Apple today seeded the third beta of macOS Ventura 13.1 to its public beta testing group, allowing non-developers to try out the new features ahead of the software's release. The public beta comes one week after Apple released the second public beta.
Public beta testers can download the macOS 13.1 Ventura update from the Software Update section of the System Preferences app after installing the proper profile from Apple's beta software website.
macOS Ventura 13.1 introduces the Freeform app, which Apple has designed for creative collaboration. The app can be used for brainstorming, planning out ideas, jotting down notes, and more. Users can insert drawings, sticky notes, shapes, text boxes, photos, videos, PDFs, links, and other documents, with Freeform serving as a blank canvas.
Freeform "boards" can be shared with other people and discussed over FaceTime, with updates from all participants synced to everyone in real-time.
The update also introduces support for an updated Home app architecture that improves performance for smart home devices.
Tuesday October 20, 2026 11:12 am PDT by Juli Clover
With just three days to go until the iPhone Duo is released, Apple is getting ready for the launch. Behind the scenes, the App Store now has screenshots of Apple's built-in apps running on the Duo. We've seen some apps in marketing materials, but images of the ones we haven't seen give us an idea of what it will be like using the iPhone Duo day to day.
Many apps are shown in landscape...
Thursday October 22, 2026 11:01 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple has temporarily removed Keynote, Pages, and Numbers from the App Store, just after releasing an update that added iPhone Duo support and a new Intelligent Assistant.
It is not clear if the apps were removed intentionally, or if it is a bug. Apple has not said when the apps will be reinstated, but if it was in error, they should return soon.
Update: The Mac versions are back without...
Monday October 19, 2026 9:37 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple today sent out invites for an experience in Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 28, and the "Pro and tell" tagline on the invitation likely means that the rumored MacBook models with touch-enabled OLED displays will stick with MacBook Pro branding instead of the once-rumored "MacBook Ultra" name.
The long-rumored "iPhone Ultra" ended up being named iPhone Duo, so speculation that Apple...
How many betas do these usually have? Wondering whether it will release next week (before Thanksgiving) or early December. I'm waiting for its release to upgrade from Monterey.
Monday Dec 12th its when it is expected to be publicly released. (last 2 years were Dec 13, Dec 14)
Is Freeform shared only through FaceTime? This might be useful for education if it could be done with 20+ people at the same time.
I teach at a small college and see a lot of potential in a tool like Freeform.
But it's only for Apple devices, right? Only about 4 in 10 of my students have Macs, 1 in 10 have iPads, most have Windows laptops and a few have non-Apple tablets.
So unless Freeform becomes available for non-Apple platforms, I won't be able to use it.
But there are already other products that work across platforms and provide similar functionality as Freeform.
How's ventura shaping up? I'll install it this december when 13.1 will be released.
Can't speak for others but it's been a mixed bag for me. Most things are working as expected. A few are not. Wifi connections to remembered networks I use every day take a bit longer to connect sometimes. And I cannot connect to my employer's networked printers at all since upgrading one of my two Macbooks to Ventura. The other Macbook, still running Monterey 12.6.1, continues to connect to the networked printers just fine.
The new features of Ventura have not really improved my workflows or general usability of my Macbook, so it's been all downside for me. (Fortunately, not TOO much downside.)
I think I'm going to start doing what you do - wait until X.1 to install a major new macOS version.
Apple's first foldable iPhone, with a book-style design featuring a 5.4-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner display with a minimal crease down the middle.