Apple Seeds Fifth Beta of macOS Sierra 10.12.4 to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available Too]

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming macOS Sierra 10.12.4 update to developers, one week after seeding the fourth macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta and over a month after releasing macOS Sierra 10.12.3.

The fifth 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.

Update: The fifth macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta is now available for public beta testers.

Related Forum: macOS Sierra

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
iPhone 17 Roundup Feature 2

iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year

Monday February 17, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker. In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
Apple Maps 2024

Apple Maps Might Start Showing Ads

Sunday February 16, 2025 7:22 am PST by
Apple is "exploring" the idea of showing search ads in the Apple Maps app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Back in 2022, Gurman said software engineering was "already underway" to display ads in the Apple Maps app, but Apple did not move forward with the idea at the time. Today, he said Apple is "giving this notion more thought" again. This time around, he said Apple has yet to...
Tim Cook Apple Park

10+ Announcements Apple Could Have Rolled Into a February Event

Saturday February 15, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple appears to have enough upcoming product announcements to justify a full event this month, yet all signs indicate these reveals will be handled through a series of press releases instead. There are a multitude of rumors from reliable sources about specific announcements in the coming weeks, so here's everything that Apple could have feasibly included in a hypothetical February event: ...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
m2 pro mac mini

Apple is Now Selling a Refurbished Mac Mini for Just $319 (!)

Saturday February 15, 2025 9:58 am PST by
A few days ago, we reported that Apple's refurbished Mac mini pricing had a problem, and it appears that Apple has taken note. Apple was offering a refurbished Mac mini with the M2 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage for $559, which was $50 more than a refurbished Mac mini with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. All other key specifications were equal. That's no longer...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

Apple's Next iPhone SE Launching on Wednesday - Here's What We Know

Friday February 14, 2025 4:04 pm PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an Apple announcement that's coming on Wednesday, February 19, and it's looking like that mystery announcement will be the next-generation iPhone SE. We've been hearing about the iPhone SE 4 for quite some time now, and we essentially know everything to expect. If you want a sneak peek at what's coming, read on. Naming Apple first introduced the iPhone SE in...

Top Rated Comments

Böhme417 Avatar
104 months ago
IMO ... nightshift is not such an important feature.... particularly for a non-mobile operating system.
The vast majority of workforce don't look at their computer screens at night so this doesn't benefit them.

Apple should spend their effort improving other areas of OSX.
Workforce? Pretty sure there are plenty of people using their computers at night who can benefit from this...
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DEMinSoCAL Avatar
104 months ago
Night Shift, Shanghainese and cricket scores? This is about the least exciting macOS update I can remember.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tywebb13 Avatar
104 months ago
I really wish they'd save the front page posting of this news until they have some substance regarding what's changed in the release. If we never get substance, then it never goes on front page.

It's just that a version bump in itself isn't really news, it's a change of a digit.
Totally disagree. Sorry.

But if there was no "substance" as you call it, then apple would not have released a new beta.

"Just a version bump"? Well there has to be a reason for it otherwise apple wouldn't have done it just for the sake of changing the number.

And it certainly IS news. I often find out about new betas on the front page of macrumors before logging into apple's developer portal to get the new seed note and checking for updates in the mac app store.

So I would be happy for macrumors to continue posting such information on their front page.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
StyxMaker Avatar
104 months ago
Night Shift, Shanghainese and cricket scores? This is about the least exciting macOS update I can remember.
Not if you live in Shanghai or are one of the millions of cricket fans around the world.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Milli*5410 Avatar
104 months ago
Hope it fixes the Safari bug I was experiencing page scrolling down by its self.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mytdave Avatar
104 months ago
What's this obsession with Night Shift? How about more stability, compatibility, and restoration of lost features (i.e. Disk Utility currently stinks, bad)?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)