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Other than macOS being less customizable than I’m used to (is Linux my primary operating system), there’s little to complain about. However, something has started to bother me lately… update notifications.
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You see, it is very important to keep your OS and installed software as up to date as possible. Updates fix security issues and other vulnerabilities. If you leave software out of date, you run the risk of bad things happening (like losing data, crashing your OS, or getting hacked).
Aside from the leaks, MacOS doesn’t do a very good job of notifying users when there is a software update. Sure enough, if you open the Apple menu over and over again, eventually you’ll see a notification for the update there. But that Apple menu isn’t the first, second or third thing I click during my Macbook Pro,
Because of that, I’m not always on top of updates like I am with Linux. Why? Because most Linux distributions make it very clear when software updates are available. Apple’s operating system needs a little hand-holding. Fortunately, the developers have made it possible to change that behavior enough that you won’t miss the update.
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Let me show you how to make this easy change.
How to enable software update notifications
what you’ll need: The only thing you will need is an Apple device running macOS. I’ll be demonstrating this on MacOS Ventura 13.4.
Click on the Apple menu and then click on Settings.
Here is one place where information can be found. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNet
From within Settings, click on Notifications in the left sidebar.
You can configure notifications for each app on your system. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNet
From the App Information section, click to expand the App Store entry.
Click the On/Off slider for App Store notifications until it’s in the On position. You can then select the type of notification you want. I would suggest Alerts because those notifications don’t go away until you manually dismiss them (and app update notifications Needed be persistent).
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You can also enable and disable other features. The only option I wouldn’t suggest enabling is Show notifications on lock screen, simply because I prefer to keep information (even something as innocuous as an update) away from prying eyes.
Make sure to configure App Store notifications perfectly to suit your needs. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNet
Once you’ve taken care of that, you can close the Settings window. You will be alerted the next time you have an application update notification. One thing to note is that it will not alert you when the OS is updated. You’ll want to keep an eye on the notification system for a separate alert for OS updates and run them as they appear.
I have an update to do. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNet
This should be the default behavior in macOS because software updates should be taken seriously. Remember, app updates aren’t just when new and exciting features are available.
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Security updates are even more important, and you should consider them a priority to keep your device as free from vulnerabilities as possible.
