Apple Seeds Fifth Beta of macOS Sierra 10.12.4 to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available Too]

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming macOS Sierra 10.12.4 update to developers, one week after seeding the fourth macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta and over a month after releasing macOS Sierra 10.12.3.

The fifth macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta is available for download through the Apple Developer Center or the software update mechanism in the Mac App Store for those who have previously installed a beta.

macos-10-12-4-beta
macOS Sierra 10.12.4 brings iOS's Night Shift mode to the Mac for the first time. First introduced on iOS devices with iOS 9.3, Night Shift is designed to gradually shift the display of a device from blue to yellow, cutting down on exposure to blue light. Blue light is said to disrupt the circadian rhythm and is believed to interrupt sleeping patterns.

Night Shift can be activated through the Displays section of System Preferences, where a setting to have it come on at sunset and turn off at sunrise is available. Night Shift can also be toggled on manually through the Notification Center or via Siri.


The 10.12.4 update focuses mainly on Night Shift, but also includes dictation support for Shanghainese, cricket scores for Siri, improved PDFKit APIs, and iCloud Analytics options.

Update: The fifth macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta is now available for public beta testers.

Related Forum: macOS Sierra

Popular Stories

Apple Glass

Apple Smart Glasses: Everything We Know So Far

Wednesday May 21, 2025 8:21 am PDT by
Google recently made waves by showcasing a set of lightweight smart glasses featuring deep Gemini integration and an optional in-lens display. The demo has reignited interest in Apple's own smart glasses project, which has been the subject of rumors for nearly a decade. Here's a recap of where things stand. Current Development Status Apple is actively working on new chips specifically...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Battery Capacity and Weight Allegedly Revealed

Monday May 19, 2025 2:22 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air later this year, and while there have been plenty of rumors about the camera's overall design and thinness, we haven't heard any details about the device's weight and battery capacity until now. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
WWDC 2025 Banner

Apple Announces WWDC 2025 Schedule, Including Keynote Time

Tuesday May 20, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a more detailed schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 9 through June 13. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com, in the Apple TV app, and on YouTube. During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16,...
Apple Glasses Purple Feature

Apple Smart Glasses Launching in 2026

Thursday May 22, 2025 12:22 pm PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a set of smart glasses by the end of 2026, reports Bloomberg. The glasses will be comparable to the Meta Ray-Bans and the Android XR glasses that Google showed off earlier this week. Apple's smart glasses are expected to include cameras, microphones, and AI capabilities, much like the Meta Ray-Bans. The glasses will be able to take photos, record video, provide...
macOS 16 visionOS Inspired Feature 1

macOS 16: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday May 20, 2025 7:31 am PDT by
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple's annual developer and software-oriented event, is less than three weeks away. We haven't heard a great deal about macOS 16 ahead of its announcement this year, so we could be in for some major surprises when June 9 rolls around. Here's what we know so far about the next major update to Apple's Mac operating system. macOS 16 Name? Every year ...
maxresdefault

OpenAI Buys Jony Ive's AI Startup to 'Completely Reimagine What It Means to Use a Computer'

Wednesday May 21, 2025 10:27 am PDT by
OpenAI is acquiring io, the hardware-based AI startup co-created by Jony Ive, OpenAI announced today. Ive has been working with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on io for two years, and the duo expects to develop a family of AI devices. In a video shared by OpenAI, Altman and Ive outlined their partnership and what they expect to create as a result of the merger. "I have a growing sense that everything ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...

Top Rated Comments

Böhme417 Avatar
107 months ago
IMO ... nightshift is not such an important feature.... particularly for a non-mobile operating system.
The vast majority of workforce don't look at their computer screens at night so this doesn't benefit them.

Apple should spend their effort improving other areas of OSX.
Workforce? Pretty sure there are plenty of people using their computers at night who can benefit from this...
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DEMinSoCAL Avatar
107 months ago
Night Shift, Shanghainese and cricket scores? This is about the least exciting macOS update I can remember.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tywebb13 Avatar
107 months ago
I really wish they'd save the front page posting of this news until they have some substance regarding what's changed in the release. If we never get substance, then it never goes on front page.

It's just that a version bump in itself isn't really news, it's a change of a digit.
Totally disagree. Sorry.

But if there was no "substance" as you call it, then apple would not have released a new beta.

"Just a version bump"? Well there has to be a reason for it otherwise apple wouldn't have done it just for the sake of changing the number.

And it certainly IS news. I often find out about new betas on the front page of macrumors before logging into apple's developer portal to get the new seed note and checking for updates in the mac app store.

So I would be happy for macrumors to continue posting such information on their front page.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
StyxMaker Avatar
107 months ago
Night Shift, Shanghainese and cricket scores? This is about the least exciting macOS update I can remember.
Not if you live in Shanghai or are one of the millions of cricket fans around the world.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Milli*5410 Avatar
107 months ago
Hope it fixes the Safari bug I was experiencing page scrolling down by its self.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mytdave Avatar
107 months ago
What's this obsession with Night Shift? How about more stability, compatibility, and restoration of lost features (i.e. Disk Utility currently stinks, bad)?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)