iOS 8Apple released a pair of operating system updates today, one for iOS, and one for the Mac. Each update is designed to provide security fixes and patch a few minor annoyances on each platform.

iOS 7.1.2, the latest update to Apple’s mobile operating system, is designed to improve connectivity and stability with iBeacons, Apple’s Bluetooth-based device tracking and communication protocol, and fixes a bug with data transfer and certain third-party devices including barcode scanners. In addition, Apple has fixed a problem with the security of Mail attachments.

IMG_1770It’s a fairly small update, clocking in at 32 MB on my iPhone 5S and 22 MB on my fourth-generation iPad. To get the update, users can go to Settings > General > Software Update and follow the prompts there, or plug their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch into a computer with iTunes.

OS X Mavericks has been updated to version 10.9.4, which fixes a bug that prevented some Macs from automatically connecting to known Wi-Fi networks.

In addition, the update improves how reliably users can wake a device from sleep, so users who occasionally ran into black screens when waking up their Macs should see improvement. The update also includes Safari 7.0.5, the latest version of Apple’s web browser.

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To get that update, users must fire up the Mac App Store, and click on the Updates tab. It should appear automatically, alongside any other updates that are available for Apple software and Mac App Store apps. Fair warning, though: the update will require users to restart their computer.

Both of these updates are fairly minor, but still have the ability to cause problems with your computer or mobile device. As always, I recommend keeping a good backup on each device so that if something goes sideways, it won’t be the end of the world.

This will probably be one of the last updates either operating system will see. Earlier this month, Apple announced iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, which are upcoming revisions to each of its operating systems. If the company holds to past patterns, each OS will be released sometime this fall, probably in September and October, respectively.

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