Apple seeds first macOS Monterey 12.5 beta to developers

Apple has released the first beta version of its upcoming macOS Monterey 12.5 update, restarting the testing cycle for its Mac operating system.

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.

It isn't currently clear what specific updates or fixes will be included in macOS 12.5, but it's likely to be a minor update focused mostly on under-the-hood improvements.

The latest macOS beta comes just two days after Apple released macOS Monterey 12.5 to the public. That update was similarly incremental in nature, with a focus on bug fixes and security updates.

The build number for macOS 12.5 developer beta one is 21G5027d, up from the macOS 12.4 release build of 21F79.

AppleInsider, and Apple itself, strongly recommend users don't install the betas on to "mission-critical" or primary devices, as there is the remote possibility of data loss or other issues. Instead, testers should install betas onto secondary or non-essential devices, and to make sure there are sufficient backups of important data before updating.