Bug fixes —

Apple releases macOS Catalina 10.15.7, possibly the last update before Big Sur

There were also updates to Final Cut Pro X and iMovie.

No operating system is an island, but macOS Catalina is named after one.
Enlarge / No operating system is an island, but macOS Catalina is named after one.

Earlier this week, Apple released updates for iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS—but nothing for macOS. Usually, Cupertino updates all its operating systems at once, but we're in an odd place right now with new annual releases of the former three making their way to users' devices while macOS Big Sur still sits an indeterminate amount of days away.

However, Apple nonetheless followed up today with an update for macOS Catalina labeled 10.15.7. It's likely the last update to Catalina before Big Sur is released. The company also released new versions of Final Cut Pro X and iMovie for the Mac.

The Catalina update is a modest one that fixes three bugs: a graphics-related problem on new iMacs with Radeon Pro 5700 XT graphics cards, a bug that prevented automatic connection to Wi-Fi networks, and an iCloud Drive syncing issue.

Want it straight from the source? Here are Apple's release notes for macOS Catalina 10.15.7:

macOS Catalina‌ 10.15.7 provides important security updates and bug fixes for your Mac.

  • Resolves an issue where macOS would not automatically connect to Wi-Fi networks
  • Fixes an issue that could prevent files syncing through ‌iCloud Drive‌
  • Addresses a graphic issue that may occur on ‌iMac‌ (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) with Radeon Pro 5700 XT

Some features may not be available for all regions, or on all Apple devices. For detailed information about the security content of this update, please visit: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

The updates to Final Cut Pro X and iMovie are also about fixing bugs. Here are the Final Cut notes:

  • Fixes an issue in which XAVC media from the Sony PXW-FX9 camera is not recognized
  • Fixes an issue where brightness levels shift when switching between Better Quality and Better Performance in the viewer
  • Fixes an issue in which effect keyframes are not added correctly when using onscreen controls
  • Improves stability when using the transform tool with multiple clips in the timeline
  • Improves reliability when exporting an FCPXML that contains Compound clips
  • Addresses an issue which could prevent sharing at certain resolutions
  • Fixes an issue in which sharing a Compound or Multicam clip from the timeline was disabled

The iMovie update improved stability and fixed an export bug. Yesterday, Apple also released an update for Xcode that fixed a problem that could "cause Xcode to crash while viewing documentation."

Channel Ars Technica