Apple Seeds Third Beta of macOS Catalina to Developers

[MacRumors]

Apple today seeded the third beta of macOS 10.15 Catalina for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the second macOS Catalina beta and a month after the new Mac operating system update was first unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

The new macOS Catalina beta can be downloaded using the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences. As with all new betas, macOS Catalina should not be installed on a primary machine as it is early release software and could have major bugs.

macOS Catalina removes the iTunes app, splitting it into Music, Podcasts, and TV apps. The Apple Music and Apple Podcasts apps are available now, while the Apple TV app is coming later this year.

The new apps are similar in function to iTunes, but are split up by feature. iOS device management is still available on the Mac, but it's now done through Finder rather than iTunes.

With a new Sidecar feature, you can turn your iPad into a second display for your Mac with just the click of a button. The Apple Pencil works with Sidecar, so you can turn your iPad into a drawing tablet in apps like Photoshop and Illustrator.

Your Apple Watch can be used to approve security prompts in macOS Catalina, and Macs with a T2 chip support Activation Lock. There's a new Find My that brings the Find My Mac app to the Mac for the first time and even lets you track your devices when they're offline.

Screen Time is now available on the Mac as well as iOS devices, and Project Catalyst, a new Apple initiative, will let developers easily port their iPad apps over to the Mac.

There's a new Photos interface that surfaces your best photos organized by day, month, or year, there's a new start page in Safari, Mail has new tools for muting email threads and blocking senders, and the Reminders app has been overhauled.

32-bit apps no longer work in macOS Catalina, which is something to be aware of before installing the beta. For more details on macOS Catalina, make sure to check out our macOS Catalina roundup.

Article Link: Apple Seeds Third Beta of macOS Catalina to Developers

 

[Mike Haas]

Thank goodness...we've been waiting since the first public beta for Dev B3...

 

[dbourne]

Thank goodness...we've been waiting since the first public beta for Dev B3...

On third restart without success.

 

[asdavis10]

Hoping iCloud Drive issues are fixed. Will be installing tonight.

 

[Bonte]

My bank has a 32-bit app that i want to use, so no upgrade for me.

 

[cmChimera]

Really hoping public releases today too.

 

[noraa]

I decided to take the risk and install Catalina on my main MBP (because I'm impatient and stupid), and unfortunately had to downgrade back to Mojave. There were enough little bugs in Catalina that made it frustrating to work on at times.

Specifically, for some reason, Audacity just wouldn't record properly. It would detect the mic (both built-in and a USB mic), and I could hit record, but then Audacity wouldn't actually record any audio. What's really bizarre, other apps worked just fine (i.e Audio Hijack). Furthermore, because of the change to how system files are stored on a read-only volume, Backblaze stopped functioning as it relies on a hidden folder on the root-level of the HD to keep track of your hard disk(s).

I know the Backblaze issue will be resolved before the official release, not sure about Audacity though...which would really suck if it doesn't work.

 

[mikalh78]

Does Skype (Business) work? Mainly when someone shares their screen?

 

[anticipate]

Hmm. Not installing. Keeps throwing an error

 

[embraceware]

My bank has a 32-bit app that i want to use, so no upgrade for me.

One solution would be to setup a macOS Mojave install inside of Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion for 32-bit apps. Name it Rosetta .

 

[prh8]

I'm also unable to go through with the installation. Hopefully Beta 4 coming tomorrow I guess

 

[djchrisallen]

Hmm. Not installing. Keeps throwing an error

Same. 2018 15” MBP.

 

[thinsays]

Hmm. Not installing. Keeps throwing an error

same on 2018 Air

 

[grandchester]

Hmm. Not installing. Keeps throwing an error

Same on Mac mini (2018)

 

[Mike Haas]

I'm still downloading - has anyone experienced errors installing to a 13" 2017 MBP currently with Dev 2?

 

[dbourne]

I'm getting 'macOS could not be installed on your computer'...shut-down computer and restarted, same issue.

Looks like I going have to re-install from the flash-drive beta 2 (again)

---

Back to beta 2 after re-installing from my flash drive. I'll wait a little before trying again ;-)

 

[howardhsu]

Get an error after downloading the beta 3 update (MBP with touch bar).

 

[Mike Haas]

Ok, let me put it this way: Has ANYONE gotten this to install and if so, on what machine?

 

[Halid Malla]

Has anyone succeed to install beta 3?

 

[lenard]

Its a no go.......

 

[chrash]

Ok, let me put it this way: Has ANYONE gotten this to install and if so, on what machine?

Yes. I have two machines:

2018 Mac mini - Failed to install, same error as the above posters.
2012 Macbook Air - Installed

 

[Mike Haas]

Well...I'm glad I chose "not now" and just let it download. I'll hold off or cancel it if I don't see some positive install reports...

 

[keys]

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017) - Installed

There was a supplemental update for Final Cut Pro X and the Pro Video Formats that showed up in System Preferences immediately after install.

 

[dsampley]

I am running into the same error. I found that the app installer downloaded to my Mojave container. I then moved the install app to my Catalonia container. While I was able to run the app and then have my laptop reboot, the update eventually did not install due to an error -29.

I am running a 2018 rMBP 15

 

[Mike Haas]

Yes. I have two machines:

2018 Mac mini - Failed to install, same error as the above posters.
2012 Macbook Air - Installed

So far, the reports don't favor 2018 machines. Mine is a 2017 MBP 13" - I fell into the lucky 30% whose battery kept growing until it ruined the case. Apple fixed it for free but it required an entirely new bottom shell.