Apple Seeds Second Beta of macOS High Sierra to Public Beta Testers

by

Apple today seeded the second public beta of an upcoming macOS High Sierra update to public beta testers, two weeks after releasing the first public beta. The second public beta of macOS High Sierra corresponds with the third developer beta, provided to developers earlier this week.

Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program are able to download the second macOS High Sierra beta through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store after the proper profile has been installed.

macos hs beta
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 iOS, macOS, and tvOS betas. For instructions on how to install the public beta, check out our how to, and make sure to make a backup before giving the software a try. Don't install the beta on a main machine, as betas are notoriously unstable. High Sierra runs on all machines that support Sierra.

The macOS High Sierra update is designed to improve and refine the existing macOS Sierra operating system. Along with a new, more efficient file system (APFS) designed for modern storage, the update introduces Metal 2, the next-generation version of Apple's Metal graphics API with support for machine learning, external GPUs, and VR content creation.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.

High Efficiency Video Encoding (HEVC aka H.265) is coming in High Sierra, and many of the existing apps are being updated. Photos features a new persistent side view and editing tools for Curves, Selective Color, and Live Photos, while Siri is gaining a more natural voice and support for more music-related commands.

Safari offers a new autoplay blocking feature for videos and Intelligent Tracking Prevention to protect your privacy, while Mail storage is being optimized to take up 35 percent less space. iMessages can now be stored in iCloud, and there are new iCloud Drive file sharing options and new iCloud storage family plans.

For a full overview of the new features you can expect to see when macOS High Sierra is released in the fall, make sure to check out our full macOS High Sierra roundup.

Related Forum: macOS High Sierra

Popular Stories

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...
Read Full Article • 89 comments
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...
Read Full Article • 82 comments
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 >...
Read Full Article • 111 comments
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...
Read Full Article • 68 comments
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...
Read Full Article • 98 comments
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...
Read Full Article • 38 comments
ipados 26 1 slide over

Apple Releases iPadOS 26.2 With Multitasking Improvements

Friday December 12, 2025 10:09 am PST by
Apple today released iPadOS 26.2, the second major update to the iPadOS 26 operating system released in September. iPadOS 26.2 comes a month after iPadOS 26.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. iPadOS 26.2 continues with the multitasking improvements that were added with iPadOS 26.1. You can now drag and...
Read Full Article • 20 comments
bug security vulnerability issue fix larry

Update Now: iOS 26.2 Fixes 20+ Security Vulnerabilities

Friday December 12, 2025 11:11 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, iPadOS 26.2, and macOS 26.2, all of which introduce new features, bug fixes, and security improvements. Apple says that the updates address over 20 vulnerabilities, including two bugs that are known to have been actively exploited. There are a pair of WebKit vulnerabilities that could allow maliciously crafted web content to execute code or cause memory...
Read Full Article • 100 comments

Top Rated Comments

0092284 Avatar
0092284
110 months ago
Tons of issues with the first PB, hope this improves functionality / performance. It needs it.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Icaras Avatar
Icaras
110 months ago
Does anyone know if its safe to upgrade to APFS on a 1TB Apple-made fusion drive in this PB?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PBG4 Dude Avatar
PBG4 Dude
110 months ago
Reading some of these posts it sounds like people are running High Sierra on their main partition vs secondary partition or external drive. Why would one need to run a Time Machine backup on a partition with just High Sierra and whatever one is testing?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fisherking Avatar
fisherking
110 months ago
BY FAR the WORST BUILD EVER
The first public beta build was workable, 10.13 Beta (17A306f) is plagued with bugs. If you are thinking about public beta testing - skip this version. I can't keep up with all the bug reporting.
Some issues I'm having is Fan running all the time (iMac 27-inch, Late 2012) 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7 32 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX 2 GB)
Bubbles appear while completing forms on safari
Flickering Safar preferences
copy and paste not always working ctrl C
computer becomes unresponsive for seconds
Try it if you'd like, but I would recommend skipping this version.
[doublepost=1499892145][/doublepost]
Yes, and airdrop isn't working properly.
So many more bugs. I've already sent in 4 and haven't sent in photos not importing from iPhone.
[doublepost=1499892213][/doublepost]
M is last weeks. F is today's. Don't do it, it is a big fail and you'll never get any work done.
not having any of those problems; PB2 is running much better here than PB1 in most respects. try re-installing the beta...
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jason.childs Avatar
Jason.childs
110 months ago
Yea I downloaded the entire thing from beta.apple.com. No luck.



I did everything you did. Quit all apps, disconnected all peripherals, and even tried installing it from safe mode. Same result, every time. This sucks.
Add one more to the pile! I even did a clean install of Sierra, and it still won't install it.

If anyone figures this out, please share!

I've looked all over the webs for a possible answer, and no luck...anyone else?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rbgaynor Avatar
rbgaynor
110 months ago
Hope it fixes the sleep issue...
Installed the developer beta yesterday, I'm still seeing sleep problems. That said, lot's of things are better, time machine is working again...
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments