Apple's Fourth macOS Sierra 10.12.2 Beta Is Now available For Public Beta Testers

Nov 29, 2016 02:42 AM EST

Apple just released the fourth macOS Sierra 10.12.2 beta. It's now available for developers and public beta testers. The latest update to the macOS Sierra can be downloaded through the Mac App Store or Apple Developer Center. It will probably be released to the public before this year ends.

Apple's latest Mac operating system macOS Sierra was launched back in September. Since then, the macOS 10.12.1 was released to the public. It was followed by the first macOS 10.12.2 beta in late October. The third 10.12.2 beta was released two weeks prior to the most recent update. According to the Mac Rumors, the recent update might address some previous issues by providing bug fixes and performance enhancements.

Mac users should expect new emoji as it includes Unicode 9.0 character support. This means that you will be able to use emoji like clown face, fox face, animals such as owl, shark, butterfly and foods as avocado, pancakes, croissant and bacon. It's akin to those in the iOS 10.2 and watchOS 3.1.1. There are also a number of changes and improvements with the current emoji. They were enhanced to look as real as possible.

According to 9to5Mac, the macOS 10.12.2 beta 4 will also have four wallpapers that are present in iOS 10.2 for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, and more recently in the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar marketing material. They are named Color Burst 1, Color Burst 2, Color Burst 3 and Abstract Shapes. Among the colors seen are pink, yellow, blue, green, purple and red. It will likely be released to the public next month after the developer and public beta. As they have to test these pre-release versions first.

The macOS Sierra is Apple's newest OS for Mac. It has features like support for Siri, Apply Pay for the web, Universal Clipboard, Apple Watch auto unlocking, improved iCloud Drive integration and picture-in-picture video playback. Particularly, the integration of the personal digital assistant Siri is a great addition for Mac users.

It basically has the same capabilities that iPhone users get to enjoy. For instance, it will search through documents or Photos to find certain files. It can also be used to set reminders and initiate FaceTime calls. Meanwhile, the iCloud integration will allow the user to access his/her documents stored on Mac using his/her other devices through the iCloud Drive app, according to Mac Rumors. These features offer convenience to Mac users.