Apple Releases First macOS Sierra 10.12.4 Public Beta With New Night Shift Mode

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming macOS Sierra 10.12.4 update to public beta testers for testing purposes, two days after seeding the first 10.12.4 beta to developers and three days after releasing macOS Sierra 10.12.3.

Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the 10.12.4 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.


macOS Sierra 10.12.4 brings iOS's popular Night Shift mode to the Mac, allowing users to cut down on blue light exposure. Believed to affect sleep by upsetting the body's circadian rhythm, blue light is thought to be more harmful than yellow light.

With Night Shift, the Mac's display automatically shifts from cool to warm at sunset and then shifts back at sunrise. Users can also set custom times for the display's colors to shift, or toggle the effect on manually. A Toggle to turn Night Shift on is available in the Notification Center, and Siri can also be used to activate the feature. macOS Sierra 10.12.4 also includes Shanghainese dictation support, cricket scores for Siri, and PDFKit improvements.

Related Forum: macOS Sierra

Popular Stories

m1 chip slide

Five Years of Apple Silicon: M1 to M5 Performance Comparison

Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro. The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

Apple to Hide Selfie Camera Under Display of 20th Anniversary iPhone

Monday November 10, 2025 1:55 am PST by
Apple will conceal the front-facing camera under the screen of its 2027 iPhone, a Chinese leaker said today, corroborating reports that Apple's 20th anniversary iPhone will have no visible cutouts in the display. Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station said Apple's development of under-screen camera technology was progressing as planned for adoption in 2027, one year after it will...
Early Black Friday Deals 1

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals on AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, and More

Saturday November 8, 2025 6:16 am PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
iphone air thinness

iPhone Air Sales Are So Bad That Apple's Delaying the Next-Generation Version

Monday November 10, 2025 11:41 am PST by
The thin, light iPhone Air sold so poorly that Apple has decided to delay the launch of the next-generation iPhone Air that was scheduled to come out alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, reports The Information. Apple initially planned to release a new iPhone Air in fall 2026, but now that's not going to happen. Since the iPhone Air launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump. ...
Apple fitness plus feature

Future of Apple Fitness+ 'Under Review'

Sunday November 9, 2025 5:30 am PST by
The future of Apple Fitness+ is "under review" amid a reorganization of the service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple Fitness+ remains one of the company's "weakest digital offerings." The service apparently suffers from high churn and little revenue. Nevertheless, Fitness+ has a small, loyal fanbase that...
iphone pocket%402x

Apple Debuts iPhone Pocket, a Limited Edition iPod Sock-Style Accessory

Tuesday November 11, 2025 1:23 am PST by
Apple has teamed up with Japanese fashion house ISSEY MIYAKE to launch iPhone Pocket, a 3D-knitted limited edition accessory designed to carry an iPhone, AirPods, and other everyday items. The accessory is like a stretchy pocket, not unlike an iPod Sock, but elongated to form a strap made of a ribbed, elastic textile that fully encloses an iPhone yet allows you to glimpse the display...
Liquid Glass General Feature

Apple Shares Liquid Glass Design Gallery

Thursday November 6, 2025 2:45 pm PST by
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences. The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more. Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features. Liquid Glass Toggle iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass. In the Settings app, under Display...
iPhone Satellite Feature

Apple Developing These 5 New Satellite Features for iPhone

Sunday November 9, 2025 6:07 am PST by
Apple is working on a series of new satellite connectivity features for the iPhone, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In this week's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman revealed that the new features in development include: Apple Maps via satellite: Navigation in Apple Maps without cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity. Photos in Messages via satellite: Support for sending photos in the Messages...

Top Rated Comments

routine_analyst Avatar
115 months ago
How about a system wide "dark mode" that goes beyond the menu bar and dock?
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
willmtaylor Avatar
115 months ago
Can one of you fine people help me understand what the point of your posts are. I mean, they aren't funny, they provide no useful information. They turn away anyone who might come here for actual help or information. One can only get the impression that MacRumors is meant to be a joke and not taken seriously. Is that really what the owners want? How very sad.

Even after adding about a 100 to my ignore list, I still see this nonsense. I guess it's time to add more. However it would appear the supply of useless contributors is endless. How many ignored people can be added to the list by the forum software?
You're relatively new here, aren't you?

You see, this is a public forum where people can add their opinions and ideas concerning any given topic publicly.

If you don't like it, you're welcome to leave or continue ignoring anyone and everyone who rubs you the wrong way. Additionally, you may flag any comment you feel inappropriate, and forum moderators will take a look.

Best of luck, and may I suggest lightening up a bit?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mac Fly (film) Avatar
115 months ago
Can one of you fine people help me understand what the point of your posts are. I mean, they aren't funny, they provide no useful information. They turn away anyone who might come here for actual help or information. One can only get the impression that MacRumors is meant to be a joke and not taken seriously. Is that really what the owners want? How very sad.

Even after adding about a 100 to my ignore list, I still see this nonsense. I guess it's time to add more. However it would appear the supply of useless contributors is endless. How many ignored people can be added to the list by the forum software?
This forum was great 4-8 years ago. It's become overrun by teenagers and what appears to be people who genuinely just don't like Apple and as you know competing companies have been caught astroturfing before and my opinion is there is lots of that here too. Heck, if the NSA and GCHQ can do it then Samsung and other terrible entities are too. And they absolutely are.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Thunderhawks Avatar
115 months ago
I hope Apple is working hard at this.
Probably at night to make sure it works.
[doublepost=1485456495][/doublepost]
How about a system wide "dark mode" that goes beyond the menu bar and dock?
How about just switching your machine off.
Works flawlessly without OS X issues..
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kaibelf Avatar
115 months ago
You're relatively new here, aren't you?

You see, this is a public forum where people can add their opinions and ideas concerning any given topic publicly.

If you don't like it, you're welcome to leave or continue ignoring anyone and everyone who rubs you the wrong way. Additionally, you may flag any comment you feel inappropriate, and forum moderators will take a look.

Best of luck, and may I suggest lightening up a bit?
Perhaps longtime readers don't appreciate users like yourself dragging down the discourse and content of the site with meaningless nonsense. If you have nothing to contribute, perhaps it is you who should leave instead of ruining it for the people who DO care about the site and the information here.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
willmtaylor Avatar
115 months ago
...or you could..ya know...use FLUX....
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)