Blog

The latest news are listed first.

TinkerTool
                System 9

March 12, 2026:
We are releasing TinkerTool System 9 version 9.87:

  • Added new feature to delay the announcement of macOS software updates by up to 90 days after their release. Individual delays can be set for minor updates and upgrades that switch between operating system generations (for example from Sequoia to Tahoe). Affected pending notifications are automatically removed by macOS. The settings are available on the Issues pane.
  • Added new features to support apps using the Mac Catalyst technology, i.e. running software for iPhone or iPad on Macintosh with Apple Silicon. For technical reasons, launching Mac Catalyst apps in different languages cannot be supported at the moment. Mac Catalyst apps are now accepted by the following functions:
    • cleaning app components via the Uninstallation Assistant
    • starting apps with special launch options
    • computing a compatibility report
    • performing a security check
    • running bulk security checks via the Application Integrity feature
  • Added support for the evaluation of system background services for upcoming versions of macOS.
  • When performing an application security check, the notarization field now shows more detailed information if applicable.
  • Added a workaround for a problem where macOS could return invalid Internet links when showing details for a developer check of an application.
  • Added a workaround for a problem where macOS could return raw technical data for the details of a packaging error when performing a developer check of an application.
  • Fixed a problem where the button for performing a developer check was not shown for some application types.
  • Fixed a rare exception status that could occur when mounting or unmounting SMB shares with invalid volume names while TinkerTool System was running.

TinkerTool System 9 is a collection of system utility features helping you in performing advanced administration tasks on Apple Macintosh computers.

Apple
                  Software Update

March 10, 2026:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

  • macOS 26.3.2 Tahoe Update (Update Product ID: 047-94768)
  • BridgeOS Customer Update 26.3.2 (Update Product ID: 047-94858)

This is a special operating system update, not available to the general public. It is only designed to complete the interim system build shipped with the new MacBook Neo. Early buyers of the MacBook Neo should update their computers with this version during first installation.

Apple
                  Software Update

March 10, 2026:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

  • Apple XProtect Configuration Data version 5332 for OS X 10.11 to macOS 10.14 (Update Product ID: 047-93974)
  • Apple XProtect Configuration Data version 5332 for macOS Catalina and later (Update Product ID: 047-93973)

XProtect is part of the built-in antivirus software of macOS. The package does not appear in the Software Update section of System Preferences (or App Store in older versions of the operating system). macOS is updating the software automatically in the background if you have granted the system permission to download system data files and security-related files.

Apple
                  Software Update

March 7, 2026:
The following software, originally distributed via macOS Software Update, was non-functional and has been pulled by Apple:

  • macOS 15.7.5 Sequoia (Update Product ID: 047-88343)

This means the latest version of macOS 15 Sequoia is 15.7.4 at the moment.

Apple
                  Software Update

March 4, 2026:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

  • macOS 26.3.1 Tahoe
  • macOS 26.3.1 Tahoe Update (Update Product ID: 047-88311)
  • BridgeOS Customer Update 26.3.1 (Update Product ID: 089-71916)
  • macOS 15.7.5 Sequoia (Update Product ID: 047-88343)

The updates address defects, as well as critical security issues in the operating systems.

Apple
                  Software Update

March 4, 2026:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

  • Apple XProtect Configuration Data version 5332 for OS X 10.11 to macOS 10.14 (Update Product ID: 047-91392)
  • Apple XProtect Configuration Data version 5332 for macOS Catalina and later (Update Product ID: 047-91391)

XProtect is part of the built-in antivirus software of macOS. The package does not appear in the Software Update section of System Preferences (or App Store in older versions of the operating system). macOS is updating the software automatically in the background if you have granted the system permission to download system data files and security-related files.

Apple
                  Software Update

March 4, 2026:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

  • Apple Mobile Device Update (Update Product ID: 089-04537)

The update provides new icons and system resources for new Apple hardware to be released in March 2026.

Apple
                  Software Update

February 26, 2026:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

  • Command Line Tools for Xcode 26.3 (Update Product ID: 047-81934)

With a major delay, Xcode 26.3 was released the same day via the App Store, more than 2 weeks after macOS 26.3.

The Command Line Tools enable UNIX-style development via Terminal by installing command line developer tools, as well as macOS SDK frameworks and headers. Many tools are included, such as the Apple LLVM compiler, linker, and Make. If you use Xcode, these tools are also embedded within the Xcode IDE.

Apple
                  Software Update

February 24, 2026:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

  • Apple XProtect Configuration Data version 5331 for OS X 10.11 to macOS 10.14 (Update Product ID: 047-81042)
  • Apple XProtect Configuration Data version 5331 for macOS Catalina and later (Update Product ID: 047-81043)

XProtect is part of the built-in antivirus software of macOS. The package does not appear in the Software Update section of System Preferences (or App Store in older versions of the operating system). macOS is updating the software automatically in the background if you have granted the system permission to download system data files and security-related files.

General Apple bug
                  icon

February 21, 2026:
We like to remind developers that they should read the Release Notes of Apple beta operating systems before trying to use that software. As openly documented by Apple, macOS 26.4 Developer Preview 1 is affected by a known issue that causes the system not to open Mac OS Extended (HFS+) file systems if they are mounted automatically (Bug 168672160). This means that you also cannot open the software distribution images for all our products and that of most other vendors, because they are usually formatted as HFS+ to ensure efficiency and maximum compatibility.

When trying to open a disk image in the Finder, you will receive the message "The disk image couldn't be opened - There are no mountable file systems in the disk image". As a simple workaround, just open the disk image manually, not automatically, for example by using the menu item File > Open Disk Image… in Disk Utility.

Apple
                  Software Update

February 17, 2026:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

  • Apple XProtect Configuration Data version 5330 for OS X 10.11 to macOS 10.14 (Update Product ID: 047-68997)
  • Apple XProtect Configuration Data version 5330 for macOS Catalina and later (Update Product ID: 047-68998)
  • Apple XProtect Payloads version 157 (Update Product ID: 089-33637)

XProtect is part of the built-in antivirus software of macOS. The package does not appear in the Software Update section of System Preferences (or App Store in older versions of the operating system). macOS is updating the software automatically in the background if you have granted the system permission to download system data files and security-related files.

Sync Checker
                  4.5

February 17, 2026:
We are releasing Sync Checker version 4.6:

  • This update is needed to correctly support upcoming changes in the internal handling of APFS firmlinks that are expected in future versions of macOS.

Sync Checker is a diagnostic application which can check if two folders or volumes are perfectly synchronized, i.e. if they have exactly the same contents. When creating backup copies of valuable files, or when making sure that two computers or mobile devices work on the same set of data, the status of being “in perfect sync” can be very important. In order to be safe and to prevent loss of data, you can let Sync Checker verify whether a pair of file collections is matching exactly or not.

TinkerTool
                System 9

February 12, 2026:
We are releasing TinkerTool System 9 version 9.86:

  • Added new feature to copy disks or similar block-storage devices physically. This function is available on the Maintenance pane. Raw image or ISO files can also be created.
  • Added new feature to check the live settings, capabilities and statistics of a connection to an SMB file server.
  • To consider changes in upcoming versions of macOS, the function to determine the macOS update parameters of the Operation Environment has been rewritten completely.
  • Minor changes to ensure compatibility with upcoming versions of macOS.

TinkerTool System 9 is a collection of system utility features helping you in performing advanced administration tasks on Apple Macintosh computers.

Apple
                  Software Update

February 11, 2026:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

  • macOS 26.3 Tahoe
  • macOS 26.3 Tahoe Update (Update Product ID: 047-60297)
  • BridgeOS Customer Update 26.3 (Update Product ID: 047-60506)
  • macOS 15.7.4 Sequoia (Update Product ID: 047-48630)
  • Safari 26.3 for macOS Sequoia (Update Product ID: 089-65716)
  • macOS 14.8.4 Sonoma (Update Product ID: 047-48595)
  • Safari 26.3 for macOS Sonoma (Update Product ID: 089-72065)

The updates address defects, as well as critical security issues in the operating systems and web browsers.

Apple
                  Software Update

February 10, 2026:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

  • Apple XProtect Configuration Data version 5329 for OS X 10.11 to macOS 10.14 (Update Product ID: 047-65914)
  • Apple XProtect Configuration Data version 5329 for macOS Catalina and later (Update Product ID: 047-65915)

XProtect is part of the built-in antivirus software of macOS. The package does not appear in the Software Update section of System Preferences (or App Store in older versions of the operating system). macOS is updating the software automatically in the background if you have granted the system permission to download system data files and security-related files.

Apple
                  Software Update

February 10, 2026:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

  • SF Symbols 7.2 (Update Product ID: 047-60073)

Version 7.2 of the developer application resolves a crash during launch that could occur under specific conditions.

Apple
                  Software Update

February 3, 2026:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

  • Apple XProtect Configuration Data version 5327 for OS X 10.11 to macOS 10.14 (Update Product ID: 047-49507)
  • Apple XProtect Configuration Data version 5327 for macOS Catalina and later (Update Product ID: 047-49508)

XProtect is part of the built-in antivirus software of macOS. The package does not appear in the Software Update section of System Preferences (or App Store in older versions of the operating system). macOS is updating the software automatically in the background if you have granted the system permission to download system data files and security-related files.

Apple
                  Software Update

February 2, 2026:
Apple releases new software via macOS Software Update:

  • macOS Catalina Security Update 2026-001 (Update Product ID: 047-49516)
  • macOS Big Sur 11.7.11 (Update Product ID: 047-32248)

The updates ensure that the operating systems remain still capable of connecting to Apple Internet services after January 2027. This affects the logins of services such as iMessage, FaceTime, Apple Media Services and iCloud.

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