Release: macOS Catalina 10.15.5

Alongside the release of iOS & iPadOS 13.5 last week, Apple has released the sixth 10.15 update for macOS Catalina this morning for all compatible Macs and is available for free via the software update tab in System Preferences app. The update ports the widely popular battery management feature from the iPhone & iPad to the Mac, in addition to bug fixes and performance improvements.

Compatible models & how to download

• MacBook (all models)

• MacBook Air ~ 2012 and later

• MacBook Pro ~ 2012 and later

• Mac mini ~ 2012 and later

• iMac ~ 2012 and later

• iMac Pro (all models)

• Mac Pro ~ 2013 and later

• macOS Catalina 10.15 (system preferences > software update > check for update)

• macOS Mojave 10.14 (Mac App Store > download macOS Catalina 10.15)

macOS 10.15.5 Changes

Battery Health Management (MacBook only)

Helps maximise battery lifespan for MacBooks;

Energy Saver preference pane now displays battery condition and recommends battery servicing;

Option to disable.

The battery health management feature in macOS 10.15.5 is designed to improve your battery's lifespan by reducing the rate at which it chemically ages. The feature does this by monitoring your battery's temperature history and its charging patterns. Based on the measurements it collects, battery health management may reduce your battery's maximum charge when in this mode. This happens as needed to ensure that your battery charges to a level that's optimised for your usage – reducing wear on the battery, and slowing its chemical ageing.

All MacBook models use lithium-ion batteries that charge quickly, are long lasting and currently provide the best technology to power a laptop. As they age, components become less effective. The lifespan depends on its chemical age – i.e. temperature history and charging pattern. As the battery ages chemically, the charging capacity gets smaller.

How to disable the battery health management feature

1. Click the Apple menu '';

2. Click 'System Preferences';

3. Click 'Energy Saver';

4. Click 'Battery Health';

5. Deselect 'Battery health management';

6. Click 'OK';

7. Click 'Turn Off'.

Group FaceTime

'Automatic Prominence' feature launched in iOS & iPadOS 13.5 available on macOS; New "Automatic Prominence" setting (FaceTime App > Preferences > Automatic Prominence);

Toggle automatic larger tile size on and off when someone is speaking in Group FaceTime.

Pro Display XDR

Addition of controls to fine-tune the built-in calibration of the Pro Display XDR;

Adjusts the white point and luminance for a precise match to your own display-calibration target.

Bug Fixes

Fixed issues that:

1. Prevented notifications for recurring reminders in Reminders app;

2. Prevented password entry on the login screen;

3. Continued to show a notification badge after installing updates in System Preferences;

4. Didn't detect Build-in camera after using a video conferencing app;

5. Prevented Internal speakers appearing as a sound output device in sound preferences (T2 chip);

6. Stability issue when up/downloading media from iCloud Photo Library while Mac is asleep;

7. Stability issue when transferring large amounts of data to RAID volumes;

8. Didn't reduce animation speed in Group FaceTime when 'Reduced Motion Accessibility' enabled.

Enterprise Changes

Fixed issues that:

1. Prevented Exchange sign-in during account setup when using Conditional Access;

2. Prevented displays connected to MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) from waking from sleep.

Performance improvements:

1. When enabling hardware acceleration in GPU-intensive apps, such as video conferencing.

Changes & releases:

1. Apple Push Notification Service traffic now uses web proxy when specified in a PAC file via the Proxies payload
   

2. Major new releases of macOS are no longer hidden when using the softwareupdate(8) command with the --ignore flag. This change also affects macOS Mojave and macOS High Sierra after installing Security Update 2020-003.