Apple Releases First macOS Sierra 10.12.1 Beta for Public Beta Testers

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming macOS Sierra update to public beta testers, one day after seeding the beta to developers and two days after releasing the first version of macOS Sierra to the public.

Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the macOS Sierra beta through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store.

Those who want to be a part of Apple's beta testing program can sign up to participate through the beta testing website, which gives users access to both iOS and macOS Sierra betas. Betas should not be installed on a primary machine due to the potential for instability.

macossierra
macOS Sierra 10.12.1 appears to focus on bug fixes and performance improvements for issues that have popped up since macOS Sierra was first released. It also includes album support in Photos for the new Portrait feature in iOS 10 on the iPhone 7 Plus.

macOS Sierra is a major update that introduces features like Siri support, cross device copy paste, improved iCloud functionality, the ability to unlock a Mac with the Apple Watch, an Optimize Storage option, and more.

Related Forum: macOS Sierra

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb

Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.2 With Edge Light

Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1. Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...

Top Rated Comments

S.B.G Avatar
120 months ago
That's very laudable but why bother? You're effectively an unpaid part-time worker. Cook, Cue and the rest of the VPs award themselves millions of dollars in bonuses every year, while an army of loyal beta testers do valuable work for no reward. Doesn't seem right to me.
An unpaid, part-time worker? I'm perfectly fine with that. If my usage and reports back to Apple in their beta program helps contribute to a better OS for the masses, including yourself, I feel it was time and effort well spent. My reward is knowing that I was able to contribute in a meaningful way towards something that I like and use, and may be of benefit to many others.

Not all rewards and work need to be paid back monetarily.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
120 months ago
Apple's software team is on fire. I really believe they've cracked the major issues of the past.

Just throw some new hardware out there and I think we'll all be happy. :)
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
franzdib Avatar
120 months ago
Wow... two whole days of not being on beta (not complaining).
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blacktape242 Avatar
120 months ago
Is scrolling in safari still choppy with this build?
Seems to be better from what i see
[doublepost=1474572343][/doublepost]
Sierra is actually quite buggy for me...
It was for me too, so far this release seems to have fixed some of those bugs.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
willrun4fun Avatar
120 months ago
Unlocking with Apple Watch is almost instantaneous now for me on my MBPr13 2013.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mszilard Avatar
120 months ago
Is scrolling in safari still choppy with this build?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)