macOS 15.3.1
Juli Clover (release notes, no security, no enterprise, no developer, full installer, IPSW):
According to Apple’s release notes, macOS Sequoia 15.3.1 includes important security fixes, and it is recommended for all users.
Important security fixes, but no CVEs.
See also: Mr. Macintosh and Howard Oakley.
Apple continues to enable Apple Intelligence on customers’ devices without permission during critical security updates as experts (and our own experiences) confirm.
I had Apple Intelligence enabled, turned it off, then updated to macOS 15.3.1, and it was enabled again.
Some people who had previously disabled Apple Intelligence in macOS 15.3 and iOS 18.3 saw it re-enabled after updating to macOS 15.3.1 and iOS 18.3.1 today. In fact I personally have two different Apple silicon Macs running macOS Sequoia, and after I updated both Macs to 15.3.1, Apple Intelligence was re-enabled on my MacBook Pro but not on my Mac mini. The difference in behavior appears to depend on whether the Setup Assistant and welcome screen is displayed after the update. On my MacBook Pro, but not my Mac mini, I saw the Setup Assistant.
This is essentially an advertisement for Apple Intelligence, with no option to enable or disable it. After pressing the Continue button, I saw the macOS welcome screen, which required me to press Continue a second time.
I wonder why it’s not consistent between Macs.
In our tests using an M4 Pro Mac mini, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro, and M4 iPad Pro – all with Apple Intelligence previously disabled in iOS/iPadOS 18.3 and macOS 15.3 – we found that while the iPhones and iPad maintained their disabled status after updating to iOS/iPadOS 18.3.1, the Mac mini automatically re-enabled the feature after updating.
Another macOS Sequoia update (15.3.1) and the whole Message UI framework is still broken in Catalyst apps with no activity on my FB (FB15693837) from Nov. 5. Ugh.
Previously:
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It pains me to say that, for most Apple features I do not want, I now take a “harms reduction” approach that entails enabling them and neutering them using settings. For example, enabling Siri on iOS but disabling both “Hey Siri” and side-button presses, which keeps it both “on” and “out of the way.” This works much better than switching things off, which inevitably leads to their being turned on forcefully at some point.
Even more painfully, I doubt this is part of a master plan to force users to use any of these features. Rather, I suspect most Apple engineers have them enabled on their work machines and have neither the time nor the inclination to test upgrade flows thoroughly.
Every Apple update now randomly enables or disables something, whether Siri or Bluetooth or Apple Intelligence, or iCloud — and many updates also reset random settings to defaults, from Notifications to Safari Preferences. It’s too haphazard to be the expression of some evil plan. Or, if it is, it is one messed-up master plan!
" the whole Message UI framework is still broken in Catalyst apps"
Maybe don't use Catalyst to make a Mac app? I'm yet to see a good app made with it. Every one of them, janky in some way, in the same way that Electron apps are janky.
Build a proper Mac app (and that probably means Appkit, because SwiftUI seems pretty janky as well).
Many of Apple's first party apps since Catalina are Catalyst! For example, Messages. They are often a little more polished than 3rd party Catalyst apps, but only a little.
@Paul McGrane Yes, the Catalyst versions are usually much worse than the Mac versions they replace - Apple Books being a major example.
But I've also noticed Apple's catalyst apps don't display errors some third party apps show (which are often blamed on Catalyst), for example Mona's spellchecking does't work properly, and there's no text transformation options in the contextual menu when composing a post, but spelling and text transformation works fine in Messages.
My gut feeling is that Catalyst has encouraged / enabled people to make Mac apps, who wouldn't have been able previously, and that's resulted in low-quality apps consuming market oxygen and crowding out potential "mac-assed mac apps", or whatever the phrase was.
Remember when Apple's OS updates were something to get excited about, rather than something to dread?
> with no activity on my FB (FB15693837) from Nov. 5. Ugh.
rotfl. Most all of my reports have no activity ever! And he’s upset with 3 months! hahhaah
@Bri & OUG
It's not just Apple. I've dreaded all updates or interface revisions from all of the major companies for basically a decade at least.
Only independent software developers make software for the users of that software. The incentives got corrupted long ago for basically any company that has stock.
@Bart Totally agree. Every time I see an app or website that says "We've got a new experience!" I dread to see how they made things worse. It never gets better. Never. I can't remember the last time I updated something produced by corporations and it legitimately got better. (And yes, independent software developers are the exception, but not always. A lot of them are mindlessly following the same deleterious trends too.)
...Which is why I can't help but get annoyed at the people across the internet constantly insisting that everyone should always update everything all the time, otherwise... something terrible will happen? They'll get exploited by some kind of malware making use of security exploits? I'm not saying there's no risk of that, but it's such bad messaging because most people know the *real* experience of updating is that it makes the app or device in question slower, buggier, cruftier, and removes important features they need. Everyone hates it, no one wants to do it.
