macOS Sonoma Public Beta Now Available

Apple today provided the first beta of the upcoming macOS Sonoma update to its public beta testing group, allowing non-developers to test the new operating system ahead of its fall launch.

macos sonoma feature purple green
Public beta testers can download the macOS 14 Sonoma update from the Software Update section of the System Preferences app after signing up on Apple's beta testing website and opting into the public beta under the Beta Updates section.

macOS Sonoma introduces interactive widgets for the desktop, making widgets more useful and more prominent. You can even use your iPhone widgets on your Mac's desktop through a new Continuity feature.

There are updated screensavers that are similar to the high-resolution animated screensavers available on the Apple TV, and for video calls and presenting, there's a Presenter Overlay option that lets you move, walk, and talk in front of content you're sharing from your Mac.

Safari supports web apps so you can add your favorite websites to your Dock, plus there are new Profiles to separate your work browsing and personal browsing. iCloud Keychain supports sharing passwords with others, and private browsing windows are locked when they are not in use.

Enhanced AutoFill is available for PDFs so you can quickly fill in information like names, addresses, and emails, plus users can collaborate on PDFs and see real-time updates through the Notes app.

For more on what's new in macOS Sonoma, including a new Game mode, we have a detailed macOS Sonoma roundup that highlights all of the features in the update.

Related Forum: macOS Sonoma

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 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...
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....
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 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 ...
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 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

Realityck Avatar
21 months ago

How's stability been with the betas? Thinking of diving in but wary of breakage.
We had really four releases, the DB1, DB2, first DB3 build, and yesterday's DB3 build which is what you will use. I would say it's pretty stable comparably.

Occasionally I see Safari 17 show some animation like it's still trying to load a URL even though it did that. Just do a reload the page again if that happens. Currently using it on a M1 24" IMac, and M1 Max 16" MBP without any real issues.

macOS 14 beta 3 (23A5286i)

* Safari Version 17.0 (19616.1.20.11.3)
* System Firmware Version: 10151.0.172.0.3 (M1 based Macs)
* Darwin Kernel Version 23.0.0: Fri Jun 30 17:48:23 PDT 2023; root:xnu-10002.0.168.505.3~1/RELEASE_ARM64_T8103 arm64

Should be the same beta 3 build from yesterday

* iOS 17 beta 3 (21A5277j) - July 11, 2023
* iPadOS 17 beta 3 (21A5277j) - July 11, 2023
* macOS 14 beta 3 (23A5286i) - July 11, 2023
* tvOS 17 beta 3 (21J5303h) = July 11, 2023
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonnysods Avatar
21 months ago
Temptation level is high on this one...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nathansz Avatar
21 months ago

How's stability been with the betas? Thinking of diving in but wary of breakage.
The smoothest macos betas I can ever recall
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
21 months ago
How's stability been with the betas? Thinking of diving in but wary of breakage.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Fan 2008 Avatar
21 months ago

How's stability been with the betas? Thinking of diving in but wary of breakage.
It's worked very well for me. I LOVE the Game Porting Toolkit.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
21 months ago
Make sure to back up to an external ASR volume using a backup utility first. I had no issue installing this dev beta multiple times on different AS Macs but it pays to take that extra step just in case.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)