Just two months after Apple first introduced MacOS 10.12 Sierra during its 2016 Worldwide Developer Conference in June, the company is now serving up the fifth beta of this new platform for MacOS developers. It arrives one week after the release of developer beta four, which included new emoji along with a visual update to the current MacOS 10.12 Sierra emoji library.
With the launch of Apple’s fifth developer beta of MacOS 10.12, the company has introduced the ability for Macs to discover Apple Pay-compatible Apple Watches and iOS devices lurking nearby. Another change involves Setup Assistant, which no longer walks users through their iCloud preferences. There’s also now Microsoft OneDrive credential support in the keychain feature too.
Developers wanting to get their hands on the latest build of MacOS 10.12 can grab beta five through the Update Software tool provided in the Mac App Store, or by downloading the platform through the Apple Developer Center. Also available are the latest betas for iOS 10, WatchOS 3, and tvOS 10. If you’re a consumer looking to check out the latest features provided by Apple, these betas are not for you.
That said, if you’re wanting to get a taste of what’s to come with MacOS 10.12, Apple offers a public beta program for test-driving pre-release versions before they hit the public, and in turn offer feedback through the built-in Feedback Assistant app. In some ways, it’s like the Windows Insider program although Apple’s model may not be an ongoing process.
Interested participants can thus sign up using their Apple ID account and register an iOS device or Mac. The process begins by backing up the Mac using Time Machine, and then clicking on a redemption code provided by Apple that automatically opens the Mac App Store. Once users click “Redeem” within the store, the download will begin. The installer will automatically begin once the download has finished. OS X El Capitan public betas are also up for grabs.
In addition to the obvious name change, the big deal with Apple’s upcoming MacOS 10.12 is that it will finally bring Siri to the Mac. The popular personal assistant that made its debut on iOS will be expanded to support multitasking on the desktop, such as sending message by using a voice, quickly searching for an important document, pinning Twitter feeds, searching and dragging images into a document, and more.
Additionally, the new MacOS platform will include an updated Photos app with a “Memories” feature, the ability to purchase items online with a Mac using Apple Pay and Safari, and the ability to automatically unlock the Mac using an Apple Watch. The new Universal Clipboard will even allow users to copy images, video, or text on an iOS device, and paste those items on a nearby Mac. The Desktop and Documents folder will automatically back up into the user’s iCloud Drive too.
That all said, MacOS 10.12 Sierra is slated to arrive on Macs this fall, along with iOS 10 and WatchOS 3 on Apple’s mobile devices, and tvOS 10 on its Apple TV set-top box.
