Apple Releases Second Public Beta of macOS 12 Monterey

by

Apple today seeded the second public beta of the macOS 12 Monterey beta to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to test the new macOS Monterey software ahead of its public release. The second beta comes two weeks after Apple released the first macOS Monterey public beta.

macos monterey tidbits feature copy
Public beta testers can download the macOS 12 Monterey update from the Software Update section of the System Preferences app after installing the proper profile from Apple's beta software website.

macOS Monterey introduces quite a few major updates for the macOS operating system. Universal Control, for example, lets a single mouse, trackpad, and keyboard be used across multiple Mac or iPad devices, and it's now possible to AirPlay directly to a Mac from an iPhone, ‌iPad‌, or even another Mac.

Safari has an updated tab bar and support for Tab Groups to keep tons of tabs organized, and FaceTime now features support for spatial audio, Portrait Mode (M1 Macs only) and Voice Isolation for cutting out background noise. A SharePlay ‌FaceTime‌ feature lets Apple TV users watch TV, listen to music, and share their screens with one another.

Shared With You, another new feature, keeps track of the music, links, podcasts, news, and photos that people are sent in Messages, highlighting it in the relevant apps. Notes has a new Quick Note feature for jotting down thoughts, and the Shortcuts app is now available on the Mac.

A dedicated Focus mode helps people stay on task by cutting out background distractions based on what's going on, and there's an updated Maps app with a whole slew of new features. With Live Text, Macs can now detect text in photos or provide details on animals, art, landmarks, plants, and more in images.

Mail Privacy Protection hides IP and prevents tracking through invisible pixels, and iCloud Private Relay keeps Safari browsing protected. There are many other new features in ‌macOS Monterey‌, with a complete overview available in our macOS Monterey roundup.

In the developer beta that corresponds to the second public beta, Apple changed the default design of the Safari tab bar following multiple usability complaints. There's now a dedicated address bar at the top of the Safari window, with tabs arranged below it, rather than an all-in-one integrated design. Those who preferred the original design can use the View menu to toggle off "Show Separate Tab Bar."

Related Forum: macOS Monterey

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
Read Full Article
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
Read Full Article • 292 comments
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
Read Full Article • 64 comments
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
Read Full Article • 68 comments
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
Read Full Article • 236 comments
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
Read Full Article • 12 comments
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
Read Full Article • 24 comments
maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
Read Full Article • 60 comments
replay all time playlist apple music

Apple Music Debuts All-New Personalized Playlist

Monday June 30, 2025 7:16 am PDT by
As part of its 10-year celebrations of Apple Music, Apple today released an all-new personalized playlist that collates your entire listening history. The playlist, called "Replay All Time," expands on Apple Music's existing Replay features. Previously, users could only see their top songs for each individual calendar year that they've been subscribed to Apple Music, but now, Replay All...
Read Full Article • 32 comments

Top Rated Comments

orbital~debris Avatar
orbital~debris
52 months ago
"Kevin Lynch, who is well known at Apple for overseeing work on the Apple Watch and now Apple Car, is set to take on a role hand-delivering copies of macOS Public Betas to customers."
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JMacHack Avatar
JMacHack
52 months ago
Macrumors:
“Snow Leopard was the best OSX release! They added no new features and focused on bug fixes!”

Also Macrumors:
“Monterey is boring because it doesn’t have more new features!”
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blazerunner Avatar
blazerunner
52 months ago
6700 XT drivers?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
Realityck
52 months ago

('https://www.macrumors.com/2021/07/16/apple-releases-macos-monterey-public-beta-2/')

Apple today seeded the second public beta of the macOS 12 Monterey beta to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to test the new macOS Monterey software ahead of its public release. The second beta comes two weeks after Apple released the first macOS Monterey public beta ('https://www.macrumors.com/2021/07/01/apple-seeds-first-macos-monterey-public-beta/').

In the developer beta that corresponds to the second public beta
This should be written as MacOS 12 beta 3 is now released to public beta testers. If there was a different build version it would be unique to a PB release, but Apple hasn't been doing that for awhile. It just avoids confusion.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
justperry Avatar
justperry
52 months ago
One of the few OS versions which is by a long shot underwhelming.
Been on OS X/macOS since 10.0b, this is until now my least favorite one.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
justperry Avatar
justperry
52 months ago

Why because you can't run legacy applications? Or is this Mac hardware specific?
[HEADING=2]https://www.computerworld.com/article/2983507/the-evolution-of-macos-and-mac-os-x.html#slide1[/HEADING]
No, just nothing really different from Big Sur.
And Big Sur wasn't that special either but still way ahead of Monterey....just mho.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments