Skip to Content

Got a tip for us?Let us know

a. Send us an email
b. Anonymous form

Apple Seeds Fifth Beta of macOS Sierra to Developers [Update: PB4 Now Available for Public Beta Testers]

Tuesday August 9, 2016 9:57 am PDT by Juli Clover

Apple today released the fifth beta of macOS Sierra, the newest operating system designed for the Mac, to developers. macOS Sierra beta 5 comes one week after the release of the fourth beta and approximately two months after the software was first unveiled at Apple's 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference.

Developers can download today's beta update through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store or through the Apple Developer Center.

macossierrabeta
macOS Sierra is a major update that brings Siri to the Mac for the first time, allowing users to conduct voice searches to quickly find files, look up information, and more. New Continuity features offer an "Auto Unlock" option for unlocking a Mac with an Apple Watch and a "Universal Clipboard" for copying text on one Apple device and pasting it on another.

Deeper iCloud integration allows files stored on the desktop or the Documents folder of a Mac to be accessed on all of a user's devices, and Photos features deep learning algorithms for improved facial, object, and scene recognition. There's also a Memories feature for displaying photo collections, and Messages has rich links, bigger emoji, and "Tapback" response options.

Apple Pay is coming to the web in macOS Sierra, with payments authenticated through an iPhone or Apple Watch, and new features like multiple tabs, Picture in Picture multitasking, optimized storage, and revamped emoji are also available.

Watch on YouTube

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.

During the beta testing period, Apple tweaks and refine the features introduced in macOS Sierra to prepare it for public release. In macOS Sierra beta 4, Apple introduced new emoji promoting gender equality and introduced a new look for many existing emoji with new textures and design tweaks. Any changes found in the fifth beta will be listed below.

macOS Sierra is currently available to developers and public beta testers, and it will see a wider public release this fall. For full details on all of the new features included in macOS Sierra, make sure to check out our macOS Sierra roundup.

Update: Apple has also seeded macOS Sierra public beta 4 to public beta testers. It is identical to the 5th developer beta.

Related Forum: macOS Sierra

Popular Stories

iPhone Duo Display Cracking

Apple Alerts Stores to iPhone Duo's Display Cracking Issue

Friday October 30, 2026 3:20 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol

In a memo shared with Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers this week, and later obtained by MacRumors, Apple provided technicians with guidance on how to diagnose and address the iPhone Duo's inner display cracking issue. If a customer reports the issue, Apple advised technicians to inspect the iPhone Duo and repair or replace it in accordance with their standard procedures....

• 231 comments

iPad mini OLED feature 1

Apple Executive Comments on New iPad Mini Lacking 120Hz Display

Thursday October 29, 2026 1:47 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol

While the new iPad mini has an OLED display, the device does not support ProMotion, meaning the display's refresh rate is limited to 60Hz instead of 120Hz. ProMotion support would have allowed for the iPad mini's refresh rate to automatically adjust from 10Hz to 120Hz depending on the content being displayed, but evidently Apple has kept the feature exclusive to the iPad Pro among iPad...

• 243 comments

Pinched iPad Mini

Apple Avoids Showing Pinched Fingers on iPad Mini Page in South Korea

Thursday October 29, 2026 11:52 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

In the U.S. and most other countries, Apple's website shows the new iPad mini being held by pinched fingers, but this is not the case in South Korea. The new iPad mini shown with pinched fingers on Apple's website in the U.S. On its South Korean website, Apple simply shows an image of the iPad mini on its own. The new iPad mini shown without pinched fingers on Apple's website in South Korea ...

• 94 comments

Top Rated Comments

bladerunner2000

134 months ago

Have they finally given the option to change the default behaviour of the green button to expand to maximum instead of going fullscreen? I have 100 people in my office building and nobody uses fullscreen on a laptop or desktop, they all hate it. There's NO point in fullscreen on a large screen.

And what about a proper cut/paste command (ctl+x / ctrl+v) in Finder? Is System Integrity Protection still screwing over developers like TotalFinder?

Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)

134 months ago

I have 100 people in my office building and nobody uses fullscreen on a laptop or desktop, they all hate it. There's NO point in fullscreen on a large screen.

Couldn't disagree more. Logic Pro full screen. Safari on another. iTunes on another. Guitar Pro on the next. 4-finger swipe and I'm immediately on the other one I want. Smooth as silk.

I think full screen is perfect if you're working with multiple desktops. Especially when you're using content-rich creative applications like FCPX and Photoshop, you really need all the space you can get.

Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)

134 months ago

Couldn't disagree more. Logic Pro full screen. Safari on another. iTunes on another. Guitar Pro on the next. 4-finger swipe and I'm immediately on the other one I want. Smooth as silk.

I think full screen is perfect if you're working with multiple desktops. Especially when you're using content-rich creative applications like FCPX and Photoshop, you really need all the space you can get.

I like fullscreen, but I have another issue with it - I hate that the menu bar disappears. I'd love an option for the menu bar to be "always on". For crying out loud - many of us have have enormous size monitors, hiding the menu bar gives negligible vertical pixels, but so much annoyance when you just want to glance the time, change some setting fast etc.

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

134 months ago

I still don't understand their icon design... an icon should be symbolic, easy to identify in black-and-white. The Siri icon is not that. Why not a simple microphone? Do they think that people will confuse it with something else?

Because Siri is not a microphone

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

134 months ago

Have they finally given the option to change the default behaviour of the green button to expand to maximum instead of going fullscreen? I have 100 people in my office building and nobody uses fullscreen on a laptop or desktop, they all hate it. There's NO point in fullscreen on a large screen.

While I'd be all for an option to change the default behavior, I have to disagree with you that there is no point in full screen. I have a 27" 4K monitor, and I run 3-5 full screens always. My code editor runs in one screen, I'm running full screen browsers w/ debugging tools in 1-3 other screens, and I'll often have tools like Sketch using another full screen.

I'm not sure what your line of work is, but just looking around the office right now here I see several people using their Macs in full-screen.

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

134 months ago

Look, I don't use it and neither do the 100 people in my office use it and many other people on this forum. Nobody needs nor wants it. I'm asking to simply add the OPTION of changing the green button behaviour to make windows maximize without hiding the dock and file menu up top because they are NEEDED.

Sounds to me like Windows or Linux might be better operating system for you? They have the Maximize button that you are looking for.

It's always been considered that power users find keyboard interaction more efficient than mouse and trackpad, and yet you stated in your other thread that you don't want to have to touch the keyboard when pressing the green button. So where is your left (or right) hand while the other one is on the mouse? I'm genuinely curious because maybe that's some good feedback for Apple?

Let me ask you these:

* Do you use the Application Switcher? (Cmd-Tab)
* Do you know that the Dock appears when you move your mouse to the edge of the screen in Full-Screen mode?
* Do you believe that no keyboard interaction should be needed to navigate around the operating system?
* Do you ever press the Esc key? I ask this because it's an immensely useful key to "cancel" your last action. It's been this way for 30+ years, but many non-power users don't even know what it does. So knowing if you use it in your day-to-day computing will go a long way to helping us understand your interactions with the computer, and why you find the mouse pointer to be so important.

[doublepost=1470768903][/doublepost]

Which is why said there needs to be an OPTION.

I don't understand why I keep have to repeat myself, are you guys even reading the full post? Just add an OPTION to change the behaviour in system preferences... maybe like this:

We hear you, but but we also see the strong bias AGAINST something so simple as holding down the Option key. For those of us used to this very simple action (because our hands are always on the keyboard already), we are puzzled about your passion.

Have you sent this feedback to Apple? www.apple.com/feedback/ (http://www.apple.com/feedback/) or via the Feedback Assistant app?

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Read All Comments

Latest Stories

Apple Watch Ultra 4 Hits All-Time Low Price With Amazon's $99 Discount

Reminder: Apple's Big Discount on Beats 360 Ear Cushions Ends Today

Here's a New Tour of Apple's HomeView Software

Apple Reveals New iPad Mini's Battery Capacity

Top Stories: Apple's Big MacBook Pro, iPad mini and iMac Updates

'Pluribus' Season 2 Reportedly Starts Production Today

iPhone 18 Pro Sales Surge in China, Offsetting Decline in U.S. and Japan

HomeView Software 27.2: Wallpapers, Control Center, and More

Apple Alerts Stores to iPhone Duo's Display Cracking Issue

iOS 27.3 Will Enable These Apple Intelligence Features in China

Apple Says iOS 27.3 Beta Coming Next Week

Apple's Flash Storage Suppliers Are Finally 'Getting Their Revenge'

14 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 27.2

iPhone Duo Review: One Week Later

Samsung Mocks iPhone Duo Display Cracks in New Ad Campaign

The MacRumors Show: OLED MacBook Pro, iPad Mini 8, and More

MacBook Pro With Touch Display: 15 More Details Revealed

Russia Places Apple on State Surveillance Registry

Halloween Weekend Brings Discounts on Apple Accessories and Pre-Orders

Apple Has Released More Than 25 New Products in the Past Two Months

Local Code Launches as Free, Private AI Assistant Tool for Mac

Apple Acquires Ascend.io

HomePod Mini 2 Launches Today: All the New Features

AirTag 2 4-Pack Drops to New Low Price of $69.99

Rian Johnson's iPhone Camera App Goes Viral

Where Did All the iPhone Duos Go? Mostly to Apple's Stores

Apple's Touchscreen MacBook Pro Could Ship 1.5M Units in 2027

New Apple TV 4K and iPad Mini: RAM Amounts Revealed

Apple Executive Comments on New iPad Mini Lacking 120Hz Display

Here's a Hands-On Look at HomePod Mini 2's New Two-Tone Colors

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors