Malcolm Owen
Apple is now on its ninth developer round for macOS Monterey, providing testers with the latest build as it needs an eventual release.
The latest builds can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center for participants in the Developer Beta program, as well as via an over-the-air update for hardware already used for beta software. Public beta versions of the developer builds are usually issued within a few days of their counterparts, and can be acquired from the Apple Beta Software Program site.
The ninth round follows the eighth, which was issued on September 28. The seventh-round arrived on September 21.
Apple is anticipated to release macOS Monterey to the public sometime this fall, but has yet to give a firm release date.
Updates set to arrive with macOS Monterey include Universal Control, Siri Shortcuts, a system-wide Quick Note feature, AirPlay to Mac, and Focus. Individual app updates are also expected, including SharePlay for iMessage, grid views and Spatial Audio support in FaceTime, and Live Text for Photos.
Both AppleInsider and Apple strongly advise users avoid installing betas on to "mission-critical" or primary devices, due to the potential for data loss or other issues. Instead, the recommendation is to install betas onto secondary or non-essential devices, and to ensure there are sufficient backups of important data before making any major changes.
Find any changes in the new betas? Reach out to us on Twitter at @AppleInsider or @Andrew_OSU, or send Andrew an email at andrew@AppleInsider.com.
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4 Comments
Big Sur had ten beta rounds for 11.0, so this probably means we’re looking at early November, which lines up with last year’s M1 event (10-Nov).
I've had annoying issue with Safari 15, like info on showing up in the tab and tool bars, bookmarks not populating, and fullscreen mode freezies that require killing the entire app. So far things are better, but it'll take a day or two for me to suss whether these bugs are effectively quashed.
Not sure if a bug or design choice, but the new grouping of images in the Messages app does not make it easy to copy or even drag to the Desktop. I hope this gets resolved or the ability to turn off this grouping feature gets added.
Other than that I've found Monterey to be quite nice.
Public Beta available.
I have seen no issues with the Public Betas. Not happy with the changes to tabs in Safari but that is a “feature”.