• Improves idle performance by implementing additional optimizations in low-level Bluetooth LE code; if you notice any new issue with Bluetooth devices after installing this build, please send a feedback report
• Addresses an issue that could cause repeated low battery alerts for some AirPods models
• Addresses an issue where faulty AirPods hardware could end up causing an infinite loop
• Addresses an issue that could cause AirBuddy to display incorrect charging case battery information when only a single AirPod was inside the charging case (note: in the process of fixing this issue, I've noticed that iOS has the same bug 😅)

• New app icon
• Addresses an issue that caused the Action HUD to not be shown when opening an AirPods Pro charging case in some situations
• Potential fix for an issue that caused desktop widgets to not show up in some situations after waking the Mac up from sleep (24913916)
• Potential fix for an issue that prevented the brightness HUD from showing up for some users (91599312, 61151211)
• Addresses a crash that could occur when connecting AirPods

Magic Handoff

• Magic Handoff device transfers now show up as an Action HUD with status updates and error reporting
• Addresses an issue that caused devices transferred over Magic Handoff to fail to connect to the new Mac in some situations; this failure mode may still cause connection to take a bit longer than usual, but no longer causes devices to completely fail to connect even after several attempts
• Improved reliability with which the origin Mac reconnects to a device that failed to transfer to another Mac via Magic Handoff, reducing the likelihood of devices ending up in a connection limbo

Other Fixes and Improvements

• Hovering the mouse cursor over the notch Action HUD all the way to the top of the Menu Bar no longer causes a full screen app's toolbar to expand
• Addresses an issue where the small Action HUD would be positioned incorrectly when set to show on the left side of the screen (24100397)
• Addresses a bug that caused the notch Action HUD to move to an external display in some situations
• Implements additional debug logging for Now Playing to help diagnose an issue where the Now Playing HUD is unavailable when there is content being played on the Mac (18634180)
• Addresses an issue that caused incorrect battery level reporting for Magic Keyboard, Mouse, and Trackpad during charging
• Addresses an issue that caused some devices such as Magic Keyboard, Mouse, or Trackpad to not be shown in the app right after system boot or restart

• Tweaked the timing of various Action HUD animations
• Improved responsiveness of volume and brightness Action HUDs
• There’s a new Now Playing Action HUD design when showing up in the notch
• A new keyboard shortcut can be configured in settings to manually show the Now Playing HUD
• Applying noise control and connection modes from the AirPods context menu in the AirBuddy Dashboard is significantly faster when AirPods are already connected to the Mac
• Improved reliability of Spatial Audio control, especially for apps that don’t show up in now playing
• Addresses an issue that could cause repeated AirPods connection/disconnection notifications when using the microphone; there may still be unexpected volume notifications when switching the AirPods mic off, I’m investigating that

This build introduces a significant change to the AirBuddy Bluetooth LE stack. If you notice any odd behavior such as nearby AirPods not showing up in the app or the Action HUD not showing up when opening the charging case, please submit a feedback report from the app.

• Significantly improved support for AirPods Pro (2nd gen) USB-C charging case
• Several improvements to the Action HUD animations and transitions, especially when shown in the notch
• AirBuddy will now always combine left and right AirPods on lists and in the Action HUD, unless their charging state differs; the battery level displayed is that of the AirPod with the lowest battery level
• The volume Action HUD now shows an icon with both AirPods if left and right buds are available, even if the app is showing them separately due to different battery states
• Addresses an issue that caused other AirBuddy windows to be closed when closing the Action HUD with multiple windows visible
• Addresses an issue that caused the volume Action HUD to not be shown the first time volume was changed after AirBuddy started
• Addresses a bug that prevented the Action HUD from closing automatically when shown after connecting AirPods
• Addresses an issue that caused the volume Action HUD to show up when switching the current system input or output device
• Addresses an issue where sometimes the AirBuddyHelper process would crash when connecting AirPods

• Fixes a crash that would occur when plugging in certain displays with the Mac in clamshell mode
• Addresses an issue where AirBuddy's widgets would not show up after waking the Mac up from sleep or connecting a new display

Known Issues

• AirPods connection/disconnection alerts may pop up more often than expected; workaround: disable Action HUD for "Bluetooth device connected" and "Bluetooth device disconnected" in settings - Action HUD
• When showing up in the notch on supported MacBooks, the AirPods Action HUD is sometimes missing the close button on hover; workaround: press the keyboard shortcut to show the Action HUD twice

• AirPods Pro (2nd generation) charging cases now show up in AirBuddy while charging and trigger charged alerts even when the buds are not inside the case
• The volume HUD now shows the correct icon for the current output device after switching between AirPods and built-in output
• The volume HUD no longer shows up for volume changes caused by the Personalized Volume feature on AirPods Pro (2nd generation) (requires macOS Sonoma)
• The Now Playing widget now shows a placeholder preview in the widget gallery when there’s no content to be shown
• Addresses an issue that caused the volume Action HUD to show up when connecting/disconnecting AirPods
• Addresses an issue that caused previously removed iPhones and iPads to fail to show up in AirBuddy after pairing them again
• Addresses an issue where AirBuddy would keep a connection open with an iPhone or iPad after the device was removed from the app
• Addresses an issue where in macOS Sonoma some AirBuddy windows such as AirPods settings would show up behind the settings window when opened

• Improvements to the Action HUD when integrated with the notch
• Addresses an issue where the Now Playing Action HUD would show up repeatedly when playing media from certain apps
• Addresses an issue that caused AirBuddy to notify about display brightness changes or device connection multiple times after waking the Mac up from sleep or connecting a new display
• The reduce transparency setting is now behaving as expected for Desktop Widgets, Action HUD, and Menu Bar UI
• Addresses a crash that could occur when pairing an iPhone or iPad with AirBuddy

A Couple Important Notes:

• AirBuddy 3 no longer supports macOS Big Sur. If you're running the beta on macOS Big Sur, downgrade to AirBuddy 2.x by downloding it from the website.
• Because of a major overhaul of the desktop widgets system, you'll need to reconfigure your desktop widgets after updating to AirBuddy 3 beta 11, sorry!

New App Icon

AirBuddy has a new icon designed by Matthew Skiles!

New and Improved Settings

The first two tabs of the app's settings have been redesigned with a more modern and easy to use interface.

• When the Menu Bar icon is configured to show the Mac's battery level, it can now be set to use a traditional Mac-style battery indicator, or a battery indicator that looks like the one on iOS
• The "Proximity" tab has been renamed to "Action HUD" and offers more customization options for when the Action HUD should be shown
• For recent Macs with a notch, there's a new setting that enables an Action HUD style integrated with the display notch; this setting is only presented when the settings window is on a display with a notch
• TIP: when the Action HUD is being shown in the notch, you can hover over it to view more information; swipe down on the trackpad or Magic Mouse to expand it

More Control Over Action HUD Events

The new Action HUD settings tab includes a button that opens a list of events that can be enabled/disabled for the Action HUD, enabling full control over when the AirBuddy Action HUD is used.

For the display brightness and volume change events, disabling the event in the Action HUD settings automatically enables the system HUD for the corresponding event.

Interactive Widgets in macOS Sonoma

The AirBuddy widgets have been redesigned for macOS Sonoma with support for interactivity. You may add the Batteries, AirPods¹, and Now Playing widgets to Notification Center or the Desktop.

¹ Available in a future build

Batteries Widget

• Configure the Batteries widget to show all of your devices, a set of device types, or a custom set of devices
• Click on AirPods in the Batteries widget to show the AirBuddy Status Window

AirPods Widget

• The AirPods widget can be configured to show status information for nearby AirPods, or for a specific AirPods device
• Use the AirPods widget's controls to change listening modes, Spatial Audio configuration, and more

Now Playing Widget

• The Now Playing widget shows recently played content from Apple Music or recently-used media apps
• When media is playing, view artwork and other metadata about the now playing content
• Use the widget's controls to skip tracks, play/pause, like tracks, and more

New Desktop Widgets System

The AirBuddy Desktop Widgets system has been completely re-engineered to provide a similar experience to the desktop widgets feature available in macOS Sonoma to macOS Ventura and Monterey users.

Even in macOS Sonoma, AirBuddy's desktop widgets can still be used. They're updated more frequently and include more features than the macOS widgets, including the ability to be shown on the Lock Screen. You can configure AirBuddy's custom desktop widgets in the app's settings.

• Desktop widgets can now be placed at arbitrary places on the desktop forming groups
• AirBuddy helps you create good looking layouts with alignment guides and snapping
• Different sets of desktop widgets can be added to multiple displays
• In macOS Sonoma, dragging a widget from AirBuddy next to a group of Desktop widgets suggests grid-aligned positions for the AirBuddy widget

Now Playing Widget Improvements

• The Now Playing widget now supports skipping forward/back when listening to podcasts on Spotify
• When playing a podcast with chapters from the Podcasts app, the Now Playing widget now uses the current chapter title as the widget's subtitle
• The timeline is now interactive and can be used to seek within a track
• When no content is currently playing, the widget can now suggest recently-played content from Apple Music, or options to launch media apps
• New configuration options can be used to hide content details when the Mac is locked, disable artwork effects, and filter which apps are shown in the Now Playing widget
• Improved support for live streaming content
• The default interval for skip back/forward is now 30 seconds, this can be configured to 15 or 30 seconds in the widget's settings
• There's a new "thumbs up" button at the top right corner to like a song when the now playing app supports this action

Batteries Widget Improvements

• The Batteries widget can now be configured to include all devices, devices of a given type, or a specific set of devices

Desktop Widgets Tips and Tricks

• Right-click an existing widget on the desktop to access settings
• To disable automatic alignment and snapping, hold down the Command key while dragging a widget
• Hold down the Option key while dragging a widget to duplicate it; this is a great way to copy existing widgets to other displays
• If you're on a laptop or have a Magic Trackpad, you can use a pinch gesture to change the size of a widget

Other Improvements

• Addresses an issue in macOS Sonoma where AirPods would be shown as connected to the Mac even when playing audio from another source
• Addresses an issue that caused the charging state for iPhone and iPad devices to not be correctly represented in the app
• Fixes empty window when opening AirPods settings in macOS Sonoma, adds support for new AirPods features in settings (some features can't be edited in AirBuddy due to system restrictions, those can always be found in System Settings by selecting the AirPods on the side bar)
• Quitting AirBuddyHelper by pressing Command+Q no longer restarts the app by default; this allows temporarily disabling AirBuddy until the Mac is restarted or the settings window is opened

Known issues:

• The AirPods widget is temporarily unavailable in macOS Sonoma and the AirBuddy desktop widgets system
• Widgets may disappear after waking the Mac up from sleep; workaround: restart AirBuddy by opening the Menu Bar panel and pressing Command + Q
• Widgets no longer move out of the way for UI elements such as the PiP window or Stage Manager sidebar
• Some features of the large Action HUD are temporarily unavailable
• Some events and features of the Action HUD don't work as expected when shown in the notch
• Certain combinations of events may cause multiple Action HUDs to be presented on top of each other
• The Now Playing Action HUD that shows up when changing tracks may show up repeatedly depending on which app is being used; workaround: disable Action HUD for track changes in settings > Action HUD > Behavior
• When configured to close automatically, the status window may close while it's being interacted with
• The Action HUD may show the wrong device icon when notifying about volume changes

Preliminary Support for macOS Sonoma

• Addresses an issue that caused certain AirPods controls to become unavailable when running the macOS Sonoma developer beta
• Addresses an issue that prevented certain accessories such as Magic Mouse and Trackpad from showing up in AirBuddy
• AirBuddy Desktop Widgets will now try to position themselves below the last row of system desktop widgets in macOS Sonoma; however, the current plan is to adopt the new interactive desktop widgets API in macOS Sonoma and keep AirBuddy's custom widget system for previous OS versions

Support for AirPods Pro (2nd gen) Adaptive Mode

AirBuddy now supports Adaptive Mode for AirPods Pro (2nd generation) running the developer preview firmware.

Adaptive Mode Caveat:

When running in macOS Ventura, Monterey, or Big Sur, AirPods Pro that are currently in Adaptive mode show up as using the "Normal" listening mode, and cycling between listening modes with the global keyboard shortcut fails if Adaptive Mode is one of the modes in the cycle.

As a workaround for this and in order to allow users who are not running the macOS Sonoma beta but are using AirPods Pro with the new firmware to control Adaptive Mode on macOS, AirBuddy has a new setting that remaps the "Normal" listening mode to Adaptive Mode when running on previous OS versions. The app offers to enable this option the first time it detects a connected AirPods Pro running the beta firmware on macOS versions prior to Sonoma.

New Large Action HUD

The Large Action HUD has been reimplemented from the ground up to support upcoming new features.

Other Changes

Addresses an issue where the Action HUD would show empty space below the title when displaying certain types of notifications

Known Issues

• Positioning of desktop widgets might be wrong depending on the layout of the system widgets
• Desktop widgets might be clipped in the configuration UI
• Desktop widgets might incorrectly position themselves below macOS Sonoma widgets when shown in the Lock Sreen UI
• Some interface elements may exhibit incorrect clipping
• Clicking the "Done" button while configuring an AirBuddy widget doesn't work; workaround: press the return key to close the configuration UI
• Adaptive Mode may show up as an option for second-generation AirPods Pro that are not running the supported beta firmware
• Firmware update notifications don't work for AirPods running beta firmware
• Previous versions of AirBuddy are incompatible with Adaptive Mode and will reset connection modes configured for Adaptive Mode to have no listening mode configuration
• Options previously accessible by swiping down on the large status window are not available in the Large Action HUD in this build
• Swiping to close the Large Action HUD may not work; workaround: use the close button
• The Large Action HUD may close abruptly when the AirPods charging case is closed or when AirBuddy shows some other type of HUD
• When inserting AirPods back into the charging case with the HUD visible, the case battery is shown but the charging case animation is not

Improvements and Bug Fixes

• The AirBuddy Dashboard will now reposition itself appropriately after moving the Menu Bar item while the panel is visible
• The Action HUD animation is now faster and the interface has been tweaked to look better over a variety of backgrounds
• Transitions between different Action HUD states such as device status, connection waiting, and connection success have been improved significantly
• It is now easier to dismiss the Action HUD by swiping up on the trackpad or Magic Mouse
• Expanding the Action HUD by swiping it down is no longer supported; to access options, right-click the Action HUD
• Addresses an issue that caused the Action HUD to show only left or right AirPods when notifying about connecting or changing the volume, even when both buds were available
• Addresses an issue that could cause the AirBuddy Dashboard window to be cut off when positioned close to the right edge of the screen
• Fixed missing localization strings for keyboard shortcuts editor which caused placeholder strings to be shown in the app's settings
• Addresses an issue that caused the Desktop Widgets app to be activated unnecessarily
• Addresses an Action HUD animation glitch that could occur after successfully connecting to AirPods from the status window

Major Changes to Volume HUD Feature

After a lot of prototyping, trial and error, and beta testing, I've come to the conclusion that it is not possible to reliably hide the macOS system volume HUD only when the volume is being changed.

Because of that, the feature is now an "all or nothing" deal. The status window for system events such as volume and brightness changes is now called "Action HUD", and its style can be configured between the default macOS HUD, or the custom one from AirBuddy.

Enabling the "AirBuddy" style will disable the system HUD in favor of the one from AirBuddy for all events, including volume change and display brightness, regardless of whether a headset is currently connected to the Mac.

This feature no longer requires the accessibility permission, so if you've previously given that permission to AirBuddy, you can remove it in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility.

Future builds will reorganize the app's settings to better reflect this new behavior.

New Shortcuts for Display Settings

Three new global keyboard shortcuts can be configured:

• Toggle Dark Mode
• Toggle True Tone
• Toggle Night Shift

There are also new Shortcuts actions for controlling display features:

• Get/Set True Tone
• Get/Set Dark Mode
• Get/Set Night Shift
• Get/Set Display Brightness

Improvements

• Desktop Widgets are now enabled on Desktop, Screen Saver, and Lock Screen when performing a clean install of AirBuddy; the feature itself is still disabled by default, but previously no widgets would be shown even after enabling it due to this configuration issue
• Addresses an issue that caused the "Set Up Your Widgets" button to not work in some situations (87233230)
• Addresses a crash in AirBuddyHelper that could occur after waking the Mac up from sleep
• Addresses an issue that caused information about iPhones and other mobile devices to stop updating after extended uptime
• Some hardware failure alerts and states are now disabled when running AirBuddy in a virtual machine; this is mostly for my own UI tests that I run on virtual machines, but if you have interesting use cases for running AirBuddy on a macOS VM, let me know

Improvements

• The "Add Widget" button in the full screen configuration experience now shows a gallery of widgets to pick from; clicking a widget in the gallery adds it to the widget collection
• When setting up widgets using the full screen experience, disabled displays will now correctly hide the widget grid and show a message indicating that widgets are disabled on that display
• Addresses an issue that caused interaction with desktop widgets controls such as the play/pause button in the Now Playing widget to require more than a single click when the app was not already active
• Potential fix for an issue causing desktop widgets to be rendered on top of all other windows after connecting/disconnecting displays during screen saver; if you had previously experienced this issue, please send feedback letting me know if it's been resolved after a few days running this build

Known Issues

• You may need to reconfigure your desktop widgets in AirBuddy settings - Widgets - Set Up Your Widgets after updating to this build
• The Now Playing widget renders with a broken layout in the widget gallery

🏖️ Note to testers: I'll be on vacation from January 20 to February 5. Feedback submitted during this time period will be reviewed after February 5.

Use AirBuddy as your Menu Bar battery indicator

One of the top feature requests since the release of AirBuddy 2.0 has always been the ability to replace the app icon in the Menu Bar with a battery indicator for the Mac. This is finally an option with this beta!

There's a new option to pick between showing the app icon in the Menu Bar, the battery indicator, or no icon at all. When the battery indicator option is enabled, there's also an option to display the battery percentage next to it.

Note that the goal is not to be a perfect replica of the built-in macOS battery indicator, but an AirBuddy version of it, so there are a few differences in how AirBuddy chooses to present certain battery states.

Mainly, when the Mac's power source is the Power Adapter, AirBuddy displays a power plug glyph instead of a bolt, to make this state differ from the regular battery charging state.

There will be more Menu Bar customization options added in future betas, stay tuned.

New Mobile Device Engine

This build adds a brand new implementation for talking to mobile devices like iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watch. This new implementation has been shown to improve performance and reliability during testing, but please send feedback if you notice any new issues or regressions in this area.

As a part of this change, AirBuddy will no longer automatically add paired iPhone, iPad, iPod, or Apple Watch devices to the app. New devices must be explicitly paired in the app's settings.

Other Improvements

• Tweaked translucent materials for desktop widgets and Menu Bar UI
• Minor improvements to the in-app feedback submission process
• Potential fix for an issue causing Desktop Widgets to be shown on top of other windows
• Fixes a crash when toggling microphone input on connected AirPods
• Addresses an issue that caused the AirBuddy volume HUD to show up incorrectly when changing the Mac's input or output audio device

The new Connect Bluetooth Device and Disconnect Bluetooth Device actions for Shortcuts can operate on any paired Bluetooth device, not just headsets. For example, you may use these for connecting or disconnecting a mouse or keyboard.

• There's a new implementation for AirPods connection on macOS 12 and later that's been significantly more reliable in my experience, especially for devices with automatic switching enabled; if you notice any odd behavior when connecting AirPods to your Mac using AirBuddy, please send a feedback report
• Addresses an issue that could cause AirPods Pro (2nd generation) to be duplicated
• Addresses an issue that caused Spatial Audio settings to not work for some apps, such as Safari

General Improvements and Bug Fixes

• Improved reliability when hiding the native macOS volume HUD, especially when using multiple displays; the macOS HUD may still show up the first time volume is adjusted after the feature is enabled
• Addresses an issue that caused the HUD to not show the correct status when connecting or disconnecting AirPods
• Significantly improved reliability for AirPods that have been recently paired or that are not paired through iCloud
• Adds a new Shortcuts action for getting the current Spatial Audio settings
• Addresses an issue that caused the automatic switching toggle in device settings to show an incorrect state after changing the setting

Improvements for AirPods Pro (2nd generation)

• AirBuddy will now show battery information for the AirPods Pro (2nd generation) charging case when it's available, even if the AirPods are not in the case
• There's a new setting in Proximity > Advanced that enables showing the status window when opening the AirPods Pro (2nd generation) charging case without the AirPods being inside of it

New for macOS Ventura

• AirBuddy has now fully adopted the new API for background agents and daemons on macOS Ventura
• - You may see a prompt asking for permission to enable AirBuddy's services after updating to this build or installing AirBuddy 3 on a new Mac for the first time
• Settings for AirPods and Beats headsets are now available with a new user interface on macOS Ventura; to access these settings, click the ellipsis button next to a connected AirPods or Beats device in the Devices tab to open its settings

Desktop Widget Improvements

• The Now Playing widget is now available:
  • See what's playing in any app that integrates with the now playing system on macOS, including Apple Music, Spotify, and many websites such as YouTube
  • Quickly control playback from the widget on the Desktop, or use the keyboard shortcut to bring it up over the current app
• The Desktop widgets settings user interface has been redesigned with streamlined controls and a new interface for setting up widgets
  • Desktop widgets can now be configured to not be shown on the Desktop; this option is available for those who wish to only see the widgets when invoking the corresponding keyboard shortcut and/or during screen saver
  • There's a new setting for enabling or disabling the AirBuddy widgets on the macOS Lock Screen
• The Batteries widget now shows appropriate icons for when a device is being powered by AC, or when a Mac is not charging because of the Optimized Charging mode
• Improved contrast of battery state icons in the Batteries widget
• Addresses a memory leak that could cause the Desktop Widgets process to use too much memory after a long period of time
• Addresses an issue that caused widgets to become unresponsive after changing their size with the pinch gesture
• Widgets will no longer adopt an unsupported size when resized using the pinch gesture

Known issues:

• If multiple instances of the Now Playing widget are added, only one of them works and several UI glitches may occur when changing widget settings
• There are a few layout problems when setting up widgets using the full screen interface when widgets are positioned on the center or right positions
• There's currently no way to browse for available widget types, the "Add Widget" button always adds a new instance of the Batteries widget; to add other types of widgets for now, right click an existing widget and choose one from the "Add Widget" option

Notification Center Widget Improvements

Note: Due to limitations with how Apple has implemented WidgetKit on macOS, after updating to AirBuddy 2.6, you'll need to reconfigure your AirBuddy widgets in Notification Center. AirBuddy widgets will show up in Notification Center under the name "AirBuddyHelper". If you don't see its widgets listed in the "Edit Widgets" screen, try clicking "Clear Widget Cache" in AirBuddy Settings under "Advanced".

• The new AirPods widget is now available!
  • Get current information about your favorite AirPods or Beats device at a glance
  • Configure the widget to run a quick action such as changing listening modes when clicked
• Improved widget reliability

General Improvements

• Widgets and status windows now use the same battery indicator style as the Menu Bar UI, improving consistency and legibility in vibrant contexts
• Integrated with the new Login Items in System Settings for a better experience in macOS Ventura; the app will now offer to open System Settings when it fails to register its helper login item in macOS Ventura
• Faster response to device events such as closing the charging case when showing the status window for AirPods
• Adds basic support for second-generation AirPods Pro; full support and new features coming in a future release
• Adds appropriate icons for iPhone 14 Pro and Apple Watch Ultra

Desktop Widget Improvements

• Widgets will now correctly update to stay away from the small status window when it is expanded
• Widgets are no longer clipped to the edges of the scroll area when dragged
• Addresses an issue that caused the configuration UI for small widgets to not be properly centered when visible
• When configuring a widget, the configuration window will now correctly hide when clicking any area outside the configuration UI
• Pressing the escape key while configuring a widget will correctly close the configuration UI; pressing escape while modal sheets are visible will close the visible sheet
• The "Done" button in the widget configuration window can now be invoked by pressing the return key as expected
• Changing the sizes of widgets using a pinch gesture is more reliable
• Addresses an issue that caused widgets to be resizable with a pinch gesture while flipped in the configuration window
• Widgets now keep their existing arrangement as much as possible when merging all widgets into a single display or when setting all widgets to show in all displays

General Bug Fixes

• The option to hide the native volume HUD, which is not supported in macOS Big Sur, is now correctly hidden when running in that OS version
• The new small status window will now correctly close after a few seconds when the option is enabled in the app's settings
• Updated Paddle SDK, fixing a crash that could occur when launching the AirBuddy settings app without an internet connection
• Addresses an issue that caused the "Remove from AirBuddy" option to be disabled in the context menu when used from the list of devices in the Menu Bar
• Addresses an issue that caused Apple Watch to not be grouped with the paired iPhone on the list

Bug fixes:

• Potential fix for an issue that causes Desktop Widgets to float on top of other windows after a certain amount of uptime
• Addresses an issue that caused Desktop Widgets to be shown when restarting AirBuddyHelper even with the feature disabled in Settings

Known issues:

• Older versions of the app may experience AirBuddyHelper crashes when presenting a battery alert that's been configured to use one of the new sounds from version 2.6. Workaround: configure the alerts to use sounds that are available in both versions, or update all Macs to the latest 2.6 beta.
• Widgets created with beta 7 may disappear after updating to beta 8. Use the button in settings » Widgets to add widgets
• The widget grid may show incorrect positions when rearranging widgets using drag and drop if the grid is configured to be shown on the right
• Dragging widgets between displays is not supported; to move widgets between displays, right click the widget and use the "Show on Screen" menu
• While dragging widgets to rearrange them, it's possible for the dragged widget to be clipped when reaching the edges of the widget display area
• Displays that are not currently connected show up as "Not Connected" in the right-click menu without a visual indication that the item is disabled; selecting a disconnected display in the menu does nothing
• The widget arrangement is lost when merging all widgets into a single display or when setting all widgets to show in all displays
• Currently only the Batteries widget is available, there will be other types of widgets added in future builds
• Changing the size of widgets with the pinch gesture may fail
• The Desktop Widgets process may crash when displays are connected or disconnected

Desktop Widgets

NOTE: Widgets created with beta 7 may disappear after updating to beta 8. Use the button in settings » Widgets to add widgets.

New Features

• The Widgets tab is now available in the app's settings
• Desktop widgets can now be rearranged with drag and drop
• The position of Desktop widgets on screen can now be configured between left, center, or right
• There's a setting to show the widgets over the screen saver and to pick a different position when showing the screen saver
• AirBuddy can be configured to show the same set of desktop widgets in all displays, or a different set of widgets for each display (the default)
• There's a new keyboard shortcut for temporarily bringing the Desktop widgets to the front, above other apps; invoking the same shortcut again puts them back on the Desktop, it can be configured in the Shortcuts tab
• New widgets can now be added by right-clicking an existing widget and selecting "Add New Widget" or in the app's settings, in the Widgets tab

Bug Fixes

• Interacting with widgets and their controls no longer requires multiple clicks
• Newly added or reconfigured widgets now update immediately as expected
• Addresses a memory leak that could cause the AirBuddy Desktop Widgets process to use too much memory
• Addresses an issue that prevented widgets from being moved between displays through the right-click menu
• Addresses an issue that caused the widgets to not move from under the Dock when it was positioned on the same side as the widgets (11572802)

Improvements to Battery Alerts and other notifications

• There are 4 new custom AirBuddy sounds available for battery alert notifications
• Adds support for custom notification sounds when using macOS notifications for battery alerts
• The entry for AirBuddyHelper under System Preferences > Notifications will now correctly show the option to enable/disable notification sounds
• When using the circular battery alert style, the alert sound will now play according to the settings in System Preferences > Sound > Sound Effects, which is consistent with how macOS notifications play sounds

Known issues:

• Older versions of the app may experience AirBuddyHelper crashes when presenting a battery alert that's been configured to use one of the new sounds from version 2.6. Workaround: configure the alerts to use sounds that are available in both versions, or update all Macs to the latest 2.6 beta.
• Widgets created with beta 7 may disappear after updating to beta 8. Use the button in settings » Widgets to add widgets
• The widget grid may show incorrect positions when rearranging widgets using drag and drop if the grid is configured to be shown on the right
• Dragging widgets between displays is not supported; to move widgets between displays, right click the widget and use the "Show on Screen" menu
• While dragging widgets to rearrange them, it's possible for the dragged widget to be clipped when reaching the edges of the widget display area
• Displays that are not currently connected show up as "Not Connected" in the right-click menu without a visual indication that the item is disabled; selecting a disconnected display in the menu does nothing
• The widget arrangement is lost when merging all widgets into a single display or when setting all widgets to show in all displays
• Currently only the Batteries widget is available, there will be other types of widgets added in future builds
• Changing the size of widgets with the pinch gesture may fail
• The Desktop Widgets process may crash when displays are connected or disconnected

New Features and Improvements

Desktop Widgets!

This beta build introduces the new Desktop Widgets feature, so you can have widgets from AirBuddy right on your Mac's Desktop (requires macOS Monterey).

AirBuddy widgets stick to your desktop, right on top of the wallpaper. You can choose from three sizes of widgets and have different sets of widgets on each display.

Development for this feature is very much ongoing, so your feedback and ideas are really appreciated.
Have an idea for a type of widget that would be handy to have on your desktop? Send it in! You can reach out from AirBuddy preferences » Help » Send Feedback.

Usage tips:

• A batteries widget is added to the desktop by default when this version is launched for the first time
• You may add more copies by right clicking the widget and choosing "Duplicate"
• You can change the size of the widget with a pinch gesture on the trackpad, or from the right-click menu
• It's possible to customize the devices that show up on the widget in the widget's configuration, which you can access from the right-click menu
• There are three themes available: Colorful, Monochrome, and Translucent, which is exclusive to desktop widgets
• The desktop widgets will layout themselves to move away from system obstructions such as the Dock and Picture in Picture

Known issues:

• Sometimes clicking or right-clicking the desktop widgets UI doesn't perform the intended action, requiring a second click to activate the control
• The "Add Widget" button that shows up when hovering over the desktop widgets area may show up at inappropriate times
• The preference pane for widgets has not been implemented yet, so it's currently not possible to customize things such as the position of the widgets on screen
• Currently only the Batteries widget is available, there will be other types of widgets added in future builds
• After adding a new widget, it may take a while for it to update for the first time
• Changing the size of widgets with the pinch gesture may fail
• The Desktop Widgets process may crash when displays are connected or disconnected
• It is not currently possible to rearrange the widgets

If AirBuddy doesn't create a widget on your desktop after launching this update for the first time, you can run the following command in Terminal to work around the issue:

defaults delete ~/Library/Group\ Containers/8C7439RJLG.group.codes.rambo.AirBuddy/Library/Preferences/8C7439RJLG.group.codes.rambo.AirBuddy.plist desktopWidgetsFirstLaunchExperience2 && killall -HUP AirBuddyHelper

Improvements:

• The modern about window is now available on Intel (for macOS 12.1 and later)
• The feedback form accessible from the Help > Send Feedback menu has been redesigned and improved
• Implemented several optimizations to reduce background CPU and power usage

Bug Fixes:

• Added an option in Audio settings to show the new AirBuddy volume HUD always, even when no headset is connected
• Addresses an issue that could cause the volume HUD to show up immediately after enabling AirBuddy
• Addresses an issue that caused the status window to be dismissed shortly after being presented in some situations
• Fixes a crash that could occur on macOS Big Sur when connecting to a headset

Known Issues:

• The feedback form buttons might be cropped if the window is not tall enough to fit them

New Features and Improvements

• The AirBuddy Preferences window now uses monochrome icons to better match modern macOS interface guidelines
• This build includes a new connection pipeline for AirPods and other headsets, which makes the connection significantly faster and more reliable; if you notice any odd behavior around connection modes and other connection-related things, please send feedback
• There's a new experimental feature that allows AirBuddy to hide the system default volume HUD when it's showing its own volume feedback UI; it can be enabled in the app's settings under the Audio tab
• AirBuddy can now control Spatial Audio settings on macOS:
  • Configure a global keyboard shortcut in the Shortcuts tab to switch between Spatial Audio modes
  • Change Spatial Audio settings in the Shortcuts app with the new "Set Spatial Audio Mode" action
  • Coming soon in a new build: set Spatial Audio and Spatialize Stereo settings in your connection modes
• Action HUD improvements:
  • The HUD will now follow the position preference selected for status windows in settings > Proximity
  • The HUD will now move away from desktop elements such as picture-in-picture, Notification Center, or the Dock, when its position is affected by such elements
  • States transition more seamlessly when quickly toggling between modes of the same setting such as listening modes using the app's keyboard shortcuts
  • Swipe to dismiss is more reliable
  • The HUD's contents are now correctly read by VoiceOver
  • The HUD will now respect the reduce motion preference

Bug Fixes

• Improved reliability when applying connection mode settings after connecting to AirPods with AirBuddy
• Improved reliability when using AirPods that are not paired through iCloud
• Tweaked the copy in the low battery alert message to avoid confusion between AirPods earbud sides and the word "left" as in "remaining"
• Addresses an issue that caused the status windows to not be recognized by VoiceOver
• Improved accessibility of the devices list in the Menu Bar
• Addresses an issue that caused the microphone on/off notification to not be shown in some circumstances when toggling using the keyboard shortcut

Known Issues

• Connection modes might end up all having the same generic icon after updating to this build; a future build will let you change the icons for connection modes
• Hiding the system default volume HUD requires that you give AirBuddyHelper accessibility permissions; this is likely going to continue to be a requirement, but I'm noting it as an issue because I'm not happy with this solution
• The system default volume HUD may flash on screen briefly the first time volume is adjusted after enabling the setting

NOTE: the previous beta was accidentally shipped as a release build, so it was missing beta traits such as the special app icon and quick access to feedback, this has been addressed in this build.

Improvements

• New HUD:
  • Better visual feedback when connecting to a headset succeeds or fails
  • Swiping up on the HUD will now dismiss it, just like it works with AirBuddy's status windows
  • Addresses a visual glitch that could occur when the connection status changed

New Features

• The AirBuddy HUD that shows up when using keyboard shortcuts or changing the volume has been redesigned with a more modern look and more readable content
• Adds appropriate icons for the new iPad Air, iPhone SE and Mac Studio

Improvements

• Beats Fit Pro configured with press and hold for volume controls will now correctly show the volume UI when enabled in settings > Audio
• Improved AirPods connection reliability

Bug Fixes

• Addresses an issue that caused some Beats devices to show up with the wrong color
• Addresses an issue where the listening mode controls in the small status window would be slightly clipped by the camera housing in the 2021 MacBook Pro models
• Addresses an issue that caused the favorite button in the app's preferences to not stay selected after clicked
• Addresses an issue where certain devices were incorrectly showing the Apple Watch icon
• Addresses a missing string in the alert that pops up when multiple versions of the app are installed on the Mac
• Addresses an indication issue in the "Enable AirBuddy" toggle within the app's settings

(Build 581 is a revision of AirBuddy 2.6 beta 3 that fixes a frequent crash in the background)

Testing Note

This build includes a significant change to how the AirBuddy helper process is registered with macOS. The app now uses the ServiceManagement framework and it no longer installs a launch agent when enabled. Please send feedback if you notice any installation issues or any bugs related to the communication of other processes (such as Shortcuts and widgets) with AirBuddy. You may be prompted to enter your password after updating to this build if you've previously been asked for a password when installing AirBuddy initially.

Improvements

• Tweaked the design of the large widget
• The monochrome theme now works as expected when using the large widget size

Bug Fixes

• Addresses an issue that caused the volume UI to not be shown when adjusting the volume on AirPods Max and similar devices with volume controls

New Features

• There's a new keyboard shortcut option available that shows the AirBuddy dashboard:
  • Invoking the shortcut will show the window attached to the Menu Bar icon when it's visible
  • If the Menu Bar icon is not visible, the window will be shown centered on screen
  • The window can be moved around the screen when not attached to the Menu Bar icon; the custom position will be maintained when it's shown again

Improvements

• Officially removed support for macOS Mojave and Catalina, this build won't run on those OS versions
• This build removes the legacy proximity engine from AirBuddy; Proximity Engine 2 is now the default for macOS 11+ and it can't be disabled
• Updated to Sparkle 2 for over the air updates, if you notice any odd behavior when updating the app in future builds, please send a feedback report

Bug Fixes

• Addresses an issue that caused battery alerts to display the incorrect icon when showing an alert for a specific battery in a device with multiple batteries

This build is equivalent to the 2.5.1 release that went out to non-beta users. New beta features coming soon.

Improvements

• Bluetooth LE human interface devices (such as the Logitech MX Master 3) now show up in AirBuddy when running in macOS Monterey; if your device doesn't show up, make sure that it's correctly detected as a mouse or keyboard in System Preferences > Bluetooth (if it's not, remove the device in System Preferences and pair it again)
• Improves support for Beats Studio Buds with the latest firmware update:
  • Red Beats Studio Buds are no longer shown with the default color
  • When the volume feedback setting is configured as "headsets with volume controls", the volume feedback UI will be shown if the connected Beats Studio Buds have the "Press & Hold" feature set to the "Volume Control" option

  Bug Fixes

  • Addresses an issue that could cause the Bluetooth permission step to show up during setup even when the app was already authorized to use Bluetooth
  • Addresses an issue that could cause battery alerts to be triggered for stale device data when connecting a headset to the Mac
  • Addresses a connection failure that could occur on macOS Big Sur for AirPods with auto-switching enabled
  • Addresses an issue that caused the status window to not be shown for some devices when running on macOS Big Sur or earlier
  • The old about window will now show up correctly on Apple Silicon Macs running OS versions before 12.1

Bug Fixes

• Addresses a couple of issues that could prevent charged and low battery alerts from being shown for some devices in specific configurations
• AirBuddy will now correctly show the volume feedback UI when adjusting the volume on Powerbeats Pro with the "Headsets with volume controls" option enabled

Bug Fixes

• Addresses an issue that could cause the widget to not be refreshed in some circumstances
• Addresses an additional issue with installation on some systems

Bug Fixes

• The status window no longer disappears when switching between spaces on macOS 12.2
• Addresses an issue that caused installation to fail on some systems after updating from an older version of AirBuddy
• Addresses an issue that caused clicking the close button in the large status window to connect to the AirPods instead of just closing the window
• Addresses an issue that caused the close button in the large status window to not work in some situations
• Addresses an issue that caused the circular battery alert style to not be selectable by clicking the radio button