Plus macOS Tahoe 26.7.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.8.1



Following two release candidates, Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.7.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.8.1, as well as macOS 27.0.1. Here are the details.

macOS 27.0.1, macOS 26.7.1 and macOS 15.8.1 now available

After two release candidates, Apple is now rolling out macOS Tahoe 26.7.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.8.1, in addition to macOS 27.0.1 Golden Gate, the first update since the release of macOS 27 earlier this month.

Today’s releases come exactly one week after Apple rolled out the second round of release candidates, which also included public releases the following day.

Apple’s release notes during the RC mentioned only standard security fixes and performance improvements, but recent point releases have included significant security patches, many of which address vulnerabilities discovered with the help of AI tools.

Apple has even confirmed that the growing capabilities of AI tools are affecting its security release cadence. In June, the company said it had pushed out fixes originally planned for version 26.6 ahead of schedule because AI can speed up the development of malicious hacking tools, reducing the amount of time Apple wants to leave between making fixes public and getting them into users’ hands.

Apple will likely release the security details for macOS 27.0.1 Golden Gate, macOS Tahoe 26.7.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.8.1 in the coming hours, and we’ll report back with the noteworthy tidbits.

Update, 1:59 p.m. ET: Apple says macOS 27.0.1 Golden Gate “has no published CVE entries,” but says macOS Tahoe 26.7.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.8.1 fix the following issue:

CoreGraphics

Available for: macOS Sequoia

Impact: Processing a maliciously crafted file may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals on versions of iOS before iOS 27.

Description: An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved bounds checking.

CVE-2026-86950: Meta Product

Security

The release build for today’s macOS releases are:

   • macOS Sequoia 15.8: 24H32

   • macOS Tahoe 26.7.1: 25G241

   • macOS 27.0.1 Golden Gate: 26A5434

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Direct download links for offline installer (.msu)



Windows 11 KB5124010 is now rolling out, and it lets you try new features before the next Patch Tuesday release. This update significantly improves Bluetooth, makes File Explorer faster, and more. Microsoft has published direct download links for the KB5124010 offline installer (.msu), but you can always (and should) use Windows Update if you can.

KB5124010 is an optional update, so it won’t download or install unless you manually choose to seek it. The update shows up as “2026-09 Preview Update (KB5124010) (26200.9550)” and advances PCs to Windows 11 Build 26200.9550 in the case of version 25H2, and 26100.9550 on version 24H2.



I also noticed that today’s optional update will download automatically in the background if you’ve turned on the toggle “Get latest updates…”.

As Microsoft’s Windows design and research boss previously noted, you should use the toggle if you want to try new features first, but at the same time, it also means your PC will download optional updates automatically.

Note: If you choose to skip today’s update, you’re not going to miss out on anything, as everything included in this release rolls out on October 13 as part of the Patch Tuesday cycle.

Download Links for Windows 11 KB5124010

Windows 11 KB5124010 Direct Download Links: 64-bit and ARM64 | Microsoft Update Catalog lets you grab offline installers (.msu) for all monthly Windows updates, including the one rolling out today. And you can use it if you’ve run into errors with Windows Update, but in all other cases, it’s better to stick to Windows Update.

Windows updates are now much larger in size, particularly those downloaded via Update Catalog. For example, today’s update is over 5GB if you use Update Catalog, and it’s a little under 1.5GB if you use Windows Update, assuming you’ve installed all recent Windows updates. Windows 11 updates are cumulative, which means they include all previous missing changes.



What’s new in Windows 11 Build 26200.9550 (25H2) / Build 26100.9550 (24H2)?

Windows 11 Build 26200.9550 has a lot of interesting stuff to check out, but remember that everything is rolling out gradually, so it’s likely you won’t see anything visibly different other than a new build number.

Microsoft insists gradual rollout is necessary to ensure quality, but if you can’t wait, the company recommends turning on the “Get latest updates…” toggle on the Windows Update page and increasing the odds in your favour.

1. File Explorer is getting better, and now lets you easily view blocked files

If you remember, an update that rolled out last year made it difficult to preview files directly in File Explorer when downloaded from the internet. That means if you download a document from OneDrive, Google Drive, or even Microsoft Word web, and try to preview it in File Explorer’s Preview pane, you won’t be able to.

File Explorer blocks previews for files downloaded from the web, and Microsoft required you to manually unblock the file from its Properties > General or using PowerShell scripts, but it’s being addressed today.



With Windows 11 KB5124010, Microsoft has added a new “Preview anyway” toggle that lets you immediately preview HTML files:



In the case of non-HTML files, such as PDFs, that restriction is now gone entirely, and all downloaded files are previewed automatically! So we’re sort of going back to the original behaviour, except for HTML files, which are anyway getting a “Preview” button.

In addition, Windows Latest noticed that the “Home” tab in File Explorer can now remember the state of sections. For example, if you collapsed the “Recent” section and opened File Explorer again, you’d notice that the section remains collapsed. Previously, it would always expand, which is the default state, and not remember the preference.

Here’s everything else rolling out to File Explorer today:

   • New! This update improves the reliability of thumbnail previews for cloud files in the Details    pane. The pane has also been reorganized so file properties are easier to find and review at a glance.

   • New! This update addresses an issue that could clear the address bar contents when entering edit mode by clicking near the right side of the address bar.

2. Emoji 17 now rolling out on Windows 11

Microsoft is adding Emoji 17.0 support to Windows 11, and it includes a couple of fun emojis, such as a distorted face and even a hairy creature. These emojis came to mobile a little while ago, and they’re now coming to Windows.

Microsoft confirmed that emojis can be accessed via Windows key + Period (.), and Windows 11 KB5124010 also improves several existing emojis, so you can recognize them better. Previously, Windows had a bug where emojis looked different from Android/iOS, but now, you’ll have some similarities, particularly with the kissing cat and lotus emojis.

3. Personalization is getting better

There has been a bug on Windows 11 where applying certain wallpapers or making some personalizations does not get applied, including a bug where Windows shows a black wallpaper instead of the one you set up. This is finally getting fixed, and Microsoft has also made the Personalization > Background page in Settings more reliable.

Moreover, Windows 11 KB5124010 adds support for DIB image files, so if you’ve got an image in DIB, you can now set it as the desktop background instead of converting it to PNG or JPEG, for example.

Last but not least, Microsoft has added support for slideshow wallpapers in multiple desktop setups. That means if you switch back and forth between desktops, your slideshow wallpapers won’t switch back to Picture itself. Slideshows are now fully supported across multiple desktops.

Here’s a list of other personalization-related fixes in today’s update:

   • A bug has been fixed that hurts the quality of desktop background previews.

   • A bug has been fixed where desktop wallpaper changes are not processed immediately.

And that’s pretty much it. Unlike previous updates, today’s optional update is not huge, and there are no groundbreaking changes. At the same time, it can break audio on some PCs, particularly those that use USB audio, and Microsoft says it’s still looking into the root cause.

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Bungie's new leadership just announced another pivot for the studio. The company ended development of Destiny 2 just a few months ago, but it's now returning to it. Marathon will be going through changes too, with the studio calling it an evolution.

In a blog post dubbed "The Next Chapter for Bungie," Bungie’s new Studio Head Poria Torkan and Head of Product and General Manager of Marathon Josh Deane gave an update on where the studio is heading and what's next for its games.

"We lost trust, we lost incredible colleagues, and we lost sight of what we should be prioritizing most, our players. As a new leadership team, we must own that," said the duo. "We aren’t just listening to feedback, we understand your disappointment. We are not asking you to trust what we say today. We know that trust must be earned through the quality of our games, the decisions we make, and how consistently we show up for our players."

As for Destiny 2, the studio says there are more stories to tell in the sci-fi universe. Before that, though, it will be bringing back the campaigns, destinations, and raids it previously removed. These will be remastered to match the modern engine updates. Unfortunately, a timeline for these launches was not shared today.

"When we look to the future of Destiny all up this restoration is the first step to lay the foundation for how we reforge into new stories and games that you all deserve," said the studio heads. "We’ll have more details on our unvaulting efforts in the coming months, and we’re very excited to share more about our vision to celebrate Destiny’s legacy and build its future with you all as soon as we can."

Meanwhile, the studio confirmed that its recently released extraction shooter experience Marathon "did not reach as many players" as it had hoped. While more updates are coming to make it more of a cooperative game, Bungie says it will be going beyond its chosen genres to try and improve the title in the future.

Bungie has been going through troubles for quite some time now, with both its live service projects, Destiny 2 and Marathon, underperforming. Sony let go of hundreds of employees earlier this year, and reports said that no new projects are being greenlit either. Before today's revival news, Destiny 2 was deemed finished, and development was suspended in June. The original project heads of both games have left the studio in recent months too.

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The latest security update for Windows 11 is inadvertently silencing some PCs due to a known bug affecting USB Audio Class 1.0 devices—reminiscent of prior USB audio glitches in Windows 11 24H2. Microsoft confirmed the bug in a support article, acknowledging that some USB audio devices may fail to start and/or produce no sound after applying its Patch Tuesday update for September 2026.

Contained within the newest update following Microsoft's standard Patch Tuesday rollout cadence for Windows 11 are KB5124008 and KB5124012. According to Microsoft, some PCs are exhibiting a range of symptoms that affect audio. These include:
​The device displays an error in Device Manager: "This device cannot start (Code 10).”​
No audio output.​
Volume controls are unresponsive or remain at zero.​
Sound settings are unresponsive or unavailable.​
Some devices might function in standard stereo configurations but fail when using multichannel audio features, including 8-channel or 3D audio modes. Some customers have reported that they're able to restore audio in these cases by switching to 2-channel mode.
Microsoft says it's working on a fix, but as of right now, there is no official workaround, temporary or otherwise. That said, Microsoft reports that some users have had some luck with switching to 2-channel mode.

It's also not clear how widespread this problem is. Adding to the frustration, one of the possible symptoms is that affected users can't get into their PC's sound settings to try and troubleshoot the issue. For users who are not aware of Microsoft's support article, it would be easy to assume there is a bigger issue with their PC.

Additionally, the bug may not be limited to audio devices. According to WindowsLatest, which spotted the known issue disclaimer, it may also affect microphones.

"Microsoft specifically ties the confirmed issue to USB Audio Class 1.0 devices, but the problems aren’t necessarily limited to speakers or basic audio playback. One user told me that microphones can also stop working on affected devices," the site says.

Affected users can keep an eye on Microsoft KB5124012 and KB5124008 support pages for further developments.
Via hothardware/ Pic/ Google

Begins testing nine major fixes



There’s no denying that Bluetooth on Windows is a hot mess, and we’ve all had those moments where connections are unstable or Bluetooth simply disappears like it never existed. Microsoft is aware of most of the issues, and it’s rolling out a big update that addresses several problems with Bluetooth.

Today, Microsoft rolled out the new update (26200.9539) to testers in the Release Preview Channel of the Insider Program, and it has up to nine notable Bluetooth fixes. And it’s a big deal because Bluetooth rarely gets notable bug fixes.

In fact, if you look at Windows 11’s changelogs for the past five years, you’d realise Microsoft has barely tried to make Bluetooth better.

Now, Microsoft says it’s making the connection state more accurate. For example, if you connect or disconnect a Bluetooth device and look at Quick Settings, you might notice that the device still shows as connected or continues to appear even after it has been disconnected. This is getting better, as Bluetooth can now display a more accurate connection state.

Better calling experience with Bluetooth on Windows 11

Microsoft is also enabling a better calling experience on Windows 11 when you use Bluetooth headsets during a meeting, whether it’s Teams or Google Meet.

Now, when you’re in a voice call and try to adjust the volume of the connected Bluetooth headset, you’ll notice that Windows’ built-in volume flyout appears.

Microsoft calls it improved “visual feedback of the new volume level,” while the broader Bluetooth changes are supposed to improve reliability and the experience when connecting to and using Bluetooth devices. This is an operating system-wide improvement, so you’ll get the same experience whether you use Teams, Google Meet, WhatsApp, or Telegram.

This update also improves the stability of the Bluetooth & devices page in Settings when managing Bluetooth and audio devices.


Bluetooth & devices page in Settings

There’s another change that should improve microphone compatibility on certain PCs that use Bluetooth Classic Audio accessories. It also patches a bug where the Bluetooth radio could actually be turned off even when the radio toggle appeared enabled on the Bluetooth & devices page in Settings.

Finally, if you’ve got one of those newer Bluetooth headsets with LE Audio, you’ll notice better performance and reliability.



Again, Microsoft is not explaining exactly how it has made Bluetooth more reliable, and I suspect the company will most likely never share the behind-the-scenes fixes it made. But as a consumer, you should expect:

   • Bluetooth to connect faster and correctly reflect when it’s disconnected

   • Bluetooth to have more stable connections with reduced stuttering and disconnects

   • Audio calling to be better

I’m also told that OEMs like Intel are going to follow up with another driver update that matches Microsoft’s new quality guidelines. We’ve already seen Intel begin adopting Microsoft’s new driver quality standards with its wireless drivers.

Microsoft says Windows 11’s driver quality will improve significantly

In May 2026, Microsoft brought OEMs and its other hardware partners together at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) to work on the next big “ecosystem” update. The Windows team spent time with OEM, ODM, silicon and IHV partners to discuss what really makes the OS unstable and how much drivers contribute to that.

“[We wanted] to talk honestly about where we are, opportunities to be better connected as an ecosystem and where we’re going together,” Microsoft said at the event, and it’s part of the company’s broader plan to raise the bar on quality.

Windows can’t magically get better if drivers are botched up. Even as Bluetooth gets better, if the underlying driver has a problem, you can’t expect what Microsoft calls “improved reliability.” It doesn’t work that way.



Microsoft told its partners to follow the new Driver Quality Initiative (DQI), which aims to make drivers more trustworthy, remove older or low-quality drivers that cause compatibility issues, and improve the security and reliability of updates that come through Windows Update. We’ve previously covered how Microsoft’s driver quality reset targets crashes, performance and battery life.

“Great platforms aren’t built in isolation. Platform quality depends on early, honest collaboration across OEMs, ODMs, silicon partners and IHVs. WinHEC brings engineers together with Microsoft to align early, solve real problems and deliver higher-quality solutions for our shared customers,” Syam Poluri, Distinguished Engineer at Dell Technologies, noted.

“When drivers are high quality, customers experience reliable, secure, performant devices. When drivers fail, customers experience it as a device problem, regardless of where the root cause sits,” Microsoft said.

With DQI, Microsoft says it’s heavily investing in hardening kernel-mode drivers and moving more third-party kernel-mode drivers to user-mode drivers or Microsoft-authored class drivers. The idea is to improve security, reliability and resiliency by reducing how much third-party driver code needs to operate deep inside Windows.

Microsoft is also cleaning up Windows Update by deprecating outdated or low-quality drivers. In a related change, Microsoft has started rejecting known problematic driver files during the signing process before they can even be published through Windows Update.

Instead of largely looking at crashes, the company says it will also focus specifically on stability, functionality, performance, power and thermal impact.

Most of these driver-related changes are still being worked on, and we’ll learn more later this year.

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