Apple Giving Retail Employees Beta Access to OS X Mavericks

NewImageLast year, roughly a month before Apple released OS X Mountain Lion, it extended its beta program to certain Apple Retail Store staff members. This year, the company appears to be doing something similar.

9to5Mac reports that retail store staff are again being invited to try the beta of OS X Mavericks.

You are invited to participate in the pre-release OS X Mavericks seed program. Participation, including submitting feedback, is completely voluntary and not an expectation of your job. If you accept, we will provide you with a pre-release version of OS X Mavericks to install and use. You will get to preview all of the exciting new features like iBooks, Maps, Calendar, Safari, iCloud Keychain, Multiple Displays, Notifications, Finder Tabs, Tags, and much more! You should use OS X Mavericks only your personal computer and on your personal time. Apple will provide you with ways to submit feedback on your experiences with OS X Mavericks, should you choose to do so. Apple also asks that you use future builds of OS X Mavericks as they are made available. The responses from prior seed programs have been overwhelmingly positive. Thank you to everyone who participated!

The site also notes that Apple has provided prerelease versions of Mavericks to its AppleSeed beta testing group.

Before WWDC, a leak suggested that Apple was well into the development of OS X 10.9, with a build number of 13A451 appearing on a recent internal release. One possible implication of the high build number was that Apple was closer to a public release of Mavericks after its unveiling than with previous OS X beta releases.

Related Forum: OS X Mavericks

Popular Stories

iOS 26

When Will Apple Release iOS 26.2?

Monday December 1, 2025 4:37 pm PST by
We're getting closer to the launch of the final major iOS update of the year, with Apple set to release iOS 26.2 in December. We've had three betas so far and are expecting a fourth beta or a release candidate this week, so a launch could follow as soon as next week. Past Launch Dates Apple's past iOS x.2 updates from the last few years have all happened right around the middle of the...
Sad Siri Feature

Apple AI Chief John Giannandrea Retiring After Siri Delays

Monday December 1, 2025 2:16 pm PST by
Apple AI chief John Giannandrea is stepping down from his position and retiring in spring 2026, Apple announced today. Giannandrea will serve as an advisor between now and 2026, with former Microsoft AI researcher Amar Subramanya set to take over as vice president of AI. Subramanya will report to Apple engineering chief Craig Federighi, and will lead Apple Foundation Models, ML research, and ...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
Netflix Smaller 4

Netflix Kills Casting From Its Mobile App to Most Modern TVs

Monday December 1, 2025 4:36 am PST by
Netflix has quietly removed the ability to cast content from its mobile apps to most modern TVs and streaming devices, including newer Chromecast models and the Google TV Streamer. The change was first spotted by users on Reddit and confirmed in an updated Netflix support page (via Android Authority), which now states that the streaming service no longer supports casting from mobile devices...
Cyber Week Deals 2025

Best Cyber Week Apple Deals Include Big Discounts on AirPods, Apple Watch, and More

Sunday November 30, 2025 7:33 am PST by
Cyber Week is here, and you can find popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more at all-time low prices. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Specifically,...
Touchscreen MacBook Feature

Here Are the Four MacBooks Apple Is Expected to Launch Next Year

Monday December 1, 2025 5:00 am PST by
2026 could be a bumper year for Apple's Mac lineup, with the company expected to announce as many as four separate MacBook launches. Rumors suggest Apple will court both ends of the consumer spectrum, with more affordable options for students and feature-rich premium lines for users that seek the highest specifications from a laptop. Below is a breakdown of what we're expecting over the next ...
studio display purple february

M5 iPad Pro Could Hint at New Studio Display Feature

Sunday November 30, 2025 10:30 am PST by
The updated specs of the M5 iPad Pro may point toward a major new feature for Apple's next-generation Studio Display expected in early 2026. Apple's latest iPad Pro debuted last month and contains one display-related change that stands out: it can now drive external monitors at up to 120Hz with Adaptive Sync. The feature should deliver lower latency, smoother motion, and fewer visual...
ios 18 to ios 26 upgrade

Apple Pushes iPhone Users Still on iOS 18 to Upgrade to iOS 26

Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent. Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
iphone 17 cyber

iPhone 17 Demand Is Breaking Apple's Sales Records

Tuesday December 2, 2025 9:44 am PST by
Apple's iPhone 17 lineup is selling well enough that Apple is on track to ship more than 247.4 million total iPhones in 2025, according to a new report from IDC. Total 2025 shipments are forecast to grow 6.1 percent year over year due to iPhone 17 demand and increased sales in China, a major market for Apple. Overall worldwide smartphone shipments across Android and iOS are forecast to...

Top Rated Comments

jameslmoser Avatar
163 months ago
I know we call this a beta but think about what they have and have not changed. This is 10.8 code base with some new tweaks here and there. I would expect it to be smooth. This is not IOS 7 which has a whole host of features. The battery saving stuff is the only new under the hood tech in this build. The remainder are clip ons like maps or minor re-works of code multimonitor support. I would expect this release to come out far sooner than latter. IOS 7 i expect to be a very very long slog through beta hell and even into early GM releases to much code base change and to many new features that are core to the OS.
You are joking right? With all the compressed memory and cpu timer coalesing changes there was a lot of actual OS changes. Unlike Mountain Lion that was just a bunch of added on apps, this is an actual OS update.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
leon44 Avatar
163 months ago
In the face of all the developers who whine about how people shouldn't be allowed access to betas. Beta testing needs real world users, if Apple wanted to crack down on non-devs getting hold of betas they would, but it's actually an advantage to have more testers.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
280428055 Avatar
163 months ago
I'll be waiting for 10.10 Iceman.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sziehr Avatar
163 months ago
:rolleyes: I wish they would give it to WWDC Attendees, I had access to it up until yesterday.

Registered (paid) iOS developer but cannot work with some new Xcode features that require 10.9 and 10.9 Server :mad:

I wish they would just unify the damn dev system. If i write OSX i might want to write IOS ETC why pay twice it makes no sense.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
teknishn Avatar
163 months ago
The early rumor that Mavericks may be close to done is an absolute falsehood. I can tell you that its very far from primetime ready. Based on my own use since WWDC, I am quite surprised that they are releasing it to employees this early.

I haven't run into any major show stoppers, but I have run into a TON of bugs and problems that are severely annoying. Don't confuse this explanation with any complaints whatsoever though. I enjoy testing beta software and helping Apple with bug reports. Its too early for me to give my own eta on Mavericks until we get a couple more releases in to get a gauge of the pace etc. Im pretty antsy for the next releases of both Mavericks and iOS7 to see some more polish. Super want on iOS7 for iPad.

----------

I know this is a little off-topic, but for the life of me I can't understand why it is so difficult to remove non-appstore applications on my Mac (Lion) when it is otherwise such a wonderful OS. I hope Mavericks improves this...a lot. I don't understand why I have to purchase AppDelete (nice app, BTW!) in order to remove anything (dragging to the trashcan from the App. Folder, and especially Launchpad, is an exercise in futility).

I hate Windows, and it took them decades to figure out how to handle dependencies and versioning, but at least adding and removing programs there is a no-brainer now! I am hoping this gets fixed; or, it's because I am a version behind everyone else.

Removing apps is as simple as throwing them in the trash. When you run a new app in OSX for the first time it creates a few tiny files to store preferences. If you want to go through the trouble of deleting a few tiny and insignificant config files you can, but its completely unnecessary and has no affect on the system if you leave them. Unlike Windows, there is no registry. Furthermore, when you uninstall apps in windows, it does NOT ever remove them completely. Those apps often still leave behind directories and ALWAY leave behind most of their registry entries and dlls
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MikhailT Avatar
163 months ago
the REAL QUESTION is.......if youve got a recent MAC, is it gonna be FREE......


....or will i have to bend over for $20 on the upgrade.....



anyone know?

No, as long as you don't see any mentions of Mav on your Mac purchase or the "Up-to-Date" program starts, you won't get a free update.

Apple usually give free updates to 1-2 months within the OS release. In this case, it's the Fall, so you're not likely to get any free updates.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)