hoakley Macs, Technology

What has changed in the Mojave 10.14.3 update?

The update from macOS Mojave 10.14.2 to 10.14.3 is the smallest of Mojave’s updates so far, but is still substantial by any reckoning: a download of around 2.3 GB, it installs over 4 GB of updated files. Apple’s release notes only detail one change, an improvement to Kerberos authentication which may be of interest to enterprise users.

Security fixes are also few in number, but of those six are in the kernel, according to Apple’s detailed listing.

There are EFI firmware updates only for models with T2 chips (iMac Pro for certain). The standard installer contains a full set of current firmware updaters. I have already updated my list of current firmware versions.

The bulk of the 10.14.3 update consists of replacement apps and software which have new creation dates, unchanged version numbers, and no mention in any release notes. Thus they have changed, but it’s anyone’s guess as to whether anything works differently. For the record, here are the major apps which this update replaces:

  • App Store
  • Automator
  • Books
  • Calculator
  • Calendar
  • Contacts
  • FaceTime
  • FontBook
  • iTunes, which remains at version 12.9.2
  • Mail, which remains at version 12.2
  • Maps
  • Messages
  • News, which remains at version 4.1.1
  • Photos
  • Preview
  • Safari, which advances to version 12.0.3, fixing vulnerabilities in WebKit
  • TextEdit, which stays at version 1.14
  • Activity Monitor
  • Console
  • Disk Utility
  • Terminal, which remains at version 2.9.1
  • Voice Memos, which remains at version 2.0.

A great deal of the command tools and other files in /usr are also replaced, as is a lot of Marzipan iOSSupport. Most of the apps, tools and components in /System/Library/CoreServices are replaced, as are most extensions, and most public and private frameworks.

TCC’s AllowApplicationsList.plist remains with the older version 15.0 installed in 10.14.2, having reverted from an earlier update to 16.0.

APFS has been updated from version 945.230.6 in 10.14.2 to 945.241.4 in 10.14.3 – the smallest increment that I can recall since Apple first released the first version of APFS in Sierra.

The pace of change – and fixing of bugs – in Mojave has changed quite dramatically. Perhaps the 10.14.4 update around the end of March will bring some changes in preparation for macOS 10.15.

Postscript:

It looks like 10.14.3 fixes at least three of the bugs in the list I have kept for 10.14.2. Further details are coming tomorrow (Thu 24) in a new list of bugs for 10.14.3.