Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming macOS macOS Monterey 12.3 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming two weeks after the release of the first macOS Monterey 12.3 beta.
Registered developers can download the beta through the Apple Developer Center and after the appropriate profile is installed, betas will be available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences.
macOS Monterey 12.3 is a major update that introduces Universal Control, a feature that Apple first teased at WWDC and then delayed for several months. Universal Control is designed to allow you to use a single mouse/trackpad and keyboard across multiple Macs and iPads (with iPads running iPadOS 15.4).
After updating your devices to macOS 12.3 and iPadOS 15.4, Universal Control works automatically, allowing your Mac's cursor and keyboard to work on the iPad and vice versa. It's simple and intuitive to use, and the second macOS 12.3 update adds an icon that you'll see in the menu bar to denote that it's activated.
maOS Monterey 12.3 adds support for updating the AirPods firmware when the earbuds are connected to a Mac, plus it deprecates kernel extensions used by Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive, and it eliminates Python 2, with Apple instructing developers to use an alternative scripting language like Python 3 going forward.
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macOS 12.3 beta 2 (21E5206e)
Safari is Version 15.4 (17613.1.16.1.3)
System Firmware Version: 7459.100.494.121.1 (M1 based Macs)
Darwin Kernel Version 21.4.0: Sat Jan 29 03:25:23 PST 2022
; root:xnu-8020.100.417.0.4~31/RELEASE_ARM64_T8101
Beta 1
Safari Version 15.4 (17613.1.14.1.7)
System Firmware Version: 7459.100.487.115.1 (M1 based Macs)
Darwin Kernel Version 21.4.0: Tue Jan 18 13:02:08 PST 2022
; root:xnu 8020.100.406.0.1~18/RELEASE_ARM64_T8101
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[HEADING=2]General[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Resolved in macOS Monterey 12.3 Beta 2[/HEADING]
* Fixed: If your Mac currently has macOS Catalina installed, installing macOS Monterey 12.3 beta or macOS Big Sur 11.6.4 beta on a volume with FileVault enabled might cause a boot loop when attempting to log back into the previous volume. (88163545)
[HEADING=2]iCloud[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Resolved in macOS Monterey 12.3 Beta 2[/HEADING]
* Fixed: iCloud+ Custom Email Domain set up flow can’t be initiated from the iCloud settings in System Preferences. (85212987, 88045659)
[HEADING=2]Kernel[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Deprecations[/HEADING]
* The kernel extensions used by Dropbox Desktop Application and Microsoft OneDrive are no longer available. Both service providers have replacements for this functionality; Dropbox is currently in beta. (85890896)
[HEADING=2]LibreSSL[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]
* LibreSSL 3.3 has changed the default digest type of openssl enc Terminal command to SHA256. Files previously encrypted with an older version of OpenSSL might fail to decrypt. (87763613)
Workaround: The openssl enc command should be run by adding the -md md5argument.
[HEADING=2]Mobile Software Update[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Resolved in macOS Monterey 12.3 Beta 2[/HEADING]
* Fixed: Virtual machines running on Apple silicon are unable to install macOS 12.3 beta. (88106053)
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]
* Installing to an empty volume from macOS Recovery might fail. (87730473)
Workaround: Use a different version of macOS Recovery. For Intel-based Macs, boot using Option-Command-R; for Macs with Apple silicon, double-press and hold the power button.
[HEADING=2]Python[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Deprecations[/HEADING]
* Python 2.7 was removed from macOS in this update. Developers should use Python 3 or an alternative language instead. (39795874)
[HEADING=2]ScreenCaptureKit[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]
* In ScreenCaptureKit ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/screencapturekit'), if an origin other than (0,0) is specified in the destinationRect ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/screencapturekit/scstreamconfiguration/3919822-destinationrect')or sourceRect ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/screencapturekit/scstreamconfiguration/3919829-sourcerect'), the contentRect is incorrect. (87363220)
[HEADING=2]Universal Control[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]
* Unexpected disconnections might occur on initial connection. (88106231)
Workaround: Sleep, then wake the device, and try again.
* Drag-and-drop scenarios might not work for some file types and apps. (88106322)
* Some third-party keyboards and mice might encounter issues when using additional functionality, like scroll wheels. (88106362)
[HEADING=2]WebKit[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]
* Using the App Store might lead to an auththentication loop in which the HTML sheet has no content. (87850345)
Workaround: Install WebKitRoot.tar.
[HEADING=3]Deprecations[/HEADING]
* Support for inline viewing of PostScript files was removed. (88172449)
[/SPOILER]
* Fixed: If your Mac currently has macOS Catalina installed, installing macOS Monterey 12.3 beta or macOS Big Sur 11.6.4 beta on a volume with FileVault enabled might cause a boot loop when attempting to log back into the previous volume. (88163545)