Apple Seeds Fifth Beta of macOS Sierra to Developers [Update: PB4 Now Available for Public Beta Testers]

[MacRumors]

Apple today released the fifth beta of macOS Sierra, the newest operating system designed for the Mac, to developers. macOS Sierra beta 5 comes one week after the release of the fourth beta and approximately two months after the software was first unveiled at Apple's 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference.

Developers can download today's beta update through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store or through the Apple Developer Center.

macOS Sierra is a major update that brings Siri to the Mac for the first time, allowing users to conduct voice searches to quickly find files, look up information, and more. New Continuity features offer an "Auto Unlock" option for unlocking a Mac with an Apple Watch and a "Universal Clipboard" for copying text on one Apple device and pasting it on another.

Deeper iCloud integration allows files stored on the desktop or the Documents folder of a Mac to be accessed on all of a user's devices, and Photos features deep learning algorithms for improved facial, object, and scene recognition. There's also a Memories feature for displaying photo collections, and Messages has rich links, bigger emoji, and "Tapback" response options.

Apple Pay is coming to the web in macOS Sierra, with payments authenticated through an iPhone or Apple Watch, and new features like multiple tabs, Picture in Picture multitasking, optimized storage, and revamped emoji are also available.

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During the beta testing period, Apple tweaks and refine the features introduced in macOS Sierra to prepare it for public release. In macOS Sierra beta 4, Apple introduced new emoji promoting gender equality and introduced a new look for many existing emoji with new textures and design tweaks. Any changes found in the fifth beta will be listed below.

macOS Sierra is currently available to developers and public beta testers, and it will see a wider public release this fall. For full details on all of the new features included in macOS Sierra, make sure to check out our macOS Sierra roundup.

Update: Apple has also seeded macOS Sierra public beta 4 to public beta testers. It is identical to the 5th developer beta.

Article Link: Apple Seeds Fifth Beta of macOS Sierra to Developers [Update: PB4 Now Available for Public Beta Testers]

 

[iTom17]

Honestly I feel so relieved about this. Because since beta 4 I've been having more issues than with beta 3. Three crashes already since last week (compared to none with beta 3). Pretty bad. Of course I know it's a beta, so 'I shouldn't complain'. But the fact that beta 3 seemed more stable than beta 4... That's not good, right?

Hope this one fixes those issues.

 

[Delorean2006]

Honestly I feel so relieved about this. Because since beta 4 I've been having more issues than with beta 3. Three crashes already since last week (compared to none with beta 3). Pretty bad. Of course I know it's a beta, so 'I shouldn't complain'. But the fact that beta 3 seemed more stable than beta 4... That's not good, right?

Hope this one fixes those issues.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one having a lot of issues, constant crashes and also the computer would randomly just run super hot and make the fans go right up to max by just opening notes or mail. Resetting the SMC and PRAM never helped either. Hopefully there's a lot of stability added to this beta.

 

[bladerunner2000]

Have they finally given the option to change the default behaviour of the green button to expand to maximum instead of going fullscreen? I have 100 people in my office building and nobody uses fullscreen on a laptop or desktop, they all hate it. There's NO point in fullscreen on a large screen.

And what about a proper cut/paste command (ctl+x / ctrl+v) in Finder? Is System Integrity Protection still screwing over developers like TotalFinder?

 

[TMRJIJ]

Honestly I feel so relieved about this. Because since beta 4 I've been having more issues than with beta 3. Three crashes already since last week (compared to none with beta 3). Pretty bad. Of course I know it's a beta, so 'I shouldn't complain'. But the fact that beta 3 seemed more stable than beta 4... That's not good, right?

Hope this one fixes those issues.

When working with software as advanced as an entire OS, they tend to vary between beta releases. It's because working on one thing that has core connections with another thing can trigger an issue somewhere else.

 

[JosephAW]

I'm still trying to figure out how to download public beta #3? It keeps redownloding #1

 

[applepotato666]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one having a lot of issues, constant crashes and also the computer would randomly just run super hot and make the fans go right up to max by just opening notes or mail. Resetting the SMC and PRAM never helped either. Hopefully there's a lot of stability added to this beta.

My Late 2013 MacBook Air has been lagging like crazy since I updated to Beta 4. It just freezes and starts getting really hot. The fans go crazy until I force restart it, then it starts doing the same thing after an hour or so. It's normal for a beta, though.

 

[JDHiro]

Have they finally given the option to change the default behaviour of the green button to expand to maximum instead of going fullscreen? I have 100 people in my office building and nobody uses fullscreen on a laptop or desktop, they all hate it. There's NO point in fullscreen on a large screen.

While I'd be all for an option to change the default behavior, I have to disagree with you that there is no point in full screen. I have a 27" 4K monitor, and I run 3-5 full screens always. My code editor runs in one screen, I'm running full screen browsers w/ debugging tools in 1-3 other screens, and I'll often have tools like Sketch using another full screen.

I'm not sure what your line of work is, but just looking around the office right now here I see several people using their Macs in full-screen.

 

[iTom17]

Have they finally given the option to change the default behaviour of the green button to expand to maximum instead of going fullscreen? I have 100 people in my office building and nobody uses fullscreen on a laptop or desktop, they all hate it. There's NO point in fullscreen on a large screen.

And what about a proper cut/paste command (ctl+x / ctrl+v) in Finder? Is System Integrity Protection still screwing over developers like TotalFinder?

This please!! I hate it to use Command+Option+V, it's such an annoying 'shortcut'. It makes more sense to have indeed something like Ctrl+X / Ctrl+V.

 

[keysofanxiety]

I have 100 people in my office building and nobody uses fullscreen on a laptop or desktop, they all hate it. There's NO point in fullscreen on a large screen.

Couldn't disagree more. Logic Pro full screen. Safari on another. iTunes on another. Guitar Pro on the next. 4-finger swipe and I'm immediately on the other one I want. Smooth as silk.

I think full screen is perfect if you're working with multiple desktops. Especially when you're using content-rich creative applications like FCPX and Photoshop, you really need all the space you can get.

 

[polterbyte]

Wow, by many of these comments it seems I picked the right time not to adhere to the beta program. Will be skipping it at least until reports from Beta-5 results come out.

 

[keysofanxiety]

It makes more sense to have indeed something like Ctrl+X / Ctrl+V.

Ewww, Ctrl+V to paste? Every time I'm in BootCamp, I feel dirty doing that.

 

[coolfactor]

I still don't understand their icon design... an icon should be symbolic, easy to identify in black-and-white. The Siri icon is not that. Why not a simple microphone? Do they think that people will confuse it with something else?

 

[chrfr]

I'm still trying to figure out how to download public beta #3? It keeps redownloding #1

Download beta 1, then run software update to get beta 3, or is your computer not updating to beta 3 once you've installed beta 1?

 

[TMRJIJ]

Have they finally given the option to change the default behaviour of the green button to expand to maximum instead of going fullscreen? I have 100 people in my office building and nobody uses fullscreen on a laptop or desktop, they all hate it. There's NO point in fullscreen on a large screen.

And what about a proper cut/paste command (ctl+x / ctrl+v) in Finder? Is System Integrity Protection still screwing over developers like TotalFinder?

I agree there should be an option to change this behavior in System Preferences, just because full screen doesn't meet your and your coworker usage doesn't make it useless.
And yes SIP is still screwing us over.

 

[coolfactor]

Have they finally given the option to change the default behaviour of the green button to expand to maximum instead of going fullscreen? I have 100 people in my office building and nobody uses fullscreen on a laptop or desktop, they all hate it. There's NO point in fullscreen on a large screen.

And what about a proper cut/paste command (ctl+x / ctrl+v) in Finder? Is System Integrity Protection still screwing over developers like TotalFinder?

Since you said "default" behaviour, then you know that Option-clicking the green button gives you the traditional Zoom (which is not always the same as Maximize) behaviour. Some apps do Maximize, others just Zoom to accommodate the content shown in the window.

Full-screen is very useful with multiple Spaces or desktops. Four fingers swipe left-and-right to switch spaces. It's a very useful workflow. Or multiple monitors to achieve the same thing. Combine that with split-screen view (each of which is always "full-screen" in its own rightful size), and you have a blend between full-screen and multiple windows in the same space.

Overall, it's a very powerful and flexible window-management feature set. Spaces used to confuse me to no end, but they really cleaned up their behaviour.

 

[762999]

hoping my rMBP will stay at decent temp.. my laptop is getting ridiculously hot with macOS12.

 

[happyslayer]

Have they finally given the option to change the default behaviour of the green button to expand to maximum instead of going fullscreen? I have 100 people in my office building and nobody uses fullscreen on a laptop or desktop, they all hate it. There's NO point in fullscreen on a large screen.

And what about a proper cut/paste command (ctl+x / ctrl+v) in Finder? Is System Integrity Protection still screwing over developers like TotalFinder?

On Mac OSX it's command-c for copy and command-v for paste and command-x for cut and all of them work fine for me. Can't say about full screen yet, but Is guess not. There are external apps that can change that behavior but don't know if they work on the Dev builds.

 

[Sandstorm]

Couldn't disagree more. Logic Pro full screen. Safari on another. iTunes on another. Guitar Pro on the next. 4-finger swipe and I'm immediately on the other one I want. Smooth as silk.

I think full screen is perfect if you're working with multiple desktops. Especially when you're using content-rich creative applications like FCPX and Photoshop, you really need all the space you can get.

I like fullscreen, but I have another issue with it - I hate that the menu bar disappears. I'd love an option for the menu bar to be "always on". For crying out loud - many of us have have enormous size monitors, hiding the menu bar gives negligible vertical pixels, but so much annoyance when you just want to glance the time, change some setting fast etc.

 

[nollic]

I still don't understand their icon design... an icon should be symbolic, easy to identify in black-and-white. The Siri icon is not that. Why not a simple microphone? Do they think that people will confuse it with something else?

Because Siri is not a microphone

 

[aloshka]

I bet this new beta version gives 3 new background color options to the most recent huge emoji release. Can't wait until this hits GM, we will have more emoji, and at a minimum 8 background colors!! Can't wait to have my smiley faces have red backgrounds!!!

I'm hoping next year's macOS Palisade release will have a major revamp of adding another poop emoji in different colors out of the box.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Anyone else getting the "this update cannot be verified" message after download?

 

[snowiii]

Have they finally given the option to change the default behaviour of the green button to expand to maximum instead of going fullscreen? I have 100 people in my office building and nobody uses fullscreen on a laptop or desktop, they all hate it. There's NO point in fullscreen on a large screen.

And what about a proper cut/paste command (ctl+x / ctrl+v) in Finder? Is System Integrity Protection still screwing over developers like TotalFinder?

Option key makes the fullscreen button the maximum instead....

 

[redking31591]

Anyone else getting the "this update cannot be verified" message after download?

I've gotten it twice here, it goes to the grey screen with the loading bar, sits there for a moment and then goes to black with that dialogue box. No idea what's up.

 

[rgeneral]

is Anyone having problems with 10.12 on mapping smb drive via apple script. in the past you can write a script to include the username and password for mapping. Now it pops up with that info. the user must hit connect. that is weird.