Mac owners, it’s time to fire up iTunes, because Apple is rolling out a whole bunch of product updates.

Besides the usual OS X tweaks and security updates, iOS will also see upgrades for the Podcasts app and the latest version of iTunes Connect.

From the patch notes, OS X has plenty to interest both home and business users. Late 2013 Mac Pro and Retina 15in MacBook Pro users will have improved 4k display support, the better to appreciate their shiny screens with. There’s also a new ability to sync contacts and calendars between Mac and iOS devices via USB connection, rather than just relying on iCloud. Safari 7.0.3 also gets bundled with the update.

LITTLE FIXES, MINOR TWEAKS

For enterprise OS X users (yes, they exist), there are fixes to VPN connections with the IPsec protocol, Font Book bugs involving PostScript Type 1 fonts, improving the reliability of working with SMB file servers and network home directories, configuration profiles and better login speed for users in Active Directory groups.

iTunes moves to version 11.2 with the most significant change being to podcast support. You can now use the new Feed tab to browse episodes and find episodes you haven’t listened to more easily with the fixed Unplayed tab.

You can now ask Siri to play podcast episodes. You can also save favourite episodes or choose to automatically delete episodes after playback to save space on your drive. There are also the usual security tweaks (and just a note: you don’t need OS X 10.9.3 to install the latest version of iTunes).

Developer tool iTunes Connect also gets an update, allowing developers to keep a better eye on how their apps are doing on the App store. The update gets a nice design refresh and allows developers to access not just apps but music, movies and TV shows they released via the store. It’s available for free too.

You can either update via the Mac App Store, or via Apple’s support site.

Source: GeekWire