Apple releases first macOS 14.4 beta

Apple on Monday released the macOS Sonoma 14.4 beta to developers. This release follows the iOS 17.4 beta release on January 25, and the official Sonoma 14.3 release on January 22. This beta release is for developers only, with a public beta coming in the next few days.

macOS Sonoma 14.3: New features

While iOS 17.4 brought major changes to the iPhone and iOS App Store, it is not clear yet as to the contents of macOS 14.4. The release notes do not list the contents, and Apple has yet to post the developer release notes as of this writing. The iOS 17.4 beta contains new emoji, so the 14.4 release will likely include them as well. And it’s possible the update brings features related to the launch of Vision Pro this week. This article will be updated when the 14.4 beta contents have been determined.

macOS Sonoma 14.3: How to install

Developer betas are available to anyone who has enrolled in Apple’s Developer Program. Apple usually issues a public beta a day or two after the developer beta has been released. We have a complete guide to downloading and installing the Sonoma betas if you are interested.

To access the public beta, go to System Settings > General > Software Update, then in the Beta Updates section, click the Info button (the “I” icon), click the pop-up menu for Beta Updates, and select macOS Sonoma Public Beta. You may need to restart the Mac.

While betas give early access to fixes and features to the operating system, they are issued with the idea that users will test the software and check for bugs. This means that the betas have some instability to them and may cause issues with your Mac. If you can’t afford to take the risk of a possible crash or a disruption of usability, you should not run the beta and wait for the release to the general public.

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