Apple's macOS Catalina 10.15.1 update adds AirPods Pro support, new Siri privacy options and gender-neutral emoji

Apple only released Catalina three weeks ago, and already there is a fairly significant update available -- macOS Catalina 10.15.1.

With this release, Apple adds support for the newly announced AirPods Pro as well as fixing a number of bugs. There are also new HomeKit options, enhanced privacy in Siri, and the arrival of more than 70 new or updated emoji, including gender-neutral options.

See also:

• Apple announces AirPods Pro for professional music listeners
• Apple warns users to upgrade their old iPhones and iPads or face GPS and time issues
• Apple releases macOS 10.15 Catalina -- and it's breaking some apps

For anyone concerned about their privacy, Catalina now includes the option to delete Siri and Dictation history, as well as the ability to opt out of allowing Apple to store recordings for the purposes of improvement. The recent loss of iTunes means that people are now migrating to the Music, Podcasts, and TV apps, and Apple has now made this process more reliable.

Apple's release notes for the update let users know what to expect:

The macOS Catalina 10.15.1 update includes updated and additional emoji, support for AirPods Pro, HomeKit Secure Video, HomeKit enabled routers, and new Siri privacy settings, as well as bug fixes and improvements.

Emoji

- Over 70 new or updated emoji, including animals, food, activities, new accessibility emoji, gender neutral emoji, and skin tones selection for couple emoji

AirPods

- Introduces support for AirPods Pro

Home app

- HomeKit Secure Video enables you to privately capture, store, and view encrypted video from your security cameras and features people, animal, and vehicle detection

- HomeKit enabled routers let you control how your HomeKit accessories communicate over the internet or in your home

- Adds support for AirPlay 2-enabled speakers in scenes and automations

Siri

- Privacy settings to control whether or not to help improve Siri and Dictation by allowing Apple to store audio of your Siri and Dictation interactions

- Option to delete your Siri and Dictation history from Siri Settings

This update also includes the following bug fixes and improvements:

- Restores the ability to view file names in the All Photos view in Photos

- Restores the ability to filter by favorites, photos, videos, edited, and keywords in Days view in Photos

- Fixes an issue where Messages would only send a single notification when the option to repeat alerts was enabled

- Resolves an issue that caused Contacts to launch to the previously opened contact instead of the contact list

- Adds a two-finger swipe gesture for back navigation in Apple News

- Resolves issues that may occur in the Music app when displaying playlists inside folders and newly added songs in the Songs list

- Improves reliability of migrating iTunes library databases into the Music, Podcasts, and TV apps

- Fixes an issue where downloaded titles were not visible in the Downloads folder in the TV app

Image credit: Mykola Churpita / Shutterstock