Apple releases fifth beta of macOS Catalina 10.15.5 [u]

Following the release of iOS 13.5, iPadOS 13.5, and others to the public, Apple has issued a fifth beta of its macOS Catalina 10.15.5 to developers.

The newest build can be downloaded via the Apple Developer Center for those enrolled into the test program, or via an over-the-air update on devices running the beta software. The release notes still make no mention of the battery management feature added to macOS. The feature remains rudimentary, and doesn't provide the user with as much information as a third-party utility can, but it is a move in the right direction.

Apple does note that large data transfers to RAID volumes no longer cause the Finder to lock up.

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Given the proximity to WWDC 2020, it is likely that there won't be any major introductions outside of coronavirus-related functionality in these releases, effectively making them maintenance releases.

Both AppleInsider and Apple itself strongly advise users don't install the betas on primary devices or hardware they deem as "mission-critical" at all, as there is the highly remote possibility of data loss or other issues. Testers should instead install betas onto secondary or non-essential devices as a safer alternative, and to always make sure there are sufficient backups of important data before updating.

Find any changes in the new betas? Reach out to us on Twitter at @AppleInsider or @Andrew_OSU, or send Andrew an email at [email protected].

Update: Public beta testers can also download the latest version for evaluation.

7 Comments

agilealtitude

said about 3 years ago

Any word on whether this addresses the crash on wake issue many are experiencing?

gilly33

said about 3 years ago

It better fix it. Crash on wake? Yep I’ll say that is the issue I’m experiencing.

commentzilla

said about 3 years ago

I'm hoping this is the one! New Mac arriving in 2-days!

razorpit

said about 3 years ago

This is officially the first version of OS X I skipped on all my production machines. I have one test laptop running it at the office that I remote in to from time to time but that’s it. I guess for the average user Catalina has been just fine, but it has been a pain in the butt for us in our office. Here’s to hoping 10.16 is a better product.

I still think this self imposed ‘annual release’ stuff is a bad idea. Take your time Apple and make releases when they are ready. People will soon forget there was a yearly update. There was a time when there were 2 years or more between major releases and we all survived just fine.

elijahg

said about 3 years ago

razorpit said:

This is officially the first version of OS X I skipped on all my production machines. I have one test laptop running it at the office that I remote in to from time to time but that’s it. I guess for the average user Catalina has been just fine, but it has been a pain in the butt for us in our office. Here’s to hoping 10.16 is a better product.

I still think this self imposed ‘annual release’ stuff is a bad idea. Take your time Apple and make releases when they are ready. People will soon forget there was a yearly update. There was a time when there were 2 years or more between major releases and we all survived just fine.

I completely agree. It could also mean we get new features when they’re done, which may be sooner than having to wait for an arbitrary date. That is how most major releases by other companies are done, not really sure why macOS has to follow the same release schedule as iOS - which is matched to the phone release cycle so makes a bit more sense. Microsoft push feature updates continually, which initially pissed people off but most seem to have come to terms with it now.

Obviously Apple stores up the new features to use as fanfare at WWDC, but it’s quite detrimental in many ways.