoji is similar to Image Playground , but it’s for creating custom emoji characters that you can use in Messages. The third image generation feature is Image Wand, which is Image Playground but in the Notes app. You can make a rough sketch and use Apple Intelligence to make it better. The update includes ChatGPT integration for Siri, so Siri can hand complicated requests over to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. For iPhone 16 users, the update adds Visual Intelligence to the Camera Control feature, so you can get more information on items and locations around you.
Juli Clover:
This guide highlights everything that’s new in iOS 18.2.
Niléane Dorffer:
But besides another batch of Apple Intelligence features, this release also includes a series of changes to the system, from updates to Safari, Find My, and Photos to the arrival of new system-wide settings for Default Apps and more. Here’s a roundup of everything new besides Apple Intelligence in iOS and iPadOS 18.2.
[…]
In addition to the new backgrounds, Safari now supports linking to text highlights on web pages. The idea here is that you can select text on any web page, tap ‘Copy Link with Highlight’, and share the copied link so that anyone opening it will immediately be shown the specific text you highlighted in yellow on that web page.
[…]
Apple has finally re-added the ability to swipe right to go back pretty much anywhere in the Photos app, including when you’re several levels deep into an album folder. It’s hard to know whether it was a bug or if Apple was being intentional about not implementing the gesture in certain places in the app before, but I’m glad to report that it is now consistently available.
[…]
Return of the volume slider on the Lock Screen.
Previously:
Update (2024-12-16): Tim Hardwick:
In iOS 18.2, Apple has introduced a thoughtful new feature for the Camera Control button on iPhone 16 models that helps prevent accidental camera launches by requiring the screen to be on before the button will register clicks.
Tim Hardwick:
Apple in iOS 18.2 has reinstated a Lock Screen feature that was unceremoniously nixed from its iPhone OS two years ago, leaving many users wondering why it was taken away in the first place.
Apple Intelligence Genmoji iOS iOS 18 iOS Release iPadOS iPadOS 18 iPadOS Release Lock Screen Photos.app Safari
Juli Clover (release notes, security, developer):
tvOS 18.2 adds a selection of new Snoopy screen savers that are available as an alternative to the aerial, memory, and portrait screen saver options, plus it includes natural language search support for Siri for looking for movies, music, and TV shows.
The update also includes an option that lets the Apple TV automatically detect the best aspect ratio for a television or projector, along with new aspect ratios for projectors.
Previously:
tvOS tvOS 18 tvOS Release
Juli Clover (no release notes, security, developer):
According to Apple’s release notes, watchOS 11.2 lets you pause video that you’re recording on the iPhone using the Camera Remote app on Apple Watch.
Previously:
watchOS watchOS 11 watchOS Release
Juli Clover (release notes, developer, security, enterprise):
visionOS 2.2 adds new wide and ultrawide aspect ratios to the Mac Virtual Display feature, so you can have more workspace when using the Vision Pro as a display for your Mac. Apple says that the ultrawide setting is the equivalent of two 5K monitors side by side.
Previously:
Mac Mac Virtual Display visionOS visionOS 2 visionOS Release
Apple:
- Siri on HomePod is now integrated with Apple Music natural language search so you can describe what you want to hear using any combination of categories like genre, mood, decade or activity.
- Enhance Dialogue on HomePod (2nd generation) when paired with Apple TV 4K gives you the option to hear speech more clearly over background sounds using real-time audio processing and machine learning.
Previously:
Update (2024-12-16): Michael Simon:
While not quite Apple Intelligence, the feature is definitely Apple Intelligence adjacent and will make it easier to play and discover new music. HomePod should now be able to play music with vague prompts when you don’t know the specific song you want to hear.
audioOS audioOS 18 audioOS Release
