macOS 15.4 & iOS 18.4 Betas Include Some Minor Surprises

This week, Apple released the third betas of both macOS 15.4 and iOS 18.4, and they both include a few changes that may surprise some users. 

macOS Sequoia 15.4

In the current public version of macOS Sequoia, version 15.3.1, users with an Apple Silicon-powered Mac can quickly see how much storage space Apple Intelligence features are using on their Mac’s hard drive. Users simply need to go to System Settings > General > Storage, then click on the circled “i” next to macOS.

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However, as first spotted by MacRumors, betas two and three of the macOS 15.4 update no longer offer any additional information about the amount of storage being used by Apple Intelligence files — at least not in a standard configuration.

If the user has System Integrity Protection (SIP) disabled on their Mac, clicking the “i” results in the information being displayed again. However, most folks won’t likely find themselves in this situation; SIP protects your Mac’s system by preventing unauthorized code from being executed, and it can only be disabled by entering Recovery Mode. While disabling SIP is handy for developers testing their apps, disabling the feature is not recommended for most users, and few are likely to jump through the extra hoops to do it anyway.

As noted by developer @b3lla_dev, Apple disables the ability to view the Apple Intelligence assets unless SIP is turned off. This prevents the System Settings app from being able to retrieve the file size of the data that’s stored for Apple Intelligence.

According to Apple’s support page, the assets for Apple Intelligence can take up to 7 GB of storage space on compatible iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

iOS 18.4

Apple is beta testing iOS 18.4 for an expected public release in April. Once released to the public, HomeKit users who haven’t updated to the latest system architecture may be forced to do so.

iPhone, iPad, and Mac users have had the option to upgrade to new HomeKit architecture since March 2023 when iOS 16.4 was released alongside iPadOS 16.4 and macOS Ventura 13.3. The new architecture is designed to be faster, offer more reliable performance, and provide optimizations for smart homes with a lot of accessories installed.

However, as users often do, many were reluctant to update. It didn’t help that Apple temporarily pulled the new architecture in December 2022 after many iOS 16.2 beta users found their HomeKit devices becoming stuck in an updating” or “configuring” status and even going missing in the app. Other issues also surfaced during that testing, such as HomeKit Secure Video recording not working, and Home invitations to other users not going through properly. That last one may have been impacted by a mix of newer and older software versions as everyone sharing the home needed to have all their devices on the latest iOS, iPadOS, and macOS releases.

Aside from the problems, that issue left many users deciding to skip applying the update. Even after it was fully rolled out, the new architecture breaks support for the Home app on devices running older iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS versions.

Now, code in iOS 18.4 beta 3 unearthed by Aaron Perris indicates Apple will drop support for the original HomeKit architecture. Perris found code strings that include the warning “Support for your current version of Apple Home will end soon. Update now to avoid interruptions with your accessories and automations.”

While Apple dropping support for the old HomeKit architecture when iOS 18.4 is released to the public isn’t set in stone, the code strings found in the last two betas indicate Apple is certainly mulling it over.

Keep in mind that all of the above changes are happening in betas, so things could change before macOS Sequoia 15.4 and iOS 18.4 are released to the public in April.