See About the security content of macOS Sonoma 14.4.1
Apple released a small but important macOS Sonoma Update yesterday to resolve known issues with the initial 14.4 release about three weeks back.
As a music professional I have not run into any of the reported PACE/iLok issues. Looks like I got lucky?
As of this morning my M1 Max 16inch MacBook Pro desktop laptop setup is running fine, per usual. Some of Logic Pro‘s long standing bugs are still present but hey what’s new? Logic is a fundamentally broken piece of music production software and yet I still use it daily and have a long standing love hate relationship with it. But that’s a longer post for another day.
Maybe PlugSearch by speakerfood is the solution to some of Logic Pro’s missing features?
Should You Upgrade Your Current macOS?
If you’re currently running any build of macOS Sonoma, especially 14.4 I don’t see any reason not to upgrade to 14.4.1. If you’re running a Ventura based studio I would stick with that macOS a little longer and consider running the corresponding Ventura update 13.6.6 released yesterday as well. So that way your machine has the latest security patches.
Sonoma compatibility and support continues to be ironed out by third party developers.
For more information on the current state of Sonoma compatibility check out the following resources:
Sweetwater: macOS Sonoma Compatibility Guide
Apple: macOS Sonoma is compatible with these computers
Production Expert: macOS Sonoma Compatibility
As I wrote in my previous post Certified Refurbished M3 Pro and Max MacBooks Available.
“The following companies have issued reports about 14.4 compatibility issues.
Avid
UAD
LiquidSonics
Neural DSP
Among others see Apple Forums
I myself am running macOS Sonoma 14.4 (as of this writing I have upgraded to 14.4.1) on an M1 Max MacBook Pro and have not had any issues with Pro Tools Ultimate, Logic Pro, Ableton 12, Cubase 12 or Vienna Ensemble Pro 7 as of late. My current templates and active projects have all been working fine.”
With the release of PRO TOOLS 2024.3 (MARCH 2024), I am back to running Pro Tools fully natively for Apple Silicon and it’s blazing fast so far. The other day a project with about a 19 min ish timeline bounced the fastest offline render I’ve ever seen with my current software and hardware stack. Exciting stuff!
Most of the PACE/iLok issues should be resolved with 14.4.1, per Mac Rumors release notes below, but as always further testing and official statements from those affected companies are needed.
“There have been reports of compatibility issues with PACE products in macOS 14.4, including the iLok License Manager, connected to Apple silicon Macs running macOS 14.4. The problem specifically impacts plugins from various manufacturers that are safeguarded by PACE/iLok, including those made by Universal Audio, when used with host DAWs such as Logic Pro. Apple’s release notes for macOS 14.4.1 say the update provides a fix for cases in which “copy protected Audio Unit plug-ins designed for professional music apps may not open or pass validation.”
If you’re in the middle of a project with upcoming deadline I would suggest that one consider avoiding major macOS updates. Updating from macOS Sonoma 14.4 to 14.4.1 is excluded from this if you have PACE/iLok plugins that are breaking and crashing resulting in production slow downs.
Upgrade at your own risk.
Reviews
Six Colors: macOS Sonoma Review: Small moves
The Verge: macOS Sonoma Review
Mac Rumors: macOS Sonoma
Apple Insider: macOS
PC Mag: Apple macOS Sonoma Review
Music Listened To While Writing This Post
Nature Of All Things – Nikhil Koparkar & Kunal Gunja
The Black Album – Metallica
Links And Things
Follow Me On Threads: ianlecheminantthreads.net
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Written on MacBook Pro and iPad Pro using Drafts Pro in Markdown.
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