Apple has started rolling out the seventh developer beta of macOS 14 Sonoma with essential bug fixes, according to Apple’s Developer Webpage. This update comes a little over a week after the release of macOS Sonoma beta 6. We can expect the fifth Public Beta for macOS Sonoma to be released within the next 24 Hours.
As the next Apple Event is set to take place on September 12th at 10 a.m. P.T., it seems that Apple has shifted to a weekly release schedule for the betas from a bi-weekly one to prepare and polish the software for the final launch. These could very well be one of the last betas before the Release Candidate version is released and there’s a good possibility of it being released to the public in September itself, which hasn’t been the case for the last few years.
The build number of this update is 23A5337a and you can expect the size of the update to be around 1-2 GB on your Mac if you are updating from beta 6. The size of the update depends upon the Mac that you have and the software version you’re updating from. The letter ‘a’ at the end of the build number signifies that this could be one of the last beta updates to macOS Sonoma before the Release Candidate version. The Release Notes for this update contain a list of several resolved issues, which is another sign of the software being close to its final release.
macOS Sonoma includes a ton of new features including Interactive Widgets, Smart Video Conferencing, AutoFill in PDFs, a new Lock Screen, Game Mode, and more. With Continuity in the Apple Ecosystem, users can now also add widgets from their iPhone on the desktop, without having to install that app on the Mac. macOS Sonoma also includes New Screen Savers, featuring slow-motion videos of several popular locations in the world ”“ namely the sweeping skyline of Hong Kong, the sandstone buttes of Monument Valley in Arizona, and the rolling hills of Sonoma in Northern California. According to Apple, “This rich graphical and photographic imagery enhances the Mac experience by shuffling through Landscape, Earth, Underwater, or Cityscape themes. The login experience is now repositioned at the bottom of the screen, making space for the new screen savers, which seamlessly transition into the desktop.”
Users who are registered as a developer on www.developer.apple.com can opt-in to receive beta updates by going into Settings>General>Software Update>Beta Updates and selecting macOS Sonoma Developer Beta. Do note that this version is not stable and is meant for testing purposes.
Users can also sign up as a Public Beta Tester for iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS 14 Sonoma, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17 on www.beta.apple.com to install beta software.
macOS Sonoma is compatible with the following Mac models:
- MacBook Air (2018 and later)
- MacBook Pro (2018 and later)
- iMac (2019 and later)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- Mac mini (2018 and later)
- Mac Studio (2022 and later)
- Mac Pro (2019 and later)
Along with macOS Sonoma Beta 7, Apple also released the eighth developer betas of iOS 17, iPadOS 17, tvOS 17, and watchOS 10 yesterday. The final versions of these will most likely be released to the public in September, a few days after Apple’s “Wonderlust” Event. The third developer beta of visionOS 1.0 was also released yesterday, the final version of which is expected to be released early next year along with Apple Vision Pro.
How excited are you about these upcoming software with useful new features? Let us know down in the comments or tweet to us on @appleosophy! Be sure to download the Appleosophy App from the App Store or visit our website to stay updated with the latest Apple news!
