Marvel at over 250 fixes and improvements coming to your Apple devices this fall

Apple spent an unusually long time during its WWDC Keynote this year talking about how it was going to fix all the busted crap in its operating systems. I’m paraphrasing, of course. What Apple actually said was, “Our teams doubled down on our relentless dedication to make the experience feel more polished and intuitive.”

Then, Apple presented the most obnoxious eye-chart slide I’ve ever seen in over 25 years of tech journalism, while saying, “We scoured every part of the OS for opportunities to refine our systems, from the UI to the foundations. Nothing was off limits, no enhancement too small.” The impossible-to-read slide had over 40 lines of tiny text and was gone in a flash.

Of course, that’s the point. It’s just there to make you say, “Look at all that stuff!” Well, that’s not good enough for us here at Macworld—we want to know what it says. Now we do, and so will you. All these fixes are all separate from the big Apple Intelligence, Siri, and Parental Controls improvements coming to our devices this fall.

10 key improvements

Much of what is listed here is repetitive. There are no exact duplicates, but there are quite a few items that could very well be combined into one. There are four small items related to perimenopause and menopause tracking, for example, and multiple entries about smoother scrolling in this app or that menu.

Still, there’s a lot of good stuff in there. Here are some of the improvements that stand out, in no particular order.

• AirPods Custom EQ
• Save a video frame as a photo
• iPhone app resizing in iPadOS
• Improved wireless CarPlay reliability
• Faster to start uploading to iCloud Photos
• Audio scrubbing in CarPlay Now Playing
• More accurate step tracking on Apple Watch
• Improved Messages syncing across devices
• Failed messages automatically retry sending
• Independent alarm volume

The entire list of OS 27 fixes and improvements

The entire list of improvements and enhancements is 263 items long! Some are minor, some are major, all are welcome.

1. New UI language for English (Canada) and English (Philippines)
2. Faster AirPlay connections to Apple TV and HomePod
3. More relevant Spotlight search suggestions
4. Web audio no longer interrupts system audio
5. Undo and Redo Home Screen edits in iPadOS
6. Faster PDF saving
7. Improved Top Results in Mail
8. Filter photos and videos in Shared Albums
9. More document formats in Preview
10. Drawing in Notes in macOS
11. New keyboard layout for Slovenian and Estonian
12. Control Center access in iPhone Mirroring
13. Audio scrubbing in CarPlay Now Playing
14. Add keywords to photos and videos in Photos
15. Extra-large widgets in Today view in iPadOS
16. Live Activity for Precision Finding with Friends
17. Better battery efficiency on Apple Watch
18. Smart downloads on Apple TV
19. Else if support in Shortcuts
20. Faster board previews in Freeform
21. More accurate step tracking on Apple Watch
22. Sort by completed Fitness+ workouts
23. Faster message loading in Mail
24. Improved connectivity for Thread home accessories
25. Automatic punctuation when typing on multilingual keyboards
26. Faster smart home accessory updates
27. Option-click to secondary sort
28. More efficient emergency alert monitoring
29. AppleCare coverage details in Settings in tvOS
30. More intuitive journaling streaks
31. More consistent positioning persistence across external displays
32. Updated video podcasts experience in macOS
33. Natural language time formats for Chinese and Hindi
34. Enhanced power efficiency for Safari in iOS and macOS
35. Drawing app in Messages
36. Faster data updates in the Health app
37. Call Recording transcriptions support for Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Brazilian Portuguese
38. Improved game controller settings
39. Easier reading and editing of PDFs using VoiceOver
40. Improved battery insights
41. Smoother scrolling in App Library
42. Improved navigation in Game Overlay
43. Smoother unlocking on iPhone
44. Use your panoramas for Environments in visionOS
45. Faster window closing in iPadOS
46. Improved performance in News App
47. Edge-to-edge sidebars
48. More reliable right-to-left text editing in Freeform
49. Find offloaded media in Messages
50. All options displayed in Camera settings
51. Password help accessible from the Lock Screen
52. Group conversation support in Shortcuts
53. New keyboards for languages including Afrikaans, Basque, Baybayin, English (Philippines), Galician, Guaraní, Luxembourgish, Xhosa, and Zulu
54. Smoother Freeform board performance
55. Improved PlayStation Access controller support
56. Improved reliability of Apple Music streaming
57. New AutoMix transitions
58. Camera uses less power in Low Power Mode
59. Extra-solid widget option in visionOS
60. Refreshed album pages in Apple Music
61. iCloud sync status for Journal entries
62. More responsive Control Center in tvOS
63. Faster network file browsing
64. Ethernet status in menu bar in macOS
65. Perimenopause and menopause symptom logging in the Health app
66. Improved Wi-Fi connectivity in watchOS
67. Faster multilingual text processing for handwriting in multiple languages
68. Guest key in watchOS
69. Expanded Get What’s On Screen capabilities in Shortcuts
70. Faster HomeKit accessory pairing
71. Faster Now Playing view loading in Music
72. Faster start page content loading in Safari
73. Increased attachment limits in Journal
74. More accurate route maps in the Fitness app after workouts
75. New keyboards for Indigenous languages, including Blackfoot, Comanche, Cree, Kiowa, and Tsuut’ina
76. Switch between two iPhone devices with the same phone number
77. Content-based recipient suggestions for sharing photos and links
78. Album organization improvements in Photos
79. Perimenopause and menopause education in the Health app
80. Improved RDMA over Thunderbolt
81. Customize Liquid Glass
82. Support for 4K camera recordings in the Home app
83. Faster Camera launch in Low Power Mode
84. Colorful sidebar icons
85. Faster Voice Control response in iOS
86. More accurate Visited Places in Maps
87. Improved Messages syncing across devices
88. Dual camera in FaceTime
89. Faster browsing and transfers in Files in iPadOS
90. Full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud Shared Albums
91. Faster Lock Screen switching
92. Store data in Shortcuts
93. Additional participant permissions in Shared Albums
94. Guides in Maps available in more places
95. New windows with curvature in visionOS
96. Enhanced Flyover in Maps
97. Customize slideshows in Photos
98. Section links in Notes
99. More power-efficient Personal Hotspot on N1 devices
100. Stylized notes from third-party Calendar accounts
101. Improved Control Center in visionOS
102. Perimenopause and menopause support in the Health app
103. Optional persistent menu bar on iPad
104. Lock Screen consistently stays awake while scrolling notifications
105. Faster AirDrop transfers
106. Dark Mode adaptive canvas in Freeform
107. More flexible sharing options in Find My
108. Captured by Me collection in Photos
109. Extra-large widgets in iOS
110. Failed messages automatically retry sending
111. Save any slideshow as a video in Photos
112. Faster web application performance in Safari
113. Expire your Shared Albums
114. Faster loading of emoji and sticker keyboards
115. GymKit on iPhone and AirPods Pro 3
116. Redesigned Podcasts app for tvOS
117. Consolidated Find My app in watchOS
118. Improved distance accuracy during treadmill workouts
119. Find My UI enhancements
120. Chāizi typing
121. Richer iCloud collaboration link previews
122. Improved Bluetooth power management
123. Access requests for items shared via iCloud
124. Expanded touch support in Sidecar
125. Faster Text Recognition in photos and documents
126. Support for Mac mirroring in 5K resolution
127. Smoother Calendar scrolling
128. Smoother animations and graphics in Safari
129. Refreshed artist pages in Apple Music
130. Search within shows in Podcasts
131. Look and Tap to view and respond to notifications in visionOS
132. Improved navigation heading and GPS accuracy in CarPlay
133. Smart language and keyboard configuration suggestions
134. Faster workout start in the Workout app
135. Updated Liquid Glass
136. Independent alarm volume
137. Smoother camera switching when zooming in video
138. Faster app extension launch in watchOS
139. Recent activity in Shared Albums
140. Offline Maps update improvements
141. Improved FaceTime quality on poor connections
142. Tap gesture on Apple Watch
143. Synced step count in the Health and Fitness apps
144. AirPods Custom EQ
145. Faster media playback in watchOS
146. Faster workloads and actions indexing in Spotlight
147. Multilingual grammar checking
148. Faster loading of new captures in Photos
149. Copy and paste as Markdown in Notes
150. Redesigned Shortcuts editor
151. Continuous sending of photos, videos, and texts in Messages
152. Save a video frame as a photo
153. Faster handling of JavaScript in Safari
154. Choose a specific pet in Photo Shuffle
155. Modify multiple Calendar events
156. Holiday-aware alarms in China
157. More reliable search indexing in Mail
158. iPhone app resizing in iPadOS
159. React with any emoji in Shared Albums
160. QuickPath and typing suggestions for Vietnamese VNI keyboard
161. Updated menu bar icons
162. Punctuation suggestions as you type in Chinese
163. Consolidated notifications for multiple Tapbacks in Messages
164. Updated app icons
165. Swipe down to refresh in macOS
166. Larger text sizes in tvOS
167. Spatial scene support for panoramas in visionOS
168. View streams from compatible cameras simultaneously in the Home app
169. Dynamic app grid in watchOS
170. App names in iPad status bar
171. Participate in iCloud Shared Albums from Android and Windows
172. Alternate calendars for India support current time zone while traveling
173. Smoother scrolling in Safari in macOS
174. Faster boot and connect to Wi-Fi in visionOS
175. Uniform toolbars
176. Thumbnails displayed for offloaded media in Messages
177. App resizing in iPhone Mirroring
178. Search for conversations in Messages by phone number or a contact’s nickname
179. Easier to invite others in Shared Albums
180. Collaborative folders in Freeform
181. Improved list formatting in Mail
182. Star ratings in Photos
183. Consistent corner radii
184. Easier card selection and payment management with Apple Pay
185. Screenshot and notification automations in Shortcuts
186. More efficient water detection on Apple Watch
187. Maps Parked Car widget in Smart Stack
188. Faster audio fingerprint discovery
189. Optimized CPU scheduler
190. Autosize and reset columns
191. Search for photos and videos using additional metadata
192. Improved wireless CarPlay reliability
193. Grocery List in Reminders language expansion
194. Smoother paging between Home Screen pages
195. Search returns more pleasing photos of people and pets in Photos
196. Improved conversion from phonetic scripts like Pinyin and Kana when typing in Simplified Chinese and Japanese
197. Smoother resolving in Control Center and Control Gallery
198. Drawing in Freeform in macOS
199. Faster app launches
200. More high-resolution and high-refresh-rate display modes for external displays
201. Easier-to-reach Camera experience
202. Option to prioritize syncing to iCloud Photos
203. Easier to save photos from Shared Albums
204. Faster menu bar access in iPadOS
205. Redesigned settings in the Apple Watch app
206. Support for time changes in Sleep
207. More accurate photo orientation
208. Streamlined Assistive Access setup
209. Faster and more reliable NFC reading
210. Easier to open full-screen view from Photos widget
211. Smoother animations and app launches in tvOS
212. Time stamps for Journal entries
213. DRM video support in iPhone Mirroring
214. Divider lines in Notes
215. Faster Apple Music playback start
216. Smoother scrolling in the widget gallery
217. Easier to recovery codes for Apple Accounts
218. Faster access to shared content on iCloud.com
219. Quick Start with a recovery contact
220. News+ audio support in iPadOS
221. Option to include photos of yourself in Photo Shuffle
222. Smoother animations in News and Stocks articles
223. Live Voicemail translation for English (Singapore) and Japanese
224. Smoother animations in Mission Control and Spaces
225. Visited Places available in more markets
226. Faster rendering of Collections tab in Photos
227. Smoother start page resizing in Safari
228. Selection view in Photos
229. View card balance in Wallet in watchOS
230. Faster Rapid Return to Service
231. Updated hourly and 10-day views in Weather
232. Live Activities in Dynamic Island in landscape
233. Transit cards and IDs in Smart Stack in watchOS
234. More easily accessible share link for iCloud collaboration
235. Faster window switching in iPadOS
236. More distinct active windows
237. Show Borders for macOS accessibility
238. Widget for Mac Virtual Display in visionOS
239. Streamlined setup for Touch Accommodations in iOS and iPadOS
240. Pairing and handoff improvements for MFi hearing devices
241. Multiple tab views in Safari in visionOS
242. Scribble support for Hindi and Marathi with Apple Pencil
243. More seamless transitions between Wi-Fi and cellular networks
244. Fitness+ workouts for perimenopause and menopause
245. Audio MiniPlayer in CarPlay
246. HDR for macOS system UI
247. Identity Documents collection in Photos
248. Improved unread badge accuracy in Mail
249. Proactive car key setup
250. Natural language search for routing in Maps
251. More reliable HomeKit camera storage
252. Onscreen context for more relevant typing suggestions for Chinese and Japanese
253. Faster to add recent camera captures in Messages
254. Real-time updates for widgets when app is open
255. Wallet Order Tracking support in Australia and Canada
256. Faster entry and exit from Assistive Access and Guided Access modes
257. Support for media sharing from third-party apps
258. Expanded language support for autocategorization in Reminders
259. Faster user account creation in macOS
260. Streamlined Calendar event details
261. FaceTime Live Captions for Traditional Chinese
262. New Smart Stack suggestions in watchOS
263. Faster to start uploading to iCloud Photos