[NewsPoster]

Having missed its usual beta cycle last week, Apple on Monday updated all of its OS platforms alongside a potential bug-fix release of iTunes, which also incorporates some design tweaks to the venerable media-management program. Updated today is OS X (to version 10.11.5), iOS (to 9.3.2), tvOS (9.2.1), watchOS (2.2.1), and iTunes for OS X has been bumped to version 12.4, which addresses a potential risk of accidental music deletion for a small number of users.

According to Apple, "the OS El Capitan 10.11.5 update improves the stability, compatibility and security of you Mac, and is recommended for all El Capitan users." As with most of the other releases, the focus in the latest update has been bug fixes and performance updates rather than any new features. Security improvements have also been made as with iOS and the others, and the OS X update is available through the Mac App Store.

Shipping 46 days after the last main update, the iOS 9.3.2 update restores the ability to use Apple's color-shifting technology Night Shift, which lessens the amount of blue light emitted on iOS displays after sundown in an effort to reduce eye fatigue, in Low Power Mode. The Night Shift feature had been disabled when Low Power Mode was in effect during the beta cycle. The update also fixes a number of bugs, ranging from occasional Dictionary lookup failures to a problem with the new iPhone SE having audio-quality issues with calls over a Bluetooth headset.

Also fixed in iOS 9.3.2 was an issue with VoiceOver for device switch users using the Alex voice, where the voice would change when speaking punctuation or some other items. Another issue resolved was a bug that prevented Japanese Kana keyboard users from typing email addresses in Mail or Messages. Finally, the update also squashes a bug that could stop multi-device-management (MDM) servers from installing some custom B2B apps in some circumstances. The update can be obtained through the Settings app, under General: Software Update.

Unlike OS X and iOS, tvOS 9.2.1 and watchOS 2.2.1 were tested only by developers during their eight-week beta cycle. There are no notable new features or major fixes, with the usual "performance enhancements and bug fixes" notation from Apple. The tvOS release is only for Apple's fourth-generation Apple TV device and is downloaded through the device itself, while the watchOS release is an update for Apple Watch owners running watchOS 2.0 or later. The latter must be installed through the Apple Watch app on the user's iPhone.

So how many of the MacOS bugs that I've reported does this update NOT fix? Like, clicking on a window in another application doesn't completely activate the other window and you have to click on it twice... or, updating a Reminders list doesn't actually save the re-ordered items upon Quit because you also have to update it on BOTH your Mac AND your iDevice... or any of the other bugs that I've reported?

[Charles Martin]

Both of the "bugs" you describe there are not actual bugs, since they can't consistently be reproduced (I can't reproduce them at all, for example). Most "bugs" reported are dependent on a user's particularly setup, extensions, customizations, work habits, and many other individual factors. A genuine bug can easily be reproduced across multiple machines, with individual possible factors eliminated.

Try including the results of your testing on multiple Macs and comparing to other versions if you want to get your "bugs" taken seriously. Video capture of the same operation failing on OS X 10.11.x versus 10.10.x succeeding, or 10.11.previous version, for example, would be a big help.

Like a developer, essentially.

Originally Posted by Charles Martin 

Both of the "bugs" you describe there are not actual bugs

Yes they are. They are incorrect behaviors in the MacOS that Apple should fix.

I don't have a video, but I can give you a before-and-after pair of screenshots. Let's say that I have a Finder window open, Safari tabs, and a TextEdit document. I start typing a bunch of stuff into TextEdit:



While still using TextEdit, I click back on the already-displayed Safari window, and this is what happens... notice that the Safari window appears in the front but the menubar still says that I am in TextEdit:



Sometimes this occurs, and sometimes it doesn't. I haven't been able to pinpoint the mechanism to reproduce it consistently. Nothing is printed into the Console when the bug happens. This is still a problem in 10.11.5.

And I did compare it to other versions, so I am taking it seriously... this was not a problem in 10.9 or 10.10.

[Mike Wuerthele]

Huh, I wonder why that's happening to you. I just tried it across a few different machines (with the same NWS URL), and couldn't get your behavior to exhibit.

Wacky. You'd said you reported this, right?

Yep, right here:

http://forums.macnn.com/90/mac-os-x/...s/#post4334618

See "New bugs in 10.11" number 12

The URL, content of TextEdit, or arrangement of folders doesn't matter. Heck I've seen it happen between TeXShop and Safari, or NeoOffice and TextEdit.

And that thread also lists the many other (probably still current) bugs/issues/whatever that Apple has not remedied.

[Flying Meat]

You reported it here, but did you report it to Apple?

Why? Doesn't matter, they should already know it's been a problem since 10.11 final as far as I can tell.

[Mike Wuerthele]

Because the bugs you've reported to us aren't universal. The rarer the bug, the harder it is to reproduce across a variety of configurations, the more unique reports they need to lock it down, or even work on it in the first place.

That's why.

Very well. I have sent 12 bug reports to Apple.