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

by

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.

macossierrabeta
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.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.

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.

Related Forum: macOS Sierra

Popular Stories

sonny iphone 16 pro colors

New iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Colors Revealed Ahead of Apple Event

Friday September 6, 2024 5:01 am PDT by
Apple is "shaking up its color palette" for its iPhone 16 lineup this year, according to well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. Early iPhone 16 Pro dummy models via Sonny Dickson According to Gurman, the iPhone 16 Pro models will come in a Gold Titanium to replace Blue Titanium, while the Black, White, and Natural Titanium options that debuted with the iPhone 15 Pro will remain...
Read Full Article • 115 comments
Generic iOS 18 Feature Real Mock

iOS 18 Coming Later This Month With These 8 New Features

Tuesday September 3, 2024 12:07 pm PDT by
iOS 18 has been in beta testing for nearly three months, and the software update will finally be released for all compatible iPhones soon. Apple should reveal iOS 18's exact release date during its September 9 event, with the most likely possibility being Monday, September 16. Below, we have highlighted eight key new features included in iOS 18. Note that Apple Intelligence is not coming...
Read Full Article
iPhone 16 Pro Mock Article

How Much Will the iPhone 16 Cost?

Friday September 6, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 16 series is expected to launch on September 20 and will compete in a quickly evolving smartphone market, and with some notable upgrades rumored, the new models could see price changes compared to previous years. Successive iPhone models always come with new features and hardware upgrades, but Apple typically does not increase the retail prices as a result....
Read Full Article • 88 comments
its glowtime event youtube

Report Details Last-Minute Apple Event Rumors About New iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods

Friday September 6, 2024 4:40 am PDT by
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today shared his final expectations for Apple's "It's Glowtime" event, providing some new tidbits and clarifications about the new devices set to be announced on Monday. iPhone 16 Pro Along with larger 6.3- and 6.9-inch display sizes, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will have bezels that are "now about a third slimmer" for a "sleeker overall look." The...
Read Full Article • 32 comments
iOS 18 CarPlay Feature

iOS 18 Adds These 6 New Features to CarPlay

Tuesday September 3, 2024 12:59 pm PDT by
Apple did not mention CarPlay when it unveiled iOS 18 in June, but the update includes a handful of new features for the in-car iPhone system. iOS 18 includes some changes to the Messages app, Settings app, and Siri on CarPlay. The update should be widely released later in September. Below, we recap CarPlay's key new features on iOS 18. 1. Contact Photos in Messages App iOS 18 adds...
Read Full Article
apple watch series 9 display

'Noticeably Thinner' Apple Watch Series 10 to Eventually Get Sleep Apnea Detection

Friday September 6, 2024 4:42 am PDT by
The Apple Watch Series 10 will include a new sleep apnea detection feature, but it may not be available as soon as the new model launches, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Sleep apnea detection, which builds on the watch's existing sleep tracking, will attempt to determine if a wearer has sleep apnea and then suggest further testing with a medical professional. Gurman had expressed...
Read Full Article • 57 comments

Top Rated Comments

bladerunner2000 Avatar
bladerunner2000
106 months ago
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?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
keysofanxiety
106 months ago
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.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sandstorm Avatar
Sandstorm
106 months ago
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.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nollic Avatar
nollic
106 months ago
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
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JDHiro Avatar
JDHiro
106 months ago
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.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
keysofanxiety
106 months ago
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.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments