Photo: Apple
The wait is over for macOS Sonoma 14.4, with the new version going out a bit sooner than expected. It brings in new emoji plus auto-generated transcripts in the Apple Podcasts app.
watchOS 10.4 also went to all users on Thursday, as did tvOS 17.4 and visionOS 1.1.
macOS 14.4 Sonoma reflects a focus on iOS 17.4
While macOS Sonoma 14.4 includes new features, it’s a fairly modest update. This is at least partially a result of Apple’s need to bring truly significant changes in iOS 17.4 and the iPadOS equivalent to comply with a new European Union law, likely taking up much of the company’s attention.
Nevertheless, Mac users just got a fresh crop of emoji. The list includes a phoenix, a breaking chain and other emoji that were approved by the Unicode Consortium last year.
And in macOS 14.4, the Apple Podcasts app offers automatically generate transcripts for shows.
With the release candidate going out Monday, the final version was expected in mid March. But it is instead available for all compatible Mac models now.
Apple’s macOS 14.4 release notes:
macOS Sonoma 14.4 introduces new emoji as well as other features, bug fixes, and security updates for your Mac.
Emoji
- New mushroom, phoenix, lime, broken chain, and shaking heads emoji are now available in emoji keyboard
- 18 people and body emoji support facing the opposite direction
This update also includes the following improvements and bug fixes:
- Podcasts Episode text can be read in full, searched for a word or phrase, clicked to play from a specific point and used with accessibility features such as Text Size, Increase Contrast, and VoiceOver
- Business Updates in Messages for Business let you get updates that you’ve opted into, like order status, flight notifications, fraud alerts or other transactions from trusted businesses
- Safari Favorites Bar adds an option to show only icons for websites
Don’t forget watchOS 10.4 and visionOS 1.1.
Apple Watch users are getting some tweaks in watchOS 10.4, too. The release notes mention that “Tap to Show Full Notification setting now allows you to double tap to expand the notification .”
And visionOS 1.1 reportedly will make users’ Personas look less eerie.
These Apple Watch and Vision Pro updates are also now available to users of compatible devices.