macOS Monterey 12.4 Update! Universal Control no Longer in Beta

The macOS Monterey 12.4 (21F79) Update is now Available.

UPDATED: 05/16

The 12.4 update is the sixth overall for macOS Monterey. The previous update 12.3.1, was released a month and a half ago. Let’s jump in and find out what’s new in this update.

Quick Summary

1. Changes – Universal Control is now officially out of “Beta”
2. Enhancements – Podcast app changes
3. Bug fixes – 1 software bug addressed for the 2013 Mac Pro. Sleep wake panic fixed with the 430.120.6.0.0 firmware update.
4. Security Updates – 54 Security fixes!!!
5. Full installer and M1 IPSW – Full installer & M1 IPSW file are now available to download.
6. Safari – Version 15.5 (17613.2.7.1.8) is included in the 12.4 update. For Big Sur and Catalina, Safari is available as a separate download.
7. Xcode – Version 13.4 & Command Line tools released.
8. Studio Display – 15.5 Firmware released (12.4 update required)
9. Device Support Update – This update ensures proper updating and restoring for iOS and iPadOS devices with a Mac.
10. Universal Control NOTE: Universal Control in this release isn’t compatible with macOS 12.3 and iOS 15.4.Workaround: Use Universal Control between macOS 12.4 and iOS 15.5. (91136128)

macOS Monterey Patch Notes Summary

• 1. New Features – 0
• 2. Enhancements – 2
• 3. Resolved Issues – 1
• 4. Security Fixes – 54!
• 5. Enterprise Fixes – 6

Full Apple OS Release list

iOS 📱✅

• iOS 15.5 (19F77)
• iPadOS 15.5 (19F77)
• tvOS 15.5 (19L570)
• audioOS 15.5 (19L570)
• watchOS 8.6 (19T572)

macOS 💻 ✅

• Big Sur 11.6.6 (20G624)
• Catalina 2022-004 (19H1922)
• Xcode – 13.4
• Command Line Tools for Xcode 13.4
• Apple Studio Firmware Update 15.5 (19F77)

Table of Contents

• 1. Apple Links
• 2. Undocumented macOS Monterey Update changes & fixes
• 3. Monterey Release History
• 4. macOS Monterey Full Installer.app
• 5. Apple Silicon IPSW Restore file Update
• 6. macOS Monterey Update sizes for Intel and M1
• 7. Apple Silicon M1 Firmware Update
• 8. Intel T2 BridgeOS Update
• 9. Safari Update
• 10. What’s new for enterprise in macOS Monterey
• 11. Security Content of macOS Monterey
• 12. macOS Monterey Release Notes / Patch Notes / Changes

Click “Continue Reading” for the rest of the article.

1. Apple Links

AppleSeed Notes Link = appleseed.apple.com/

Developer Public Link = developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes

macOS Deployment References Changes – https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment-reference-macos/document-revision-history-apd04dff7069/web

2. Undocumented macOS Monterey changes & fixes

• 1. None

3. Monterey Release History

• 19. Monterey 12.4 (21F79) – 5/16/22
• 18. Monterey 12.3.1 (21E258) – 3/31/22 – My Release Notes
• 17. Monterey 12.3 (21E230) – 3/14/22 – My Release Notes
• 16. Monterey 12.2.1 (21D62) – 2/10/22 – My Release Notes
• 15. Monterey 12.2 (21D49) -1/24/22 – My Release Notes
• 14. Monterey 12.1 (21C52) – 12/13/21 – My Release Notes
• 13. Monterey 12.0.1 Final (21A559) – 10/25/21 – My Release Notes
• 12. Monterey 12.0.1 RC2 (21A559) – 10/21/21 – My Release Notes
• 11. Monterey 12.0.1 RC (21A558) – 10/18/21 – My Release Notes
• 10. Monterey Beta 10 (21A5552a) – 10/13/21 – My Release Notes
• 9. Monterey Beta 9 (21A5543b) – 10/06/21 – My Release Notes
• 8. Monterey Beta 8 (21A5534d) – 9/28/21 – My Release Notes
• 7. Monterey Beta 7 (21A5522h) – 9/21/21 – My Release Notes
• 6. Monterey Beta 6 (21A5506j) – 8/30/21 – My Release Notes
• 5. Monterey Beta 5 (21A5304g) – 8/09/21 – My Release Notes
• 4. Monterey Beta 4 (21A5294g) – 7/27/21 – My Release Notes
• 3. Monterey Beta 3 (21A5284e) – 7/14/21 – My Release Notes
• 2. Monterey Beta 2 (21A5268h) – 6/28/21 – My Release Notes
• 1. Monterey Beta 1 (21A5248p) – 6/07/21 – No Release Notes

4. macOS Monterey Full Installer.app

Apple has released the full installer for macOS Monterey. I list all the of the macOS Monterey Full installers in the link below.

https://mrmacintosh.com/macos-12-monterey-full-installer-database-download-directly-from-apple/

InstallAssistant.pkg = Full download. Installing this package will add the full “Install macOS Monterey.app” to your applications folder.

5. Apple Silicon IPSW Restore file Update

Apple has released the full IPSW restore file of macOS Monterey for Apple Silicon M1 Macs. I keep track of all of them in my Apple Silicon Firmware Database

Get them here –> https://mrmacintosh.com/apple-silicon-m1-full-macos-restore-ipsw-firmware-files-database/

6. macOS Monterey Update sizes for Intel and M1

Monterey Delta Update

The delta update will automatically change in size for exactly what your macOS version needs.

• 1. Delta from macOS Monterey 12.3.1 (21E258) = 2.3GB
• 2. Delta from macOS Monterey 12.3 (21E230) = 2.3 GB
• 3. Delta from macOS Monterey 12.2.1 (21D62) = 4.4GB
• 4. Delta from macOS Monterey 12.2 (21D48) = 4.4GB
• 5. Delta from macOS Monterey 12.1 (21C52) = 4.4GB
• 6. Delta from macOS Monterey 12.0.1 (21A559) = 4.5GB
• 7. Full update size = 11.3 GB

Thank you DhinakG

Monterey Combo Update

The “Combo Update” has been replaced by an automatic sized update. This means if you are updating from an version of monterey, you will get an update that includes only the files that you need.

7. Apple Silicon M1 Firmware Update

This update has a new firmware update. The version number is reported in System Information under “System Firmware Version“

Apple Silicon M1 Firmware – Updated!

• 7. macOS Monterey 12.4 = 7459.121.3
• 6. macOS Monterey 12.3.1 = 7459.101.3
• 5. macOS Monterey 12.3 = 7459.101.2
• 4. macOS Monterey 12.2.1 = 7429.81.3
• 3. macOS Monterey 12.2 = 7429.81.3
• 2. macOS Monterey 12.1 = 7429.61.2
• 1. macOS Monterey 12.0.1 = 7429.41.5

8. Intel T2 BridgeOS Update

The Version of BridgeOS for your T2 Security Chip (2018-2020 Intel Macs) was updated.

BridgeOS version – Updated

• 7. macOS Monterey 12.4 = 19.16.15071
• 6. macOS Monterey 12.3.1 = 19.16.14243
• 5. macOS Monterey 12.3 = 19.16.14242.5.1
• 4. macOS Monterey 12.2.1 = 19.16.10744.0.0 (Same as 12.2)
• 3. macOS Monterey 12.2 = 19.16.10744.0.0
• 2. macOS Monterey 12.1 = 19.16.10647.0.0
• 1. macOS Monterey 12.0.1 = 19.16.10548.0.0

9. Safari Update

The new version of Safar 15 is included in the macOS Monterey update.

Safari = UPDATED!

• 7. macOS Monterey 12.4 = 15.5 (17613.2.7.1.8)
• 6. macOS Monterey 12.3.1 = 15.4 (17613.1.17.1.13)
• 5. macOS Monterey 12.3 = 15.4 (17613.1.17.1.6)
• 4. macOS Monterey 12.2.1 = 15.3 (17612.4.9.1.8)
• 3. macOS Monterey 12.2 = 15.3 (17612.4.9.1.5)
• 2. macOS Monterey 12.1 = 15.2 (17612.3.6.1.6)
• 1. macOS Monterey 12.0.1 = 15.1 (17612.2.9.1.20)

10. What’s new for Enterprise in macOS Monterey

Enterprise changes in macOS Monterey 12.4

1. Adds support for signing in with a Managed Apple ID that is federated with Google Workspace.
2. MDMs can query additional update status information after an Install Later command.
3. Resolves an issue where the network becomes unresponsive using multiple Network Extensions or a Network Extension with an Ethernet adapter.
4. Resolves an issue where the Kerberos SSO extension may fail to reconnect or sign in automatically.
5. Fixes an issue where links to Microsoft Teams fail to open from Safari.
6. Resolves an issue on Intel-based Mac computers where entering the firmware password was required to return to the login window after attempting a password reset.

https://support.apple.com/HT212586

11. Security Content of macOS Monterey

macOS Monterey Security Document

Security fixes

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT213257

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222

12. macOS Monterey Release Notes

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes

Overview

macOS Monterey 12.4 — Restart Required

macOS Monterey 12.4 includes enhancements to Apple Podcasts and bug fixes:

• Apple Podcasts includes a new setting to limit episodes stored on your Mac and automatically delete older ones
• Support for Studio Display Firmware Update 15.5, available as a separate update, refines camera tuning, including improved noise reduction, contrast, and framing

Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222