5 Things to Know About the macOS Ventura 13.3 Update

Apple’s pushed its new macOS Ventura 13.3 update to Mac users.

macOS Ventura 13.3 is a milestone upgrade and it brings a new batch of features, enhancements, bug fixes, and security patches to Mac devices.

If you’re still lingering on macOS Monterey or an older version of macOS, this is the version of macOS Ventura you’ll see if you decide to move your Mac to Apple’s latest operating system.

If you’re moving up from macOS Monterey or older, macOS Ventura 13.3 will deliver the features from macOS Ventura 13.2.1, macOS Ventura 13.2, macOS Ventura 13.1, macOS Ventura 13.0.1, and macOS Ventura 13.0.

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

We’ll start out with some quick impressions about macOS Ventura 13.3 update’s performance.

macOS Ventura 13.3 Review

If your Mac is currently running macOS Ventura 13.2.1, you’ll see a fairly large download. The download will be even bigger if you’re jumping up from macOS Monterey or an older version of macOS.

For more on the macOS Ventura 13.3 download and installation, take a look at our guide. It’ll walk you through everything you need to know.

We’ve been using the macOS Ventura 13.3 update on a MacBook Pro (2017) for several days now and here’s what we’ve learned about its performance thus far:

Connectivity

• Battery life is stable right now.
• Wi-Fi connectivity is fast and reliable.
• Bluetooth is working normally.

App Performance

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

Speed

• macOS Ventura 13.3 feels fast, we haven’t noticed any UI lag.

If your Mac is struggling on macOS Ventura 13.2.1 or an older version of macOS, you might want to install macOS Ventura 13.3 on your Mac today.

We’ve put together a list of the best reasons to, and not to, install the latest version of macOS Ventura and it will help if you’re feeling especially leery.

macOS Ventura 13.3 Problems

macOS Ventura 13.3 went through a lengthy beta process, but problems have slipped through the cracks into the final release.

We haven’t noticed any major bugs or performance issues on our MacBook’s yet, but some users are complaining about bugs and performance issues.

The current list of problems includes abnormal battery drain, Wi-Fi issues, Bluetooth problems, and problems with various first and third-party applications. If you run into issues with the software, 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 Ventura problems. If your Mac’s battery life is struggling, check out our fixes for macOS Ventura 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 Support via Twitter or with customer support via Apple’s website.

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

macOS Ventura 13.3 Features

Apple’s milestone updates (x.x) typically bring a mix of new features, enhancements, and fixes and that’s what you’ll get from macOS Ventura 13.3.

Here are the changes on board macOS Ventura 13.3:

New Features

• New emoji characters including pink heart, a shaking face, and a jellyfish.
• Remove background option in Freeform automatically isolates the subject in your image.
• Photos duplicates album expands support to detect duplicate photos and videos in an iCloud Shared Photo Library.
• Transliteration support for Gujarati, Punjabi and Urdu keyboards.
• New keyboard layouts for Choctaw, Chickasaw, Akan, Hausa, and Yoruba.
• Accessibility setting to automatically dim video when flashes of light or strobe effects are detected.
• VoiceOver support for maps in the Weather app.

Bug Fixes

• Fixes an issue impacting file sharing via SMB.
• Resolves an issue where Trackpad gestures may occasionally stop responding.
• Fixes an issue where Ask to Buy requests from children may fail to appear on the parent’s device.
• Addresses an issue where VoiceOver may be unresponsive after using Finder.

macOS Ventura 13.3 also brings new security patches to Mac and you can read about those in detail over on Apple’s security site.

macOS Ventura 13.3 Downgrade

If you run into problems on macOS Ventura 13.3 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 back.

What’s Next

If your Mac is struggling on macOS Ventura 13.3 or an older version of macOS, you’ll be on your own for a bit.

Apple’s confirmed a new macOS Ventura 13.4 update and the software is currently in beta testing ahead of a release later on this year.

For more about the macOS Ventura 13.4 update and the beta, have a look at our walkthrough. For more about the macOS Ventura 13.4 release date, check out our guide.

We could see a new version of macOS Ventura, macOS Ventura 13.3.1, roll out ahead of macOS Ventura 13.4 so keep an eye out for that software.

Apple will also release macOS 14 for Mac later this year and we expect the first beta to drop in early June during WWDC 2023. For more about macOS 14, check out our guide.

Install macOS Ventura 13.6.6 for Better Security

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If you want to protect your Mac and its data from harm, you'll want to download the latest version of macOS Ventura. macOS Ventura 13.6.6 has two security patches on board, both important, and that means most Mac users should download the software today.  As for older updates, macOS Ventura 13.6.5 brought 20+ security patches to Mac while macOS Ventura 13.6.4 delivered 10 security updates. macOS Ventura 13.6.3 also had several patches on board. If you're interested in the particulars, you can dig a little deeper on Apple's security site. macOS Ventura 13.6.1 patched up issues with FindMy, PassKeys, and more. You can learn more about these patches right here. Apple's macOS Ventura 13.6 update had a trio of security patches on board. Check out the company's security site for more info. macOS Ventura 13.5.2 brought one security patch with it and it was an important one. If you want more information about the fix, head over to Apple. macOS Ventura 13.5 brought 29 security patches to Mac. To learn more about these patches, head over to Apple's website.  macOS Ventura 13.4.1 had two essential security patches on board. If you want to learn more about them, head on over to Apple's website. Apple's macOS Security Response 13.4.1 (c) update also included a security update and you can learn more about it right here. macOS Ventura 13.4 had numerous security updates on board and you can read more about them on Apple's security site. macOS Ventura 13.3.1 patched up two actively exploited vulnerabilities which made it an important download. You can learn about the two patches right here. The macOS Ventura 13.3 update brought numerous security patches to Macs. If you want to learn more about these changes, check out Apple's guide. macOS Ventura 13.2.1 brought four security patches to compatible Mac models. You can read more about those over on Apple's security site. The macOS Ventura 13.2 update brought 25 security patches to Mac devices. You can read about those right here. In addition, the software came with support for physical security keys for Apple ID. These will beef up your account security by requiring a physical security key as part of the two factor authentication sign in process. Learn more about the change right here. macOS Ventura 13.1 delivered 35 security patches and it also brought upgrades to Advanced Data Protection for iCloud. macOS Ventura 13.0.1 brought two security patches and the first version of macOS Ventura, macOS Ventura 13.0, had a ton of patches on board.

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