Citrix Workspace app for Mac 2603 - Preview

You can download Citrix Workspace app for Mac 2603 preview version from the Downloads page.

For information on installation, see Install page.

Note:

This is an Early Access Build shared for the purpose of testing or validation with the intent to make organizations ready for the upcoming release and is NOT advised to be deployed in production environments.

You can give the EAR feedback using the Early Access Release Feedback form.

What’s new

The following is a list of features that are available in Citrix Workspace app 2603 for Mac:

• Shield V2 service continuity (Technical Preview)
• Entra ID SSO experience improvement
• Gesture support for remote Mac sessions
• Bidirectional Content Redirection
• Deprecation of macOS 13.0 Ventura
• Always On Tracings (AOT) support for Citrix Workspace app for Mac
• Microphone troubleshooting

Shield V2 service continuity (Technical Preview)

Starting with version 2603 Preview, Citrix Workspace app for Mac supports Shield V2, which removes or minimizes dependency on components involved in the connection process. Users can launch their virtual apps and desktops regardless of the health status of the cloud services.

Shield V2 is connector-less and operates without Cloud Connector involvement in the workflow, as compared to Shield V1.

Shield V2 supports:

• Session launch during DaaS or Workspace outage
• New session launches with Shield

For more information, see the Service continuity section in the Citrix Workspace documentation.

Entra ID SSO experience improvement

Starting with 2603, users on native Citrix Workspace app for Mac no longer receive an additional authentication prompt when launching a VDI session with Entra ID SSO.

Gesture support for remote Mac sessions

Starting with 2603, Citrix Workspace app for Mac supports macOS gestures in ICA sessions when connected to Remote Mac (macOS VDA) 2603 or later. Gestures behave the same as on the local Mac. Whether they apply locally or in the session follows the keyboard setting System shortcuts take effect on. To temporarily apply a gesture on the local Mac during a session, press and hold the Fn key while performing it.

Bidirectional Content Redirection

Starting with 2603, Citrix Workspace app for Mac supports Bidirectional Content Redirection (Host‑to‑Client and Client‑to‑Host). Administrators can configure specific URLs to redirect from the Citrix session to the local endpoint (Host‑to‑Client) or from the local endpoint into the Citrix session (Client‑to‑Host). This optimization ensures URLs launch in the most appropriate environment-preserving server resources for media‑heavy sites or ensuring security compliance for internal links. Citrix recommends using Bidirectional Content Redirection over Host‑to‑Client redirection and Local App Access for most use cases on supported platforms.

For more details, see Bidirectional content redirection.

Deprecation announcement of macOS 13.0 Ventura

Starting with the 2603 version, support for macOS Ventura 13.0 is deprecated. As an alternative, you can upgrade to the latest available version of Mac. For more information, see Deprecation.

Always On Tracings (AOT) support for Citrix Workspace app for Mac

Starting with the 2603 version, Citrix Workspace app for Mac introduces support for Always On Tracing (AOT). With this enhancement, log collection is automatic and continuous, enabling Workspace app components to generate structured AOT logs that are centrally collected by the AOT Log Server. This approach removes the need for manual log capture or issue reproduction on end-user devices.

AOT logs from the Workspace app are integrated with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (CVAD) AOT data. This integration provides end-to-end visibility into connection, launch, and session workflows, allowing IT teams to correlate client-side and backend events, troubleshoot issues more efficiently, and reduce the time required to collect diagnostic information.

This feature further enhances observability at the Workspace app layer and supports continuous tracing across the Citrix environment. For more information and guidance on getting started, see Always On Tracing.

Microphone troubleshooting

Starting with 2603, Citrix Workspace app for Mac includes microphone troubleshooting to help you quickly identify privacy-related blocks. If your endpoint system settings or session toolbar preferences deny microphone access, the app does not redirect the microphone device to a virtual session. The Citrix Assistant app or ctxaudiosession running in the virtual session detects this and displays a clear warning to guide you.

Windows Virtual Desktops: For Windows Virtual Desktops, use the Citrix Assistant app to diagnose microphone privacy issues. For more information, see Citrix Virtual Desktop Assistant application.

Linux and macOS Virtual Desktops: For Linux and macOS Virtual Desktops, use the ctxaudiosession tool to check microphone privacy status. For details, see:

• Linux: Audio Diagnostic Command Line Tool.
• macOS: Audio Diagnostic Command Line Tool.

Fixed issues

• Users might have experienced redirected web content appearing outside the desktop session window during full-screen sessions when Browser Content Redirection was enabled. [HDX-92827]
• Users might have experienced Browser Content Redirection (BCR) redirected web content appearing outside the desktop session window when the session was not in full-screen mode, especially when moving the browser to the edge of the screen. [HDX-92836]
• While a session automatically reconnects through Auto Client Reconnect (ACR), Browser Content Redirection might not resume, causing redirected pages to fall back to server-side rendering. [HDX-97357]
• While the desktop session is running in windowed mode with Browser Content Redirection, drop-down menus on redirected webpages might fail to open or appear outside the session window. [HDX-96637]
• When you cut and paste a file to a different folder on your network drive within your Citrix session, you might notice that deleting the file appears successful, but it reappears after you refresh and is only permanently deleted after you disconnect or log off. [CVADHELP-30231]
• Users might have experienced the Bomgar and SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) apps failing to launch from the browser after updating to Citrix Workspace app for Mac 2511. [CVADHELP-31110]
• While upgrading from Mac CWA version 2508 to 2511, the USB keyboard might be recognized as “Generic” instead of “Policy Restricted,” causing it to be automatically redirected to the VDA and unavailable for use on the client. [CVADHELP-31414]

Known issues

There are no new known issues in the release.