Apple seeds fifth macOS Big Sur beta for testing

The newest beta can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center by those in the Developer Beta program, or as an over-the-air update on devices with the proper configuration profile installed.

On Tuesday, Apple seeded the fifth beta versions of iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14 and watchOS 7 to developers. Public beta versions for most of those software updates came on Wednesday. Apple's public beta versions typically arrive within a few days after their developer counterparts.

For macOS Big Sur, Apple's main goal is compatibility with Apple Silicon, along with current Intel processors. Other improvements are naturally included for both processor types, such as design elements within Safari and Messages becoming a Catalyst app.

AppleInsider, and Apple itself, strongly suggest users don't install betas on to "mission-critical" or primary devices, due to the potential for data loss or other issues. It is instead recommended to install betas onto secondary or non-essential devices, and to ensure there are sufficient backups of important data beforehand.