Apple Seeds Third macOS Monterey 12.3 Beta to Developers

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS macOS Monterey 12.3 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming a week after the release of the second macOS Monterey 12.3 beta.

macOS Monterey on MBP Feature
Registered developers can download the beta through the Apple Developer Center and after the appropriate profile is installed, betas will be available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences. There is also a macOS 11.6.5 update for those still running macOS Big Sur.

macOS Monterey 12.3 is a major update that introduces Universal Control, a feature that Apple first teased at WWDC and then delayed for several months. ‌Universal Control‌ is designed to allow you to use a single mouse/trackpad and keyboard across multiple Macs and iPads (with iPads running iPadOS 15.4).

After updating your devices to macOS 12.3 and iPadOS 15.4, ‌Universal Control‌ works automatically, allowing your Mac's cursor and keyboard to work on the iPad and vice versa. It's simple and intuitive to use.

maOS Monterey 12.3 adds support for updating the AirPods firmware when the earbuds are connected to a Mac, plus it deprecates kernel extensions used by Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive, and it eliminates Python 2, with Apple instructing developers to use an alternative scripting language like Python 3 going forward.

There are also new emoji characters, including melting face, biting lip, heart hands, bubbles, beans, face with diagonal mouth, palm up hand, eggs, troll, low battery, coral, lotus, and more.

Related Forum: macOS Monterey

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
Apple Watch Series 9

2024 Apple Watch Lineup: Key Changes We're Expecting

Tuesday July 16, 2024 7:59 am PDT by
Apple is seemingly planning a rework of the Apple Watch lineup for 2024, according to a range of reports from over the past year. Here's everything we know so far. Apple is expected to continue to offer three different Apple Watch models in five casing sizes, but the various display sizes will allegedly grow by up to 12% and the casings will get taller. Based on all of the latest rumors,...

Top Rated Comments

Realityck Avatar
32 months ago

Really hope this is the release with major issues addressed and feature complete. I’d like to upgrade, just for universal control and the latest privacy and security features, but Apple’s poor software quality demands precaution before upgrading.
So your not really participating in beta testing, right? Just making comments.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BWhaler Avatar
32 months ago
Really hope this is the release with major issues addressed and feature complete. I’d like to upgrade, just for universal control and the latest privacy and security features, but Apple’s poor software quality demands precaution before upgrading.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
32 months ago
[SPOILER="macOS Monterey 12.3 Beta 3 Release Notes"]
[HEADING=2]FaceTime[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* On iOS and macOS, it’s possible to trigger taking a photo of a participant when in a Group FaceTime call. On iOS, this could occur when you tap the Grid button or the bottom-left corner of the screen. On macOS, this could occur when you click the Grid button or the top-right corner of the window. (88720303)

[HEADING=2]Kernel[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Deprecations[/HEADING]

* The kernel extensions used by Dropbox Desktop Application and Microsoft OneDrive are no longer available. Both service providers have replacements for this functionality; Dropbox is currently in beta. (85890896)

[HEADING=2]LibreSSL[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* LibreSSL 3.3 has changed the default digest type of openssl enc Terminal command to SHA256. Files previously encrypted with an older version of OpenSSL might fail to decrypt. (87763613)
Workaround: The openssl enc command should be run by adding the -md md5argument.

[HEADING=2]Mobile Software Update[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Resolved in macOS Monterey 12.3 Beta 3[/HEADING]

* Fixed: Installing to an empty volume from macOS Recovery might fail. (87730473)

[HEADING=2]Python[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Deprecations[/HEADING]

* Python 2.7 was removed from macOS in this update. Developers should use Python 3 or an alternative language instead. (39795874)

[HEADING=2]Safari[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* Safari might crash upon loading webpages on a Mac with Apple silicon. (88222677)

[HEADING=2]ScreenCaptureKit[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* In ScreenCaptureKit ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/screencapturekit'), if an origin other than (0,0) is specified in the destinationRect ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/screencapturekit/scstreamconfiguration/3919822-destinationrect')or sourceRect ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/screencapturekit/scstreamconfiguration/3919829-sourcerect'), the contentRect is incorrect. (87363220)

[HEADING=2]Universal Control[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* Unexpected disconnections might occur on initial connection. (88106231)
Workaround: Sleep, then wake the device, and try again.
* Drag-and-drop scenarios might not work for some file types and apps. (88106322)
* Some third-party keyboards and mice might encounter issues when using additional functionality, like scroll wheels. (88106362)

[HEADING=2]WebKit[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* Using the App Store might lead to an authentication loop in which the HTML sheet has no content. (87850345)

[HEADING=3]Deprecations[/HEADING]

* Support for inline viewing of PostScript files was removed. (88172449


[/SPOILER]
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
32 months ago

Are you complaining, I can't tell. It makes sense to have administrator status for performing an administrator function. I like a bad guy have administrator status in my main login, and got no login prompt before downloading. I did need to type a password before install, but that seems fair. I know, I know, I should have separate logins, don't remind me
Its a legit observation.

For many 12.0, 12.0.1, 12.1, 12.2 Monterey betas in the past it was at the end of the install. Download, preparation, prompted Admin credential then it installs.

12.3 Beta 2 and this Beta 3 have the Admin credential event now occurring before the whole installation process. Its functional better because you don't have to wait until the end of preparation to return to do that.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
32 months ago
Good deal want to see how the third beta does against some issues.

macOS 12.3 beta 3 (21E5212f). Once again it starts by asking for admin password before downloading. M1 download is 2.92 GB.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
steve333 Avatar
32 months ago
Improve safari already! It's not like you don't have the money, Apple. Make it the best browser for the Mac, not just a nice to look at browser that misbehaves all the time
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)