Apple Seeds Fifth macOS Monterey 12.3 Beta to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available]

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming macOS macOS Monterey 12.3 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming a week after the release of the fourth macOS Monterey 12.3 beta.

macOS Monterey on MBP Feature
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.

macOS 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.

There are also new emoji characters, including melting face, biting lip, heart hands, bubbles, beans, face with diagonal mouth, palm up hand, eggs, troll, low battery, coral, lotus, and more.

Related Forum: macOS Monterey

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full iOS 18.5 Release Notes

Tuesday May 6, 2025 2:17 pm PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.5 to developers and public beta testers, giving us a look at the final version of the update that will be provided to the public next week. With the release candidate, Apple provided release notes, so we have a more complete look at the new features that are included in the update, including those that weren't found during the beta...
siri glow

iPhone Users Now Able to Submit Claims in $95 Million Siri Spying Lawsuit

Wednesday May 7, 2025 11:40 am PDT by
If you owned a Siri-compatible device and had an accidental Siri activation between September 17, 2014 and December 31, 2024, you could be eligible for a payment from Apple as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. Apple in January agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit involving Siri spying accusations, and a website to distribute the funds has now been set up and...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17: What's New With the Cameras

Friday May 2, 2025 3:52 pm PDT by
We've still got months to go before the new iPhone 17 models come out, but a combination of dummy models and leaks have given us some insight into what we can expect in terms of camera changes. Apple is adding new camera features, and changing the design of the camera bump for some models. You might be skeptical of dummy models, but over the years, they've proven to be a highly accurate...
iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.5 Coming Soon, Here is What's New

Monday May 5, 2025 8:19 am PDT by
In its press release for the new Pride Band today, Apple said that iOS 18.5 is "upcoming," following more than a month of beta testing. We expect the iOS 18.5 Release Candidate to be released this week, and this should be the final beta version, barring any last-minute bugs or changes. The software update should then be released to the general public next week. iOS 18.5 is a relatively...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Foldable iPhone Said to Have Two Key Advantages

Monday May 5, 2025 6:41 am PDT by
Apple plans to release its first foldable iPhone next year, according to several reporters and analysts who cover the company. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the foldable iPhone will offer two key advantages over other foldable smartphones. First, he said the foldable iPhone will have a "nearly invisible" crease when unfolded. This means the device's...
Nineth iOS 19 Feature

iOS 19 Beta is a Month Away With These New Features for Your iPhone

Thursday May 8, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is just one month away, and there are already many new features and changes that are expected with it. Apple should seed the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Apple's Foldable iPhone Display Tech May Set New Industry Standard

Thursday May 8, 2025 3:29 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone will feature a new type of display panel developed by Samsung that has never been used in a foldable product, claims a source with links to Apple's supply chain. According to the account yeux1122 on the Korean Naver blog, the foldable iPhone will use a custom display process for which Apple will hold branding trademark rights, and that meets Apple's stringent ...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...

Top Rated Comments

Realityck Avatar
42 months ago
macOS 12.3 beta 5 (21E5227a)
[SPOILER="macOS Monterey 12.3 Beta 5 Release Notes"]
[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]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]Universal Control[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Resolved in macOS Monterey 12.3 Beta 5[/HEADING]

* Fixed: Unexpected disconnections might occur on initial connection. (88106231)

[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* 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]Deprecations[/HEADING]

* Support for inline viewing of PostScript files is no longer available. (88172449)


[/SPOILER]
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
42 months ago
beta 5
Safari Version 15.4 (17613.1.17.1.6)

System Firmware Version: 7459.101.2 (M1 based Macs) No change

Darwin Kernel Version 21.4.0: Mon Feb 21 21:57:28 PST 2022; root:xnu-8020.101.4~4/RELEASE_ARM64_T8101 arm64

Beta 4
Safari Version 15.4 (17613.1.17.1.5)

System Firmware Version: 7459.101.2 (M1 based Macs)

Darwin Kernel Version 21.4.0: Mon Feb 14 22:26:41 PST 2022; root:xnu-8020.101.3~4/RELEASE_ARM64_T8101 arm64
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
42 months ago
Looking forward to more optimizations and some fixes with 12.3 beta 5.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nvmls Avatar
42 months ago
Will they ever fix the audio crackling sound? It's tragicomic we have machines from 2016 with it and these M1 are still carrying it.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MallardDuck Avatar
42 months ago
maybe this time they'll fix the darn USB bugs....
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MallardDuck Avatar
42 months ago

For me it still doesnt load all images...

I *detest* sites that have infinite scroll. Horrible design because you can't just jump to where you want to go.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)