Apple Seeds Fourth Beta of macOS 12 Monterey to Developers

Apple today seeded the fourth developer beta of macOS Monterey, the newest version of the macOS operating system. The fourth beta comes two weeks after Apple released the third macOS Monterey beta.

macOS Monterey on MBP Feature
Registered developers can download the beta through the Apple Developer Center and once the appropriate profile is installed, betas will be available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences.

As with all new betas, Apple recommends not installing the new macOS update on a primary machine because it is early release software and could have bugs.

macOS Monterey introduces Universal Control, a feature that lets a single mouse, trackpad, and keyboard be used across multiple Mac or iPad devices, plus there's a new AirPlay to Mac feature.

Safari has been redesigned with a new tab bar (with a toggle for two different designs as of the third beta) and support for Tab Groups, and FaceTime has gained spatial audio, a Portrait Mode on M1 Macs, and Voice Isolation for cutting out background noise. There's also a new SharePlay ‌FaceTime‌ feature that lets Apple users watch TV, listen to music, and share their screens with one another.

Shared With You, a separate feature, keeps track of the music, links, podcasts, news, and photos that people are sent in Messages, highlighting it in the relevant apps. Notes has a new Quick Note feature for jotting down thoughts, and collaboration is easier with mentions and an Activity View.

The Shortcuts app from iOS is now available on the Mac, and Focus helps people stay on task by cutting out background distractions. There's an updated Maps app with a whole slew of new features, and with Live Text, Macs can now detect text in photos or provide details on animals, art, landmarks, plants, and more in images.

Mail Privacy Protection hides IP and prevents tracking through invisible pixels, and iCloud Private Relay keeps Safari browsing protected. There are many other new features in macOS Monterey, with a full rundown available in our macOS Monterey roundup.

In the last macOS Monterey Beta, Apple changed the default design of the Safari tab bar following multiple usability complaints. There's now a dedicated address bar at the top of the Safari window, with tabs arranged below it, rather than an all-in-one integrated design. Those who preferred the original design can use the View menu to toggle off "Show Separate Tab Bar."

Related Forum: macOS Monterey

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Top Rated Comments

nortonandreev Avatar
54 months ago

It seems Apple has removed the unified addressbar/tab layout option in Safari. Now you're forced to use separate tabs.

*sigh* I really liked the new look.
It's relocated.

Attachment Image
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nortonandreev Avatar
54 months ago
* Universal Control is now available. (80478623)
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArPe Avatar
54 months ago
If the update isn't showing for you there is a simple fix:

1. Open Software Update

2. Press Command + R

3. Go to the kitchen

4. Make coffee

5. Watch a movie

6. Come back later and press Command + R again

Should work now.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thislsmadness Avatar
54 months ago

Even for US? This is disappointing.


I just updated and I did not receive this warning and rosetta is still working fine. I'm in the US
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vbctv Avatar
54 months ago
For anyone not getting Universal Control working, it seems Apple has removed it from the Release Notes now also... So it may not even be included...
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-12-beta-release-notes
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sniffies Avatar
54 months ago
Wow, iOS and macOS betas on the same day, they're on a roll, gurl.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)