Apple Releases Second Public Beta of macOS 12 Monterey

[MacRumors]

Apple today seeded the second public beta of the macOS 12 Monterey beta to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to test the new macOS Monterey software ahead of its public release. The second beta comes two weeks after Apple released the first macOS Monterey public beta.

Public beta testers can download the macOS 12 Monterey update from the Software Update section of the System Preferences app after installing the proper profile from Apple's beta software website.

macOS Monterey introduces quite a few major updates for the macOS operating system. Universal Control, for example, lets a single mouse, trackpad, and keyboard be used across multiple Mac or iPad devices, and it's now possible to AirPlay directly to a Mac from an iPhone, iPad, or even another Mac.

Safari has an updated tab bar and support for Tab Groups to keep tons of tabs organized, and FaceTime now features support for spatial audio, Portrait Mode (M1 Macs only) and Voice Isolation for cutting out background noise. A SharePlay FaceTime feature lets Apple TV users watch TV, listen to music, and share their screens with one another.

Shared With You, another new feature, keeps track of the music, links, podcasts, news, and photos that people are sent in Messages, highlighting it in the relevant apps. Notes has a new Quick Note feature for jotting down thoughts, and the Shortcuts app is now available on the Mac.

A dedicated Focus mode helps people stay on task by cutting out background distractions based on what's going on, and there's an updated Maps app with a whole slew of new features. With Live Text, Macs can now detect text in photos or provide details on animals, art, landmarks, plants, and more in images.

Mail Privacy Protection hides IP and prevents tracking through invisible pixels, and iCloud Private Relay keeps Safari browsing protected. There are many other new features in ‌macOS Monterey‌, with a complete overview available in our macOS Monterey roundup.

In the developer beta that corresponds to the second public beta, Apple changed the default design of the Safari tab bar following multiple usability complaints. There's now a dedicated address bar at the top of the Safari window, with tabs arranged below it, rather than an all-in-one integrated design. Those who preferred the original design can use the View menu to toggle off "Show Separate Tab Bar."

Article Link: Apple Releases Second Public Beta of macOS 12 Monterey

 

[blazerunner]

6700 XT drivers?

 

[orbital~debris]

"Kevin Lynch, who is well known at Apple for overseeing work on the Apple Watch and now Apple Car, is set to take on a role hand-delivering copies of macOS Public Betas to customers."

 

[jz0309]

Downloading onto my new M1 MBA now…

 

[HenryAH]

Though I am probably in the distinct minority, I would like to have AirPlay have the capability to send from the Mac to an iPad. Apple had this capability in iTunes years ago, but it was very cranky and rarely worked correctly.

 

[Realityck]

Good. Now to see if they improved Safari a bit, and TV sometimes unexpectedly quitting when play a library title from beta2.

 

[ToomeyND]

Anyone with the beta willing to help test something for me? Can you edit metadata in the books app? Thanks in advance.

 

[Realityck]

Apple today seeded the second public beta of the macOS 12 Monterey beta to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to test the new macOS Monterey software ahead of its public release. The second beta comes two weeks after Apple released the first macOS Monterey public beta.

In the developer beta that corresponds to the second public beta

This should be written as MacOS 12 beta 3 is now released to public beta testers. If there was a different build version it would be unique to a PB release, but Apple hasn't been doing that for awhile. It just avoids confusion.

 

[AndrewChemist]

Did the introduce the universal control feature? I am currently downloading every new beta simultaneously on MacBook Air M1 , iPad Pro 2018, iPhone 11 and Apple Watch series 6. Universal control is the feature I am most looking forward to.

 

[telepati]

What is the Public Beta build number?

 

[JohnnyGo]

Is it stable enough ? Any major flaw for M1 Macs ?

 

[Realityck]

Is it stable enough ? Any major flaw for M1 Macs ?

I am using it on a M1 24" iMac, its stable.

 

[justperry]

One of the few OS versions which is by a long shot underwhelming.
Been on OS X/macOS since 10.0b, this is until now my least favorite one.

 

[Realityck]

One of the few OS versions which is by a long shot underwhelming.
Been on OS X/macOS since 10.0b, this is until now my least favorite one.

Why because you can't run legacy applications? Or is this Mac hardware specific?

The evolution of macOS (and Mac OS X)

Apple's desktop operating system, macOS, has been the staple crop for its iMacs and MacBooks. Here we go back to where it all began in 2001 (when it was known as Mac OS X).

www.computerworld.com

 

[justperry]

Why because you can't run legacy applications? Or is this Mac hardware specific?

The evolution of macOS (and Mac OS X)

Apple's desktop operating system, macOS, has been the staple crop for its iMacs and MacBooks. Here we go back to where it all began in 2001 (when it was known as Mac OS X).

www.computerworld.com

No, just nothing really different from Big Sur.
And Big Sur wasn't that special either but still way ahead of Monterey....just mho.

 

[m5comp]

Broke Hallmark Card Studio (it complains I'm not on the internet, even though I am).

 

[pugxiwawa]

Just a word of caution, Citrix has been crashing on my 2020 27" iMac since I upgraded to beta. It's unusable if you care or need to use Citrix to log into work.

 

[hatchettjack]

Running great on my MacBook! I think safari looks better this way, but I mainly use new windows instead of tabs!

 

[macbeth1026]

Anyone with the beta willing to help test something for me? Can you edit metadata in the books app? Thanks in advance.

I'm on the beta. I'm able to change the author and title of stuff I've added myself, but not content from the store.

 

[jmgag03]

Just a word of caution, Citrix has been crashing on my 2020 27" iMac since I upgraded to beta. It's unusable if you care or need to use Citrix to log into work.

To the second public beta or the first? There’s a fix on the Citrix forums. I muted my work sound and it works great.

 

[shadowv4x]

Is it stable enough ? Any major flaw for M1 Macs ?

It's as stable as it gets on my M1 MBP

 

[Marshall73]

Does it fix the slow WiFi on the M1 MacBook Air? Under Monterey my M1 struggled to get a data rate above 300. Back on Big Sur, in the same location, on the same WiFi it never gets a data rate under 866.

 

[Freeangel1]

Just stay on Big Sur.
This release is the most underwhelming release EVER.
1 whole year of work to produce this?
If this is any sign of the future of macOS updates the Mac is in trouble.
Windows 11 is kinda underwhelming too. The visuals and interface have been greatly improved and much needed but nothing else.

 

[JMacHack]

Macrumors:
“Snow Leopard was the best OSX release! They added no new features and focused on bug fixes!”

Also Macrumors:
“Monterey is boring because it doesn’t have more new features!”

 

[Realityck]

Remember the complaints with this?

Several macOS Monterey Features Unavailable on Intel-Based Macs

While there are many great new features in macOS Monterey, several of them are not available on Intel-based Macs, according to Apple. On the macOS...

www.macrumors.com

Monterey is still incorporating native updated apps such as FaceTime. It just a continuation of how we stepped away from only using x86 to universal binaries in Big Sur when the first M1 Macs appeared Nov 2020.