Apple Seeds Fourth macOS Sierra 10.12.2 Beta to Developers [Updated]

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of the upcoming macOS Sierra 10.12.2 update to developers, two weeks after releasing the third 10.12.2 beta and a month after the public release of macOS 10.12.1.

macOS Sierra 10.12.2 beta 4 is available for download through the Apple Developer Center or through the software update mechanism in the Mac App Store.

macos-10-12-2-beta
macOS Sierra 10.12.2 includes new emoji, introducing Unicode 9 characters like clown face, selfie, face palm, fox face, owl, shark, butterfly, avocado, pancakes, croissant, bacon and more, plus many profession emoji are available in both male and female genders. Apple has also updated the artwork on many existing emoji, adding detail and design elements to make them look less cartoonish and more realistic.

There are few other outward-facing changes aside from the addition of new emoji, but the 10.12.2 update also likely includes many bug fixes and performance enhancements to address issues that have surfaced since the release of macOS Sierra 10.12.1.

Available since September, macOS Sierra is the latest Mac operating system. It includes Siri support, Apple Pay for the web, Universal Clipboard, Apple Watch auto unlocking, improved iCloud Drive integration, Picture-in-Picture multitasking, and dozens of smaller features that can be found in our macOS Sierra roundup.

Update: macOS Sierra 10.12.2 beta 4 is also available for public beta testers.

Related Forum: macOS Sierra

Popular Stories

iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive a New Perk

Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month. In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro teal 1

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Coming to These 8 U.S. States, But Rollout Remains Slow

Wednesday March 19, 2025 6:55 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly. It has been three and a half years since Apple first announced the...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

iOS 19 Coming in June With These New Features

Thursday March 20, 2025 2:04 pm PDT by
While the first iOS 19 beta is still more than two months away, there are already plenty of rumors about the upcoming software update. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors so far. visionOS-Like Design In January, the YouTube channel Front Page Tech revealed a redesigned Camera app that is allegedly planned for iOS 19. According to Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser, the Camera app...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro Already Rumored to Have Five New Features

Tuesday March 18, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around a year and a half away from launching, there are already some early rumors about the devices. Below, we recap some key iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. Under-Screen Face ID In April 2023, display industry analyst Ross Young shared a roadmap showing that iPhone 17 Pro models would feature under-display Face ID. In May 2024, however, Young said ...
Windows Vista

Apple Might Be Having Its Windows Vista Moment, Says Analyst

Thursday March 20, 2025 6:52 am PDT by
Is Apple experiencing a "Vista-like drift into systemically poor execution?" That was a question posed by well-known technology analyst Benedict Evans, in a recent blog post covering Apple's innovation and execution, or seemingly lack thereof as of late. He is referring to Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, which was widely criticized when it launched in 2007 due to software bugs,...
iPhone 17 Air Fanned Feature

First iPhone 17 Air Case Has Camera Bar, Camera Control Button Cutouts

Wednesday March 19, 2025 5:29 am PDT by
Serial leaker Sonny Dickson today shared an image of what he claims is a first look at a third-party case for Apple's iPhone 17 Air. "If you didn’t know an Air was coming, you'd swear it was a Google Pixel case," he said. Case manufacturers often obtain design specifications of upcoming iPhone models before their release by collaborating with Apple through official partnerships or...
iphone 16 pro models 1

All Four iPhone 17 Models Rumored to Feature Upgraded 24-Megapixel Front Camera and More

Monday March 17, 2025 7:50 pm PDT by
All four iPhone 17 models launching later this year will feature an upgraded 24-megapixel front-facing camera, according to analyst Jeff Pu. In a research note today with investment firm GF Securities, Pu shared a chart in which he reiterated that the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will each be equipped with a 24-megapixel front camera. By comparison, all four ...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

Latest iPhone 17 Pro Dummies Highlight Apple's New Part-Glass Design

Thursday March 20, 2025 5:27 am PDT by
Seasoned leaker Sonny Dickson has shared more dummy models of Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 series, with the latest lot revealing a noticeable shift in Apple's iPhone Pro model design that goes beyond the much-talked-about new rear camera bar. Dickson points out that the iPhone 17 Pro dummy models feature an outlined area on the back, beginning just below the camera module and extending to the...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

iOS 19 to Have Some of the 'Biggest' Design Changes in iPhone's History

Sunday March 16, 2025 10:35 am PDT by
Apple is planning some of the "biggest iOS and macOS redesigns in its history," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman reiterated that iOS 19 will have a visionOS-like design with more transparent interfaces:The new interfaces will adopt the design principles introduced in visionOS, the software for Apple's Vision Pro headset. That includes greater...

Top Rated Comments

Bubba Satori Avatar
109 months ago
The face palm emoji seems especially relevant.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TimCookMustGo Avatar
109 months ago
Now we can have the upside down smiley face emoji on our gimmicky touchbar. Thanks Tim!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CausticSoda Avatar
109 months ago
Nice to see "outward-facing changes aside from the addition of new emoji". Courageous.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
natepaschall Avatar
109 months ago
What turd MacOS Sierra is. After spending all that effort to clean up the bugs in Mavericks & Yosemite with El Capitan, they release a fresh stinking pile of buggy software full of emojis.

Wish I never upgraded. The 3 positive benefits of MacOS Sierra is their space-reducing feature, ApplePay, and App Tabs, and none of these are dramatic user experience improvements. Other than that, 3rd party software suffices for any of their new 'features'.

Siri? - Used once just to see how it worked.

Universal Copy-Paste? - I have 2 apps that can do that

Unlock via TouchID? - I have an app for that and I don't have to buy a new MacBook to do it

Desktop & Documents folder on all devices? - Even more fragmentation? No thanks. As if the iCloud environment isn't already confusing enough.

ApplePay? - Neat, haven't used it yet

Photos? - More bloated mac apps? No thanks

Emojis? - Everything thats wrong with the world today

iTunes? - The worst app on Mac becomes even worse

Tabs? - Neat, haven't used it yet

I still can't plug in my HDMI monitor without the Fan buzzing like a Category 5 hurricane (mid2102 MBP 15" Retina) .

Stick with El Capitan if you haven't upgraded.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Porco Avatar
109 months ago
So they have the shark emoji, just need the Fonzie on waterskis emoji now... maybe in 10.12.3? Here's hoping.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
skippermonkey Avatar
109 months ago
Dear God, what a cluster**** Apple is these days. Tim and his buffoon buddies have six months to release something that equates to a decent desktop computer, or then my $many thousands go to a PC manufacturer. Emojis... I mean what the actual ****? So glad I stuck with El Capitan.

And I agree with one of the posters above. Tim Cook really has to go.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)