On May 27th, 2020, Apple has released an update for macOS Catalina, the update was macOS Catalina 10.15.5. The update was around 3GB in size, depending upon your device the update size will vary. However, if you are not on Catalina you will not get the update. Moving on, the update brings some new features along with a lot of bug fixes and security features.
As a whole, the update is majorly focused on stability and system optimization. The update also brings a Battery Health feature to all the users who have MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air. According to the apple, the update will increase the battery life of your device and your battery will last longer than usual both in the long term as well as a short term used when the feature is turned on.
Battery Health Management Feature –
One of the most talked features of macOS Catalina 10.15.5 is battery health management feature. The feature is only available to the devices that have batteries in them, which are MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air. Furthermore, among these devices also the features will come to those with thunderbolt 3 built-in. In other words, MacBook’s Pro from 2016 and MacBook’s Air from 2018 and onwards will get this new feature. If you are using an older MacBook device or Desktop unfortunately the latest version of macOS could not be installed on your computer and you will not get this feature.
How does it work?
There are multiple things that affect battery consumption and even a small difference in usage affects it.
- The application you are using
- Room Temperature
- Internet is on or not
- Media Consumption like music and video
- Screen Brightness
- Background Tasks
Battery Health Management feature will work on two factors. It will track and record these pattern and how does it affect your machine. Based on these two factors the system will automatically adjust and set the optimum maximum charging level for your battery.
Also See: How To Take A Screenshot On A Mac
- Charging Pattern
This factor deals with how you are using your battery, which includes tracking how often you charge your battery, how much you are using your battery both plugged in and without. Obviously, this will vary from user to user.
Depending upon your daily tasks and operation the charging pattern will gather all the information. This will help you to see how the battery is using and you can track your usage as well. Furthermore, you can also manage the life of your battery by managing your tasks.
- Temperature History
The second factor is the temperature history that is how much temperature or heat is been generated. If you are a user who uses a lot of graphics rendering, editing, or video rendering, editing software a lot of heat is generated. Furthermore, intensive gaming also causes a lot of heat.
With battery health management you can track down what application or tasks have generated more heat and temperature. Which will again help you in managing your tasks and managing the battery health?
Turning ON & OFF the Battery Health Management Feature:
You still have the freedom to turn the feature on and off depending upon your usage, if you are going to somewhere or travelling you might want to turn it off and use the actual total capacity of the battery.
- STEP 1. Go to System Preferences > Energy Saver
- STEP 2. Below click on Battery Health Button
- STEP 3. Now simply Uncheck Battery Health Management
- STEP 4. Click Turn off button
Other Features & Bug Fixes on MacOS Catalina 10.15.5 –
Now let’s see what other features this new update brings. The new update brings a lot of security updates along with performance improvements. Below are some of the important bug fixes and features.
- Facetime Automatic Prominence: If you are familiar with IOS 13 you must have seen this feature in action. What this feature does is, whenever you face time with multiple people, it automatically detects the person who is speaking and bring the tile of that person closer and bigger. Well now, this feature is also included in the macOS Catalina.
To access or make changes to feature, you simply need to open Facetime > Preferences > At the bottom you have the Automatic Prominence option.
- Added Display Profiles: This feature is exclusive to Pro Display XDR that is if you have Apple’s expensive 6 K monitor. You have some more colour profiles suited for your need. You now have the ability to fine-tune the colour calibration. This is very useful if you are a graphic designer or video editor. You can adjust displays white point illuminance etc.
To access this feature, Head to Settings > Displays > Color Tab > Choose Color Profile as per your desire
- Reminder Bug Fix: Earlier there were some issues with the reminder application that is, the app was unable to notify you for recurring reminders. From this update, it has been fixed and you will now get all your reminder notification without any issue.
- Password Entry on Login Screen: A lot of users have faced this issue before the update users were unable to enter the password on the login screen which is quite not good as you are unable to get into the system. Well, the issue has been fixed with this latest update.
- Settings Badge Bug Fix: Before the latest update, there used to a badge or notification on the settings icon, and even after updating the system the badge used to remain at the settings icon. This issue has also been fixed and now it will be disappeared properly.
- Built-in Camera Bug Fix: If you have been using the zoom app or similar conference call app you would be familiar with the bug. Actually, whenever a user uses the conference call app and then closes it, again when trying to open the app, the camera was not working properly. Well, the bug has been fixed now.
- Sound Bug Fix: If you have a MacBook equipped with a T2 security chip, there was a bug that doesn’t let the speakers show up properly. The bug is no longer exist with the new update.
- Sync Bug Fix: For some reason when your device gets into sleep mode all your photos and data sync was not working properly it has also been fixed.
- Raid Bug Fix: If you use RAID on your MacBook pro or you are using external raid there were issues with transferring large amounts of data. This system stability bug has been fixed.
- Microsoft Account Exchange: There were issues when using the Microsoft account exchange as users were unable to sign in while setting up. Now users can easily sign in.
- Wake up Bug: There were some issues with external monitors if your system is connected to 16inch MacBook pro, the screen was not waking up. With this update, it has also been resolved.
How to Install the Update –
The installation process is fairly simple. Follow the below steps to update your macOS Catalina 10.15.5
- STEP 1. Click on the Apple Icon, and go to System Preferences
- STEP 2. Here click on Software Update
- STEP 3. Make sure you are connected to the Internet, the system will check for the update
- STEP 4. Finally, click on the Update now button to download and install the update
Wrapping Up:
MacOS Catalina 10.15.5 surely comes with a lot of new things, the update is more focused on security, system stability, and bug fixes. Furthermore, it is also equipped with features like battery health management, new colour profiles, and facetime automatic prominence. With this update, you will find your system working more smooth and better.
