Apple has seeded developers with a new build of OS X Mountain Lion (12C50) to developers this evening. The version contains complete release notes as posted by 9to5Mac, suggesting the release is near complete. Apple is holding a media even on Wednesday where they are likely to detail the new iPhone and iOS 6.
The release notes reveal the following features:
Facebook - Single sign on for Facebook - Facebook as an option when sharing links and photos - Facebook friends’ contact information and profile pictures in Contacts - Facebook notifications in Notification Center
Game Center - Share scores to Facebook, Twitter, Mail, or Messages - Facebook friends are included in Game Center friend recommendations - Facebook Like button for games - Challenge friends to beat your score or achievement
Other new features - Power Nap support for MacBook Air (Late 2010) - iMessages sent to your phone number now appear in Messages on your Mac - From Safari and Mail on your Mac you can add passes to Passbook on your iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 6 - New shared Reminders lists - FaceTime now receives calls sent to your phone number - New sort options allow you to sort notes by title, the date you edited them, and when you created them - Dictation now supports Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Korean, Canadian English, Canadian French, and Italian - The Dictionary application now includes a French definition dictionary - Sina Weibo profile photos can now be added to Contacts
The 10.8.2 update also includes general operating system fixes that improve the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac, including the following fixes:
- An option to discard the changes in the original document when choosing Save As - Unsent drafts are opened automatically when launching Mail - Receive Twitter notifications for mentions and replies from anyone - URLs are shortened when sending tweets from Notification Center - Notifications are disabled when AirPlay Mirroring is being used - SSL support for Google searches from the Smart Search Field in Safari - New preference to have Safari launch with previously open webpages
One notable feature is the unification of the Apple ID and phone number in OS X Messages. As described by TheVerge:
Now, if someone calls your phone number for Facetime, you'll be able to answer on your Mac or iPad. The same goes for Messages — if you get an iMessage on your phone, it'll be delivered to your Mac and other iOS devices, even if the sender sent the message to your cell phone number and not your Apple ID email.
Apple will likely coordinate the release OS X Mountain Lion alongside iOS 6. We will learn more tomorrow at Apple's media event.
Thursday January 23, 2025 6:41 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 18.3 should be released to the public next week, following beta testing since mid-December. While the software update is a relatively minor one, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes for iPhones.
Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.3.
Notification Summary Changes
Examples of inaccurate Apple Intelligence notification summaries
Apple Intelligence...
Friday January 24, 2025 1:55 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is set to release iOS 18.3 next week, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a couple of neat new capabilities to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 devices, and bug fixes.
While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.3 still introduces capabilities that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've...
Friday January 24, 2025 8:16 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 18.3 is expected to be widely released next week, and that means the first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner.
Apple has previously implied that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, as that is when it promised to make Apple Intelligence available in even more languages.
Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far.
Apple Intelligence for Siri
Siri ...
Thursday January 23, 2025 7:32 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today.
A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient...
Wednesday January 22, 2025 6:01 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year. In this article, we recap rumored features and changes for the device.
The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV's standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the...
Tuesday January 21, 2025 4:31 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes.
The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
Friday January 24, 2025 9:09 am PST by Juli Clover
The upcoming iPhone 17 models that Apple plans to release this year will not feature a smaller Dynamic Island, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today.
On social media, he said that he is expecting the size of the Dynamic Island to remain "largely unchanged" across the iPhone 17 lineup. His statement is contrary to prior rumors that we've heard about planned changes for the iPhone 17 models.
...
Saturday January 25, 2025 5:07 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's retail stores will be rolling out "merchandise/floor marketing updates" next week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Gurman did not explicitly say if the store updates are related to any upcoming product announcements, but he did mention that next week is around the time that Apple rolls out its annual Black Unity watch band for the Apple Watch.
In each of the past four years, ...
Thursday January 23, 2025 2:48 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
It's also time for Apple's first product announcement of the year.
Last year, Apple said it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and the wireless earbuds are expected to launch very soon.
Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code
In his Power On newsletter last weekend, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the...
Apple has seeded developers with a new build of OS X Mountain Lion (12C50) to developers this evening. The version contains complete release notes as posted by 9to5Mac, suggesting the release is near complete. Apple is holding a media even on Wednesday where they are likely to detail the new iPhone and iOS 6. 
