Microsoft has released a new version of its Windows Phone 7 connector software for the Mac, bringing with it a number of new features and plenty of bug fixes that were no doubt annoying Mac-owning Windows Phone 7 fans.

The new update, which Microsoft describes as “critical” and weighs in at 7.6MB, brings a new device setup experience and the ability to now sync purchased audio content from the device.

Fixes includ performance upgrades, better handling of photos with Apple’s iPhoto 11 and fixing an issue where some AAC or MP4 files wouldn’t play on the phone.

The new update is available via the Microsoft AutoUpdate app and is available now.

Full features and fixes in full:

New features:

Purchased audio content is synced from device

New device setup experience

Browse device now supports manual import from device, delete from device and preview.

Improvements and fixes:

Performance improvements in sync process

Photos are now organized by their iPhoto event if present and by album otherwise

Improved video preparation process

Improved support for pin lock and unlock of device

Improved meta data transfer settings (bookmarks, rating and release dates and now transferred)

Fixed issue with remote iTunes installations

Fixed issue with .AAC and certain .MP4 files not playing on device

Apple Lossless encoded files are no longer synced as they are unsupported on device. They will be ignored like protected content. Please convert these files, as necessary.

Improved support for iPhoto 11.

Notes:

Initial device update support is included in beta 2, though it is disabled when there are no available updates.