Apple Seeds Third Public Beta of macOS Monterey With Universal Control

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS Monterey 12.3 update to its public beta testing group, with the new software coming a week after the second macOS Monterey 12.3 public beta.

macOS Monterey 2
Public beta testers can download the macOS 12.3 Monterey update from the Software Update section of the System Preferences app after installing the proper profile from Apple's beta software website.

Universal Control is the major new feature in macOS Monterey 12.3, and it is designed to allow multiple Macs and iPads to be controlled using a single mouse/trackpad and keyboard. If you have a MacBook Pro and an iPad Pro, for example, both devices can be controlled with the ‌MacBook Pro‌'s trackpad and keyboard or a keyboard attached to the iPad.


iPadOS 15.4 is required for ‌Universal Control‌ on the ‌iPad‌, and once the updates are installed on your devices, the feature just works as it is automatically enabled.

macOS Monterey also includes new Emoji 14 characters like melting face, biting lip, heart hands, and more, and plus it adds support for updating AirPods with a Mac. There's no official update interface, but your AirPods can receive firmware updates over-the-air when connected to a Mac, similar to how the update process works with an iPhone.

There are some under-the-hood changes as well. Apple is removing Python 2 from macOS with macOS 12.3 after support was suspended in January 2020, and Apple is eliminating some kernel extensions used by Dropbox and OneDrive, necessitating software updates for those apps.

Related Forum: macOS Monterey

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
google pixel 10

Switching Between iPhone and Android Will Get Easier With New Apple and Google Collaboration

Monday December 8, 2025 11:10 am PST by
Apple and Google are teaming up to make it easier for users to switch between iPhone and Android smartphones, according to 9to5Google. There is a new Android Canary build available today that simplifies data transfer between two smartphones, and Apple is going to implement the functionality in an upcoming iOS 26 beta. Apple already has a Move to iOS app for transferring data from an Android...
Apple Fitness Plus expansion hero

Apple Fitness+ Coming to 28 New Regions With Digital Voice Dubbing

Monday December 8, 2025 6:19 am PST by
Apple today announced that Fitness+ is expanding to 28 new markets on December 15 in the service's largest international rollout since launch, accompanied by new language dubbing and a K-Pop music genre. Apple Fitness+ will become available in Chile, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, and additional regions on December 15, with Japan scheduled to follow early next year....

Top Rated Comments

BWhaler Avatar
50 months ago
Really looking forward to Universal Control. My guess is it’s a game changer.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kissmo1980 Avatar
50 months ago

This is going to significantly improve my workflow. I only have one mac and one iPad. What's the verdict? Is this beta stable enough?

PS I know betas are betas
I used to jump on Beta trains... not anymore.
You probably can live without the features for 2-3 more weeks.

It's up to you- it's not the stability fo the system - the junk remaining afterwards when you decide you don't want betas anymore.

Either way - it's not a dead end. You can always cleanup and start fresh.
It's a matter of time, mood and willing to do this.... maybe I've gotten old. I rather spend some time doing something away from the Mac than spend too much time tweaking it.

It used to be fun - it faded out for me :) Others may still enjoy it - I'm not judging.

Cheers mate!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mxrider88 Avatar
50 months ago

Really looking forward to Universal Control. My guess is it’s a game changer.
I’m struggling to see it man.. probably just another half baked feature that turns out to be a gimmick. Like continuity, that never works with messages or personal hotspot that when you need it, it is not discoverable and you need to toggle it off and on.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
biglipps66 Avatar
50 months ago
I just want them to fix my mouse scroll being busted every damn time I wake my new MacBook
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brilliantthings Avatar
50 months ago
This is going to significantly improve my workflow. I only have one mac and one iPad. What's the verdict? Is this beta stable enough?

PS I know betas are betas
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MigC Avatar
50 months ago

('https://www.macrumors.com/2022/02/16/apple-macos-monterey-12-3-public-beta-3/')

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS Monterey 12.3 update to its public beta testing group, with the new software coming a week after the second macOS Monterey 12.3 public beta ('https://www.macrumors.com/2022/02/09/macos-monterey-12-3-public-beta-2/').



Public beta testers can download the macOS 12.3 Monterey update from the Software Update section of the System Preferences app after installing the proper profile from Apple's beta software website ('https://beta.apple.com/sp/betaprogram/').

Universal Control is the major new feature ('https://www.macrumors.com/2022/01/27/hands-on-universal-control/') in macOS Monterey 12.3, and it is designed to allow multiple Macs and iPads to be controlled using a single mouse/trackpad and keyboard. If you have a MacBook Pro and an iPad Pro, for example, both devices can be controlled with the MacBook Pro's trackpad and keyboard or a keyboard attached to the iPad.



iPadOS 15.4 is required for Universal Control on the iPad, and once the updates are installed on your devices, the feature just works as it is automatically enabled.

macOS Monterey also includes new Emoji 14 characters ('https://www.macrumors.com/2022/01/27/ios-15-4-emoji/') like melting face, biting lip, heart hands, and more, and plus it adds support for updating AirPods with a Mac. There's no official update interface, but your AirPods can receive firmware updates over-the-air when connected to a Mac, similar to how the update process works with an iPhone ('https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/update-airpods/').

There are some under-the-hood changes as well. Apple is removing Python 2 ('https://www.macrumors.com/2022/01/28/apple-removing-python-2-in-macos-12-3/') from macOS with macOS 12.3 after support was suspended in January 2020, and Apple is eliminating some kernel extensions ('https://www.macrumors.com/2022/01/27/macos-12-3-deprecates-dropbox-onedrive-kexts/') used by Dropbox and OneDrive, necessitating software updates for those apps.

Article Link: Apple Seeds Third Public Beta of macOS Monterey With Universal Control ('https://www.macrumors.com/2022/02/16/apple-macos-monterey-12-3-public-beta-3/')
Not mentioned anywhere but worth a note: reworked Metal drivers for Intel/AMD platforms introduced with beta3 now enabling the use of GPU Metal in Blender 3.1 beta + 3.2 alpha.Nice to see Apple catering to their long standing pro user base (mostly still on older platforms) and contributing financially and with manpower to devepment of open software.Good times ahead. Ty Apple.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)