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Apple releases OS X 10.9.1 Mavericks with focus on Mail

Apple on Monday released the latest maintenance update for OS X 10.9 Mavericks, with a number of changes and enhancements to email handling, as well as tweaks to VoiceOver and the Safari Web browser.

After months of beta testing, Apple has pushed out its Mavericks update to end users, which brings anticipated fixes for the operating system's Mail app and system-specific performance and stability enhancements. Apple seeded the first 10.9.1 beta to developers in November and released the last build on Dec. 3.

For its first Mavericks point update, Apple concentrates on fixing issues with Gmail, Smart Mailboxes and group name handling in the built-in Mail app. When OS X 10.9 Mavericks first launched, users complained that the new Mail app did not support a number of Gmail functions. Apple quickly issued a standalone patch for the problem.

Improvements were also made to Smart Mailboxes and Mail search, while an issue that prevented contact groups from working properly has been addressed.

Outside of Mail, OS X 10.9.1 brings a fix for VoiceOver that prevented the service from speaking sentences containing emoji characters, resolves an issue that prevented iLife and iWork apps from updating on non-English systems and a bug that would cause multiple prompts to unlock the "Local items" keychain.

Finally, the release includes Safari 7.0.1, which brings fixes for filling out text fields and adds periodic updating to the Shared Links sidebar.

Full release notes:

The OS X Mavericks v10.9.1 Update is recommended for all OS X Mavericks users. It improves the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac.

This update includes:

  • Improved support for Gmail in OS X Mail, and fixes for users with custom Gmail settings Improves the reliability of Smart Mailboxes and search in Mail
  • Fixes an issue that prevented contact groups from working properly in Mail
  • Resolves an issue that prevented VoiceOver from speaking sentences that contain emoji
  • Fixes an issue that prevented iLife and iWork apps from updating on non-English systems
  • Addresses an issue that may cause multiple prompts to unlock "Local items" keychain
  • Addresses an issue that may cause Japanese keyboards to retain a previously used language
  • Resolves issue that prevents a Contact group name from populating the address field
  • Includes Safari 7.0.1
    • Fixes an issue that could cause Safari to become unresponsive when filling out forms on fedex.com, stubhub.com, and other websites Improves Credit Card
    • Autofill compatibility with websites
    • Improves VoiceOver compatibility with facebook.com

Updates Shared Links periodically when open in the Safari Sidebar

Apple's latest OS X 10.9.1 can be downloaded via Software Update or Apple's Support Downloads webpage. In addition to the general OS X 10.9.1 release, Apple has also issued a system-specific version for the late 2013 MacBook Pro with Retina display.