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

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. ...
Read Full Article • 71 comments
Finder Siri Feature

Apple's New Siri Will Be Powered By Google Gemini

Wednesday November 5, 2025 11:57 am PST by
The smarter, more capable version of Siri that Apple is developing will be powered by Google Gemini, reports Bloomberg. Apple will pay Google approximately $1 billion per year for a 1.2 trillion parameter artificial intelligence model that was developed by Google. For context, parameters are a measure of how a model understands and responds to queries. More parameters generally means more...
Read Full Article • 368 comments
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...
Read Full Article • 116 comments
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...
Read Full Article
airtag purple

Apple's Website Lists AirTag 4-Pack at Shockingly Low Price [Updated]

Friday November 7, 2025 6:40 am PST by
Apple's online store in the U.S. is suddenly offering a pack of four AirTags for just $29, which is the same price as a single AirTag. This is likely a pricing error, and it is unclear if orders will be fulfilled. Apple has not discounted the AirTag four-pack in any other countries that we checked. Delivery estimates are already pushing into late November to early December, suggesting...
Read Full Article • 94 comments
apple watch se 3 always on

Apple to Remove iPhone-Apple Watch Wi-Fi Sync in EU With iOS 26.2

Thursday November 6, 2025 4:37 am PST by
Apple in iOS 26.2 will disable automatic Wi-Fi network syncing between iPhone and Apple Watch in the European Union to comply with the bloc's regulations, suggests a new report. Normally, when an iPhone connects to a new Wi-Fi network, it automatically shares the network credentials with the paired Apple Watch. This allows the watch to connect to the same network independently – for...
Read Full Article • 217 comments
ikea smart home devices

IKEA Debuts 21 HomeKit-Compatible Smart Bulbs, Sensors, and Controls

Thursday November 6, 2025 4:08 pm PST by
IKEA today announced the upcoming launch of 21 new Matter-compatible smart home products that will be able to interface with HomeKit and the Apple Home app. There are sensors, lights, and control options, all of which will be reasonably priced. Some of the products are new, while some are updates to existing lines that IKEA previously offered. There are a series of new smart bulbs that are...
Read Full Article • 74 comments
Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple's 2026 Smart Home Revamp: All the Rumors

Wednesday November 5, 2025 3:54 pm PST by
It's been over a decade since Apple's HomeKit smart home platform launched, and it is overdue for an update. HomeKit and the Home app can no longer keep up with AI-powered solutions from other companies like Google and Amazon, but that's set to change with a smart home revamp that Apple has planned for 2026. Home Hub Apple is working on a home hub or "command center" that will serve as a...
Read Full Article • 56 comments

Top Rated Comments

0092284 Avatar
0092284
109 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
109 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
109 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
109 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
109 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
109 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