As April 2025 draws to a close, Mac users saw a couple of notable updates for macOS Sequoia, bringing crucial security patches, performance improvements, and some refinements to the operating system. Let’s take a look back at what the updates delivered this past month.
Security First: Crucial Patches Arrived
A major focus of Apple’s April releases was addressing security vulnerabilities. The most significant update in this regard was macOS Sequoia 15.4.1, released around mid-April. This update was particularly important as it patched two actively exploited zero-day vulnerabilities:
- CVE-2025-31200 (CoreAudio): This memory corruption issue could potentially allow arbitrary code execution through a maliciously crafted audio file.
- CVE-2025-31201 (RPAC): This flaw could allow an attacker to bypass Pointer Authentication, a key security feature, if they had arbitrary read and write capabilities.
The 15.4.1 update, as well as the earlier macOS Sequoia 15.4 released at the end of March/very beginning of April, also included numerous other security fixes across various components like Safari, the kernel, and privacy controls. Keeping your Mac updated to 15.4.1 was highly recommended to protect against these identified threats.
Beyond Security: Features and Improvements in April’s Updates
While 15.4.1 was primarily a maintenance release focused on security and stability, the macOS Sequoia 15.4 update that preceded it brought some more visible changes and enhancements:
Mail App Categorization: Following the lead of iOS, the Mail app gained automatic categorization, sorting emails into Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions to help users prioritize their inbox. (Thankfully, there was also an option to revert to the traditional view if preferred).
Photos App Enhancements: Several improvements were made to the Photos app, including new filtering options, a retouch brush in the Clean Up tool, and more flexibility in organizing albums.
Minor Apple Intelligence Updates: Building on the features introduced in earlier Sequoia versions, 15.4 included subtle updates to Apple Intelligence capabilities, such as the ability to create Memory movies in the Photos app and a new “Sketch” style option in Image Playground. Apple also expanded the language support for Apple Intelligence features.
New Emoji: As always seems to be a popular addition, macOS 15.4 brought a collection of new emoji to the keyboard.
Fixes and Noteworthy Changes
April’s updates also ironed out some bugs and included a significant change in how certain information is accessed:
- Improved Performance and Battery Life (15.4.1): The 15.4.1 update specifically brought noticeable performance improvements, with reports of faster app launch times on Apple Silicon Macs and better battery life due to background process optimizations.
- Connectivity Fixes (15.4.1): The 15.4.1 release also addressed issues related to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi stability, as well as improving iCloud syncing.
- Audio Playback Fix (15.4): A welcome fix in macOS 15.4 resolved an issue that could cause audio playback, particularly in Safari, to cut out unexpectedly when audio was being captured by another application.
- “Now Playing” Information Access Change (15.4): With the release of 15.4, a change was made regarding how third-party applications can access “Now Playing” media information. This was reportedly done for security reasons, but it did affect the functionality of some third-party utilities that displayed this information. While developers are exploring workarounds, this represents a shift in how this data is shared.
Staying Current
The April 2025 macOS updates, particularly 15.4.1 with its critical security fixes and 15.4 with its feature additions and bug resolutions, were important releases for all Mac users. Keeping your macOS installation updated is the best way to ensure your system is secure, stable, and equipped with the latest improvements.
You can find these updates in System Settings > General > Software Update on your Mac.
What was your experience with the macOS updates in April? Did you notice the new features or benefit from the bug fixes? Let us know in the comments below!
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