Apple Seeds First Public Beta of macOS 14.5

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming macOS Sonoma 14.5 update to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to test the software ahead of its launch. The public beta comes a day after Apple released the developer beta.

macos sonoma 4
Beta testers can opt-in through the Software Update section of the System Settings app. Under Beta updates, simply toggle on the Sonoma Public Beta. Note that you must sign up to participate on Apple's beta testing website.

There were no new features found in the macOS Sonoma 14.5 developer beta, and Apple listed no additions in its release notes. It is likely that the update focuses on bug fixes and other small under-the-hood improvements.

Related Forum: macOS Sonoma

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 ...
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....
ive and altman

Jony Ive's OpenAI Device Barred From Using 'io' Name

Friday December 5, 2025 6:22 am PST by
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI and Jony Ive's new hardware venture from using the name "io" for products similar to those planned by AI audio startup iyO, Bloomberg Law reports. iyO sued OpenAI earlier this year after the latter announced its partnership with Ive's new firm, arguing that OpenAI's planned "io" branding was too close to its...
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...
Photos App Icon Liquid Glass

John Gruber Shares Scathing Commentary About Apple's Departing Software Design Chief

Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs. On his blog Daring Fireball,...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
Apple John Ternus 2019

Will John Ternus Really Be Apple's Next CEO?

Friday December 5, 2025 9:01 am PST by
There is uncertainty about Apple's head of hardware engineering John Ternus succeeding Tim Cook as CEO, The Information reports. Some former Apple executives apparently hope that a new "dark-horse" candidate will emerge. Ternus is considered to be the most likely candidate to succeed Cook as CEO. The report notes that he is more likely to become CEO than software head chief Craig Federighi, ...
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 ...
ios 18 to ios 26 upgrade

Apple Pushes iPhone Users Still on iOS 18 to Upgrade to iOS 26

Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent. Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 Release Candidates to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Wednesday December 3, 2025 10:33 am PST by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The release candidates represent the final versions of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found during this final week of testing....

Top Rated Comments

vegetassj4 Avatar
22 months ago
And the name of the lead programmer that initiated the seed is Johnny



Thank you, I'll be here all week.[Click to view video attachment]
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mac mini power user Avatar
22 months ago
I'm running the developer beta, and it seems to be running smoother on my M1 Pro MBP than the stable releases of either 14.4 or 14.4.1. Safari in particular is snappier, and struggles less with YouTube videos (yes, for once the meme is true).
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fhall1 Avatar
22 months ago

14.6 should start security updates mode.
I wouldn't be surprised if we get 14.7 before the security-updates-only start.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PsykX Avatar
22 months ago
At this point, 14.4 seemed like a real disaster for many people ('https://www.macrumors.com/2024/03/18/do-not-update-macos-sonoma-14-4/').
For those who have it, is it better to beta test 14.5 already, or to wait until it's released to public, or to just never install it?

When I joined the Mac community back in 2006, I used to never ever have these questions floating in my head.
I would buy (yes, buy) and install whatever new OS Apple would release and it would basically just work.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fhall1 Avatar
22 months ago

14.5 is very solid, so I would install the Developer of Public Beta, and then switch back to the release version once 14.5 is out. This will probably be the last major version of Sonoma anyways, so switching already makes sense.
I would bet money that 14.5 will not be the last major version of Sonoma.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
22 months ago
It's been running ok the last two days.
Not much on SDK notes as this is a continuation of optimizing/fixing issues.

Comparison of 14.5 beta to previous releases

macOS 14.5 beta (23F5049f)

* Safari Version 17.5 (19618.2.4.11.2)
* System Firmware Version: 10151.120.115.0.4 (M1 based Macs)
* Darwin Kernel Version 23.5.0: Tue Mar 26 20:56:58 PDT 2024; root:xnu-10063.120.88.501.3~2/RELEASE_ARM64_T8103 arm64

macOS 14.4.1 (23E224)

* Safari Version 17.4.1 (19618.1.15.11.14)
* System Firmware Version: 10151.101.3 (M1 based Macs)
* Darwin Kernel Version 23.4.0: Fri Mar 15 00:12:41 PDT 2024; root:xnu-10063.101.17~1/RELEASE_ARM64_T8103 arm64

macOS 14.4 (23E214)

* Safari Version 17.4 (19618.1.15.11.12)
* System Firmware Version: 10151.101.3 (M1 based Macs)
* Darwin Kernel Version 23.4.0: Wed Feb 21 21:44:06 PST 2024; root:xnu-10063.101.15~2/RELEASE_ARM64_T8103 arm64

Apple Music/TV is now 1.4.5.25 from 1.4.4.48
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)