Apple Seeds Third macOS Sierra 10.12.4 Beta to Developers

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS Sierra 10.12.4 update to developers, two weeks after seeding the second macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta and just under a month after releasing macOS Sierra 10.12.3.

The third macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta is available for download through the Apple Developer Center or the software update mechanism in the Mac App Store for those who have previously installed a beta.

macos-10-12-4-beta
macOS Sierra 10.12.4 brings iOS's Night Shift mode to the Mac for the first time. First introduced on iOS devices with iOS 9.3, Night Shift is designed to gradually shift the display of a device from blue to yellow, cutting down on exposure to blue light. Blue light is said to disrupt the circadian rhythm and is believed to interrupt sleeping patterns.

Night Shift can be activated through the Displays section of System Preferences, where a setting to have it come on at sunset and turn off at sunrise is available. Night Shift can also be toggled on manually through the Notification Center or via Siri.


The 10.12.4 update focuses mainly on Night Shift, but also includes dictation support for Shanghainese, cricket scores for Siri, improved PDFKit APIs, and iCloud Analytics options.

Related Forum: macOS Sierra

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

Jayderek Avatar
102 months ago
I know the feeling, but I'm going to assume Night Shift will be optional and default to being off (an approach I wish Apple chose for nearly all new features since about Leopard...). If anyone with the beta would like to comfirm that'd be nice.
of course this is optional - so ridiculous for people to get all up in arms about features that they don't use themselves.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
talmy Avatar
102 months ago
Yet another 'feature' that makes me say 'thanks for that, how do I turn it off permanently?'

I can't be the only one who paid a fortune for a monitor that displays the right colours?
It's off by default.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C DM Avatar
102 months ago
Really? Tell me how to permanently turn off emoji on my iPhone then.
Remove the emoji keyboard from settings and don't use emoji.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bbfc Avatar
102 months ago
Probably for now, but once Apple decides that its good for you, then I don't expect to be able to turn it off, that is the new Apple, who appears to have the goal to force the world to do what it thinks is correct, instead of letting the user decide.
You honestly think Apple will not allow you to turn Night Shift off in the future? All features are optional. Why on earth would they make it non-optional!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zirel Avatar
102 months ago
Probably for now, but once Apple decides that its good for you, then I don't expect to be able to turn it off, that is the new Apple, who appears to have the goal to force the world to do what it thinks is correct, instead of letting the user decide.
This is what makes "MacRumors", "MacRumors", unbeilable!

Enjoy Windows 10, and ads on the start menu!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AndyUnderscoreR Avatar
102 months ago
Yet another 'feature' that makes me say 'thanks for that, how do I turn it off permanently?'

I can't be the only one who paid a fortune for a monitor that displays the right colours?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)