Apple Expands Testing of OS X Mountain Lion to Select Retail Store Staff - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Expands Testing of OS X Mountain Lion to Select Retail Store Staff

With OS X Mountain Lion set to launch to the public sometime next month, 9to5Mac reports that Apple has asked select members of its retail store staff to begin testing the software.

In an e-mail to Apple Store Genius Bar members and Creatives, Apple has provided access to its OS X Mountain Lion AppleSeed testing program…

This testing is to be done on personal Macs belonging to employees, and is not standardized in-store OS X Mountain Lion training.

Not only will the program provide additional testers for Apple as it expands beyond registered Mac developers, but it will also give retail store staff a head start on gaining familiarity with the forthcoming operating system before formal training begins.

mountain lion seeding invite
Apple is almost certainly wrapping up work on OS X Mountain Lion, if it hasn't completed it already, with the company issuing a "near-final" build to developers at its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month. With OS X Mountain Lion being a Mac App Store exclusive, Apple can continue to work on the operating system until relatively close to the launch date given that it does not need to build in time for pressing millions of DVDs, but the company will want some time to ensure that the golden master build is behaving properly before it is released to the public.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.5 Features: Everything New in iOS 26.5

Monday May 11, 2026 5:09 pm PDT by
Apple released iOS 26.5 after a few months of beta testing, and while it doesn't have the Siri features we were hoping for since those are being held until iOS 27, there are a handful of useful changes worth knowing about. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. End-to-End Encryption for RCS Support for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages between iPhone and...
Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

11 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 18 Pro

Monday May 11, 2026 9:01 am PDT by
We're only four months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a sea change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year, adopting a...
Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro May Have 'Aggressive' Starting Price Despite RAM Crisis

Tuesday May 12, 2026 6:53 am PDT by
While the ongoing RAM chip shortage is leading some Android smartphone makers to increase prices, one analyst believes that Apple will take advantage of the situation with the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. In a research note with GF Securities today, analyst Jeff Pu said he expects Apple to outperform in the smartphone market by having an "aggressive pricing strategy" for the ...

Top Rated Comments

181 months ago
So regular employees now serve as beta testers as well?
Developers focus on debugging, noticing performance issues and their causes, etc.
"Regular" users, such as Apple Store employees, will look at the Mac OS X and report daily-usage bugs and inconveniences.

I think it's pretty cool.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
181 months ago
I really hope there is one Apple employee out there who can feedback the dual screening issue with fullscreen apps that is currently such a bane in Lion. I seriously hope there's a fix to this in Mountain Lion! Pleeeeease?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
181 months ago
I am running developer preview 4 with the latest update that came out earlier this week. What is the issue you are having so I can see if it still exists?
I think his issue is this: Let's say you have multiple monitors, say a 27" display and a 17" MacBook Display... you're doing work on the 27" but want to use the full-screen feature of an app on the 17" display. You click the icon in the upper-right to make it full screen and it turns your 27" display into a huge screen of linen!

If you could full-screen apps on one display and still allow you to have access to working on the other display, that would be tremendous, but as of now (Lion), you can't.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ghostface147 Avatar
181 months ago
I really hope there is one Apple employee out there who can feedback the dual screening issue with fullscreen apps that is currently such a bane in Lion. I seriously hope there's a fix to this in Mountain Lion! Pleeeeease?

I am running developer preview 4 with the latest update that came out earlier this week. What is the issue you are having so I can see if it still exists?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
181 months ago


With OS X Mountain Lion being a Mac App Store exclusive, Apple can continue to work on the operating system until relatively close to the launch date given that it does not need to build in time for pressing millions of DVDs

The ability to fix last minute bugs and shorter lead times. Another nice benefit of digital delivery systems like the Mac App Store. :)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RoelJuun Avatar
181 months ago
What a great perk!

You can buy that perk for $100. Just sign up for the developer program.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)