By AppleInsider Staff

Published: 04:00 PM EST (01:00 PM PST)

Apple on Tuesday released Mac OS X 10.7.1, its first security and maintenance update for the newly released Lion operating system, with improved Wi-Fi reliability and resolutions for issues related to HDMI and optical audio output.

The update is available through Software Update and is a 17.4MB download. Apple recommends that all users running OS X Lion update to the latest version. Changes in Mac OS X 10.7.1, according to Apple, include:

• Addresses an issue that may cause the system to become unresponsive when playing a video in Safari
  
• Resolves an issue that may cause system audio to stop working when using HDMI or optical audio out
  
• Improves the reliability of Wi-Fi connections
  
• Resolves an issue that prevents transfer of your data, settings, and compatible applications to a new Mac running OS X Lion

The software update contains additional fixes for users running Apple's latest MacBook Air and Mac mini hardware, released last month. For those users, the latest update:

• Resolves an issue where MacBook Air may boot up when MagSafe Adapter is attached
  
• Resolves an issue causing intermittent display flickering on MacBook Air
  
• Resolves an issue that causes the SD card slot in Mac mini to run at reduced speed with SD and SDHC media

Interestingly, test builds of Mac OS X 10.7.1 were not issued to developers prior to Tuesday's release. Developers were only given Mac OS X 10.7.2 for testing the forthcoming iCloud service.

The Lion 10.7.2 build issued to developers was not known to address any of the outstanding issues or glitches that were found in the initial release of Lion. It is not known why the company did not provide its Apple Developer Connection members with a pre-release beta of Mac OS X 10.7.1.

Lion was released in July for $29.99 as a download on the Mac App Store, and reached 1 million downloads in its first 24 hours of availability. Users who would prefer to have the operating system on a physical medium can pay a premium, and buy Lion for $69 from Apple.