Apple seeds eighth macOS Big Sur developer 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.

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.

The one-week cycle between betas suggests that the end of the testing process and the first release is approaching. Apple will likely push the release of macOS Big Sur to mid- to late October to coincide with new Mac releases.

Apple is running a split beta cycle between macOS Big Sur and other operating system releases. After Apple's "Time Flies" event, iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14, and watchOS 7 was released to the public. Last Thursday Apple released developer betas of iOS 14.2, iPadOS 14.2, watchOS 7.1, tvOS 14.2 to start the new beta cycle prior to the "iPhone 12" release in October.

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.