Apple Releases New macOS 12 Monterey Public Beta

Apple today seeded the third 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 third beta comes two weeks after Apple released the second 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. The new beta adds Live Text support for Intel Macs.

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.

Related Forum: macOS Monterey

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
CarPlay Pinned Messages

iOS 26.2 Adds New CarPlay Setting

Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose. Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
Tesla Charging

Tesla Working to Add Apple CarPlay Support to Vehicles

Thursday November 13, 2025 8:31 am PST by
Tesla is working to add support for Apple CarPlay in its vehicles, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Tesla vehicles rely on its own infotainment software system, which integrates vehicle functions, navigation, music, web browsing, and more. The automaker has been an outlier in foregoing support for Apple CarPlay, which has otherwise become an industry standard feature, allowing users to...
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
homepod mini thumb feature

New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and AirTag Were Expected This Year — Where Are They?

Wednesday November 12, 2025 11:42 am PST by
While it was rumored that Apple planned to release new versions of the HomePod mini, Apple TV, and AirTag this year, it is no longer clear if that will still happen. Back in January, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple planned to release new HomePod mini and Apple TV models "toward the end of the year," while he at one point expected a new AirTag to launch "around the middle of 2025." Yet,...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Available Next Month With These 8 New Features

Tuesday November 11, 2025 9:48 am PST by
Apple released the first iOS 26.2 beta last week. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date....
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 ...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 2

Wednesday November 12, 2025 3:29 pm PST by
Apple today provided developers with the second beta of iOS 26.2, which adds a few new features worth knowing about. Measure App Apple's Measure app now features a Liquid Glass design for the level, with two Liquid Glass bubbles instead of white circles. Games App There's now an option to sort games in the Games app Library by size, in addition to Name and Recent. CarPlay The...
walmart new ornametns

Walmart Black Friday Deals Begin Today With Low Prices on Headphones, TVs, and More

Friday November 14, 2025 7:55 am PST by
Walmart's Black Friday sale has officially kicked off today, with an online shopping event that's also seeing some matching deals in retail locations. There are quite a few major discounts in this sale, including savings on headphones, TVs, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Walmart. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us...

Top Rated Comments

Realityck Avatar
56 months ago
Just saw the MacOS 12 beta 4 was available for PB testers.
[HEADING=2][SPOILER="macOS Monterey 12 Beta 4 Release Notes"][/SPOILER][/HEADING]
[SPOILER="macOS Monterey 12 Beta 4 Release Notes"]
[HEADING=2]App Store[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Resolved in macOS Monterey 12 beta 4[/HEADING]

* Purchases made using the Sandbox environment no longer return VerificationResult.unverified(_:). (79053760)
* Fixed an issue that prevented the system from automatically pushing subscription renewals to your app through the StoreKit 2 APIs in the App Store sandbox environment. (78463355)
* The Dismiss button now appears correctly in the refund request window when calling the type method beginRefundRequest(for:in:) or the instance method beginRefundRequest(in:) on a transaction. (78987211)
* restoreCompletedTransactions() ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/skpaymentqueue/1506123-restorecompletedtransactions') on SKPaymentQueue ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/skpaymentqueue') now functions in Xcode StoreKit Testing. (74015869)
* StoreKit configuration files are now detected in iMessage apps in Xcode StoreKit Testing. (76554158)

[HEADING=2]Authentication Services[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Resolved in macOS Monterey 12 beta 4[/HEADING]

* allowedCredentials ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/authenticationservices/asauthorizationsecuritykeypublickeycredentialassertionrequest/3751832-allowedcredentials') is now respected. (79221358)

[HEADING=2]Focus[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* You’re unable to switch to a Focus other than Do Not Disturb using Siri. (78263540)
* The system won’t allow notifications to break through a Focus, even if “Allow time sensitive notifications” is selected. (80998661)

[HEADING=2]iCloud[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Resolved in macOS Monterey 12 beta 4[/HEADING]

* If network connectivity is interrupted, the system no longer displays an inaccurate alert that iCloud Private Relay is incompatible with the network. (79853379)

[HEADING=2]Language & Region[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* Certain languages might display unlocalized text. (78476984)
* Certain languages might exhibit clipped or misaligned layout. (78477103)

[HEADING=2]Live Text[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]New Features in macOS Monterey 12 beta 4[/HEADING]

* Live Text now works across all Mac computers that support macOS Monterey.

[HEADING=2]Logging[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Resolved in macOS Monterey 12 beta 4[/HEADING]

* For every process crash, macOS no longer generates two crash logs. (76650102)

[HEADING=2]Mac Catalyst[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* Setting the title color of a UIButton ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uibutton') doesn’t work regardless of whether you use baseForegroundColor ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uibutton/configuration/3750782-baseforegroundcolor') or titleColorForState: ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uibutton/1624017-titlecolorforstate'). (76566253)
* System buttons have a black background color if no color is set. (76910619)
Workaround: Set a color, or if you want the system default color, request a button using the iOS 14 and Mac Catalyst 15 or earlier API: buttonWithType: ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uibutton/1624028-buttonwithtype').

[HEADING=2]macOS Recovery[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Resolved in macOS Monterey 12 beta 4[/HEADING]

* You can now start up from macOS Recovery. (78334511)

[HEADING=3]Deprecations[/HEADING]

* MKPinAnnotationView ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/mapkit/mkpinannotationview') and MapPin ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/mapkit/mappin') are deprecated in this beta. (78536295)

[HEADING=2]Maps[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* The Bay Bridge might scale incorrectly at high zoom levels. (79217316)
* Rounded building corners might disappear. (80468151)

[HEADING=3]Resolved in macOS Monterey 12 beta 4[/HEADING]

* Rivers no longer disappear at certain zoom levels. (79993916)

[HEADING=2]Messages[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Resolved in macOS Monterey 12 beta 4[/HEADING]

* Clicking the reply bubble in a Business Chat conversation now works as expected. (76702989)

[HEADING=2]Music[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* You might be unable to play Lossless or Spatial Audio tracks via Siri. (78277808)

[HEADING=2]Networking[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Deprecations[/HEADING]

* Support for cleartext HTTP URL schemes for Proxy Automatic Configuration (PAC) is now deprecated. Use only HTTPS URL schemes for PAC. This affects all PAC configurations, including, but not limited to, configurations set via Settings, System Preferences, profiles, and URLSession APIs such as connectionProxyDictionary ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/foundation/urlsessionconfiguration/1411499-connectionproxydictionary') and CFNetworkExecuteProxyAutoConfigurationURL(_:_:_:_:) ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/cfnetwork/1426392-cfnetworkexecuteproxyautoconfigu'). If you configure a cleartext HTTP PAC URL, the system may upgrade it to HTTPS during PAC file loads. Web Proxy Auto-Discovery (WPAD) Protocol via DNS isn’t affected. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Option 252 WPAD may attempt to upgrade cleartext HTTP URLs to HTTPS during PAC file loads. (61981845)

[HEADING=2]Python[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Deprecations[/HEADING]

* If an app uses Python 2.7, macOS now triggers an alert indicating that the developer must update the app to ensure it will work in future versions of macOS. (80221011)

[HEADING=2]RealityKit[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* The StreamingInput init on PhotogrammetrySession ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/realitykit/photogrammetrysession') isn’t supported. (78838906)

[HEADING=2]Safari[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]New Features in macOS Monterey 12 beta 4[/HEADING]

* Compact tab layout is an option in Safari Tabs preferences. (80972789)

[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* Animation glitches might occur when opening and closing the sidebar in Safari. (80441779)
* Safari toolbar vibrancy and background color might adversely affect the legibility of tab buttons in the tab bar. (80417925)

[HEADING=3]Resolved in macOS Monterey 12 beta 4[/HEADING]

* The Safari start page sync no longer requires devices that are on macOS Monterey 12 Beta 3 and iOS 15 Beta 3 or newer. (79385360)
* With Show Separate Tab Bar disabled, opening a new tab now shows a Start Page as expected. (80406212)
* With Use Separate Tab Bar enabled, the Reader Available button no longer appears too close to the edge of the Smart Search field. (80441578)

[HEADING=2]SharePlay[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* Sessions with more than five participants might affect SharePlay performance. (79466576)
* Notifications you receive while sharing your display are visible to other SharePlay participants. (79455578)
Workaround: Enable Do Not Disturb during the SharePlay session.
* Recipients of screen sharing content might see unexpectedly small windows and limited zoom behavior. (78431516)

[HEADING=2]SwiftUI[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]New Features in macOS Monterey 12 beta 4[/HEADING]

* Added buttonBorderShape, which can be used to control the shape of bordered buttons. (79456465)
* New AttributedString ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/foundation/attributedstring') attributes underlineStyle ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/foundation/attributescopes/swiftuiattributes/3862794-underlinestyle') and strikethroughStyle ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/foundation/attributescopes/swiftuiattributes/3862793-strikethroughstyle')were added to AttributeScopes.SwiftUIAttributes ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/foundation/attributescopes/swiftuiattributes'). (78437803)

[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* You can’t push to a third screen after popping from a third screen in the navigation stack. (79076444)
* Providing a binding to an OutlineGroup ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/SwiftUI/OutlineGroup') might require including wrappedValue ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/SwiftUI/Binding/wrappedValue') in the init(_:children:content:) ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/SwiftUI/OutlineGroup/init(_:children:content:)-2galq') key path parameter, and won’t back-deploy to earlier releases. (77890799)
* Focusing a view in a newly added List ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/SwiftUI/List') row using FocusState ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/SwiftUI/FocusState') requires deferring the focus state property update to the next time the main runloop runs. (78607356)


[HEADING=2][/HEADING]
[/SPOILER]
[HEADING=2][/HEADING]
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
temhawk Avatar
56 months ago
Why is Apple even working on Monterey when Big Sur is still in beta?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TMRJIJ Avatar
56 months ago

I think this operating system is gonna be a dud.

Usually previous bata versions of macOS have been leaked to non bata testers to install.

This version of macOS has such little interest that no one has leaked a Bata version of it yet.

Unlike Windows 11 leaked bata which just about everyone has.
There’s no need to leak these ‘bata’ releases. Everyone has access to the public beta.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hatchettjack Avatar
56 months ago

I think this operating system is gonna be a dud.

Usually previous bata versions of macOS have been leaked to non bata testers to install.

This version of macOS has such little interest that no one has leaked a Bata version of it yet.

Unlike Windows 11 leaked bata which just about everyone has.
Sounds like you need to be on windows forums! Apple leads, not follow!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Alive76 Avatar
56 months ago

I think this operating system is gonna be a dud.

Usually previous bata versions of macOS have been leaked to non bata testers to install.

This version of macOS has such little interest that no one has leaked a Bata version of it yet.

Unlike Windows 11 leaked bata which just about everyone has.


Attachment Image
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LFC2020 Avatar
56 months ago

Pulled that feature out of this build? Or altogether?
out of this build.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)