Version 1.3.0 of Expert Controller will be available in the Apple App Store in early January 2026. If your Mac is configured to download and install updates, no further actions will be necessary. For others, please visit the Updates section of the App Store, select the App and download to install. The update does not change any existing Settings so all will be retained, unchanged.
System requirements for Version 1.3.0 remain unchanged from earlier versions. So, an Apple Mac running either macOS 14, 15 or 26 and an SPE Expert 1.3k-FA or later amplifier.
Version 1.3.0 contains cosmetic changes so that its windows look great on macOS 26 and earlier versions along with some minor improvements to Accessibility and some bug fixes. It has a new icon which conforms to macOS 26 sizing requirements and whose design is common between Expert Controller and Expert Controller Plus.
What’s the difference between Expert Controller and Expert Controller Plus?
Click here to read about the key differences
The list below summarises the changes in Expert Controller 1.3.0:
- Iconography updated for macOS 26 and to align with that used by Expert Controller Plus.
- The font used in the LCD window has been updated to resolve an issue with all bar-graphs not displaying their final character correctly.
- The Backlight button has been replaced with two buttons that use a bulb icon. These icon buttons have been relocated to the lower-right side of the Controller window.
- The Float button has been replaced with a new button using a Pin icon and relocated to the Title-bar of the Controller window.
- The visual appearance of the Controller window has been updated to improve alignment with macOS 26 and earlier versions.
- Buttons on the Controller window have been re-grouped to improve usability and align with the layout used by Expert Controller Plus.
- The light and dark mode graphics of a stylised amplifier shown in the LCD panel when disconnected have been updated.
- The application has been renamed ‘Expert Controller’ to align more clearly with the naming scheme used by the plus version – ‘Expert Controller Plus’.
- To improve Accessibility, some buttons have either been relabelled or new Accessibility labels applied.
- The ordering of items in the Announce / spoken-report has been adjusted.
- The embedded User Guide and Release Note documents have been removed and replaced with links to https://g0rvm.uk from where the documents may be downloaded.
Below is a image presenting the updated Controller window on macOS 26.
Andy