5 Things to Know About the macOS Sonoma 14.1 Update [u]

Apple’s pulled its macOS Sonoma 14.1 update out of beta testing and Sonoma’s first major upgrade is available to download right now.

macOS Sonoma 14.1 is a milestone upgrade, the first for macOS Sonoma, and the software brings enhancements and under-the-hood improvements to compatible Mac devices.

If your Mac is lingering on macOS Ventura or an older version of macOS, this is the version of macOS Sonoma you’ll see if you decide to move your Mac to the operating system.

With that in mind, we want to take you through everything there you need to know about Apple’s macOS Sonoma 14.1 update for Mac.

Updated on October 27th with new information about performance and details about macOS Sonoma 14.1’s successor. This post was first published on Wednesday, September 27th.

In this guide we’ll outline macOS Sonoma 14.1’s changes, offer some thoughts about the software’s performance, go over the current list of macOS Sonoma problems, and more.

We’ll start with a quick look at macOS Sonoma 14.1’s performance.

macOS Sonoma 14.1 Review

If your Mac is currently running macOS Sonoma, you’ll see a fairly large download, around 600MB. After the download is complete, the installation should take around 10 or so minutes to complete.

For more on the macOS Sonoma 14.1 download and installation, take a look at our guide. It’ll walk you through everything you need to know before you click install.

We’ve been using macOS Sonoma 14.1 on a 16-inch MacBook Pro (2023) for a few days now and the software is still performing at high level. Here’s what we’ve learned about its performance:

macOS Sonoma 14.1 Battery Life & Connectivity

• Battery life is stable right now and we haven’t noticed any abnormal drain
• Wi-Fi connectivity is currently fast and reliable
• Bluetooth is working normally

App Performance

• Third-party apps, including Twitter, Slack, Chrome, and Spotify are working properly
• First party apps like Safari and Podcasts are also stable at the moment

Speed

• macOS Sonoma 14.1 feels fast and we haven’t noticed any UI lag

If your Mac is struggling on macOS Sonoma 14.0, or an older version of macOS, you might want to install macOS Sonoma 14.1 on your Mac today.

If you’re feeling a bit leery, we’ve put together a list of the best reasons to, and not to, install the latest version of macOS Sonoma 14.

macOS Sonoma 14.1 Problems

macOS Sonoma 14.1 went through an extensive beta process. And while testing may have prevented some bugs and performance issues, problems have slipped into the final release.

We haven’t noticed any major bugs or performance issues on our Macs yet, but some users are complaining about bugs and a negative changes to performance.

The early list of macOS Sonoma 14.1 problems includes unstable Wi-Fi, broken Bluetooth, abnormal battery drain, and problems with various first and third-party applications.

If you run into issues on macOS Sonoma 14.1, here are a few resources that could help.

Before you get in touch with Apple’s customer support, have a look at our list of fixes for the most common macOS Sonoma problems. If your Mac’s battery life is struggling, check out our fixes for macOS Sonoma battery life problems.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for in our guides, head over to Apple’s discussion forums. If the users there can’t help you, you might want to get in touch with Apple via its website.

If you still can’t fix your issue(s), you’ll probably want to schedule an appointment at your local Apple Store.

macOS Sonoma 14.1: What’s New

Apple’s milestone updates (x.x) typically bring a mix of changes and that’s what macOS Sonoma 14.1 brings to the table.

macOS Sonoma 14.1 isn’t a huge update, but it delivers enhancements to Apple Music and System Settings and brings two bug fixes for lingering issues.

Here’s the full macOS Sonoma 14.1 change log:

Enhancements

• Favorites expanded in Music to include songs, albums, and playlists, and you can filter to display your favorites in the library
• Apple warranty status for Mac, AirPods, and Beats headphones and earbuds are available in System Settings

Bug Fixes

• Fixes an issue where the System Services settings within Location Services may reset
• Fixes an issue that may prevent encrypted external drives from mounting

The software also carries security patches and Apple’s outlined those changes on its security site. The software patches up issues with Contacts, Emoji, Find My, and more.

macOS Sonoma Downgrade

If you run into problems on macOS Sonoma 14.1, you can try moving your Mac’s software back to an older version if you think it could help.

If you’re interested in moving back to older software, have a look at our downgrade guide. It will help you get familiar with the process and make the move.

What’s Next

Apple’s working on a new macOS Sonoma 14.2 update and the software should arrive later this year, possibly in December alongside iOS 17.2 for iPhone.

If you can’t or simply don’t want to wait that long to use the firmware, you can download a pre-release version onto your Mac via Apple’s beta program.

For more about the macOS Sonoma 14.2 update, have a look at our walkthrough. And for more about the macOS Sonoma 14.2 release date, check out our guide.

Install macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 for Better Security

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If security is important to you, think about installing Apple's macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 update right away. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 includes two security patches and these will help protect your device and it data from harm.  You'll also get patches from updates you missed when you upgrade to macOS Sonoma 14.4.1. macOS Sonoma 14.4 brought 50+ security updates to compatible Mac devices. The update also delivered quantum security protection for iMessage. Apple says the upgrade gives iMessage "the strongest security properties of any at-scale messaging protocol in the world." Apple's macOS Sonoma 14.3 update brought 16 new security patches to Mac. These will help keep your device and its data protected from harm.  macOS Sonoma 14.2.1 featured one security patch and it fixed an issue where a user who shares their screen may unintentionally share the incorrect content. macOS Sonoma 14.2 included a whopping 20 security patches for your Mac. If you want to learn more about them, head here. The software also included iMessage Contact Key Verification which improves the security of iMessage. macOS Sonoma 14.1.2 delivered two security patches, both related to WebKit. These patches were extremely important. macOS Sonoma 14.1 had numerous security patches on board and they addressed issues with Photos, Safari, Siri and more. You can learn more about them over at Apple. macOS Sonoma 14.0, the first version of macOS Sonoma, brought a ton of new security patches to Mac. And when we say a ton, we mean a ton.  It delivered over 50 security updates to Mac users. You can learn more about the particulars over on Apple's security site. In addition to the patches, macOS Sonoma brings additional enhancements to privacy and security including improvements to Communication Safety beyond Messages. It now includes content sent and received in the systemwide photo picker and third-party apps. You also have an option to blur out sensitive photos and videos before you choose to view them. There's also an expanded Lockdown Mode which will help protect you against cyber attacks and improved sharing permissions which means you have more control over what you share with the apps on your device.  If you skipped older versions of macOS, you'll get the security patches from those updates with your macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 update.

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