It’s been a while, but I’m pleased to say that the beta of Squash 4 is now available
As this is the first beta, expect bugs and plenty of rough edges. We expect Squash to change a fair amount between now and the final release based on your feedback. So please do put it through it’s paces and let us know what you think
Here’s a quick video outlining some of the changes:
What’s New in Squash 4 Beta 1?
All new Liquid Glass UI
Added support for saving in-place, including nested subfolders
Added support for JPEG XL export
Added support for HEIC export
Added new PNG algorithm: pngquant (lossy, 256 colours)
Improved JPEG encoding for smaller files
Added support for on-device image file descriptions
Added support for dragging single and multiple images to the Finder
Added support for saving to a custom subfolder
Added option to auto-open destination after saving.
Added preference to clear previous images when adding new ones
Added preference to hide/show full path in list view
Analog Borders, Analog Filters and Noir packs included
Right-click image to copy the original or the compressed result to the clipboard
Right-click image to show original or compressed file in Finder
Command-A now selects all images
Squash now uses its iconic orange as the default accent colour
JPEG, PNG, WebP and AVIF exports preserve metadata
AVIF now uses the system encoder when available
Max Size no longer upscales images
Fixed Export so choosing a folder actually saves it and writes the images
PNG Zopfli now reports success correctly and no longer fills the console
Failed exports now show as failed instead of finished when the file was never written
Fixed a crash that could happen on the empty window when holding the Option key
Fixed a crash that could happen when dragging images over Squash and then moving the pointer away
System Requirements
Squash requires macOS Sonoma 14.6 or later, on Intel or Apple Silicon Macs.
The AI filename descriptions requires macOS 27 or later, on an Apple Intelligence-compatible Apple Silicon Mac.
Get The Beta
To get access to the new beta, you’ll need an active Squash licence, and enable the “Check for Beta updates” option in the Squash preferences. The beta is not available on Setapp, and is only in the direct builds. Once v4 is final, we’ll be releasing it on Setapp.
We want to hear your feedback, what can we add to Squash 4 to make it even more of an indispensable part of your workflow? Let us know, we’re all ears
Cheers!
P.S. Did you know that Squash has been in-development and supported for over 10 years, not bad for a humble little compression app!
@dan My license won’t activate, and when I go to renew it, I get a 404 error page on the store. Is there an option to renew for a license that has lapsed?
There’s not a way to renew once the annual updates subscription has expired on the existing license. In this case a new license would have to be purchased. You can pick up a new license from the website here.
The problem with this subscription system is that if you miss the date, you are out. My credit cards are locked and therefore blocking auto-renewal online. Why can’t we pay in advance a few days before?
Usually the billing system won’t immediately deactivate the annual updates subscription on the day of renewal. It will generally try to rerun the charge a few times over the following weeks. I think it retries like 3 or 4 times before it gives up and auto-cancels the sub. You should have time to unlock your cards in this case, so the billing system can successfully charge the payment method on the subsequent tries.
Get an e-mail? I will be travelling when both my RWC and Squash are expiring. No access to my Mac. @differentdan I have the date in my calendar. What time zone is fastspring on?
Payment reminders are set to go out 3 days before all renewals, so you should get a payment reminder 3 days prior. I’m not sure what timezone Fastspring is using, but perhaps unlock the cards the night before renewal. That should give it enough time.
I love that feature that lets you pick whether you want to add to the selection or replace it, I’m presuming that I can install the beta alongside version 3?
Dan, I like what I see with the UI and the functionality. I have to say, however, that I consider the annual renewal cost to be on the high side (I am a licensed user). If you were to add video compression to the Squash feature list then I would stop using Handbrake or Adobe Media Encoder and be happy to pay the Squash annual fee.
The Index pill button adds a sequence of three numbers i.e. 000, 001, etc.
It would be good to be able to specify say 1 or 2 (and 4?) numbers to be set by the pill button.
You can purchase a direct licence for Squash 3 here. (this will give you access to the beta and the final version of V4 once it ships).
