Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS Monterey 12.1 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming a week after the second beta and three weeks after the official release of macOS Monterey.
Registered developers can download macOS Monterey 12.1 beta profile through the Apple Developer Center and after the appropriate profile is installed, the beta will be available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences. Apple has also seeded a new beta of macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 for those who have not yet updated to Monterey or who can't on an older machine.
macOS Monterey 12.1 brings SharePlay to Macs for the first time. SharePlay is a new feature that's designed to let you watch TV, listen to music, and play games with friends and family members over FaceTime.
SharePlay allows all kinds of apps to work with FaceTime, with content synced for all people who are part of the FaceTime call. You can listen to music with Apple Music and access shared playlists, watch synced TV shows and movies together, work out together, and even share your screen for things like group trip planning or device troubleshooting.
Apple designed SharePlay to work with first-party app options like Apple TV, Apple Fitness+, and Apple Music, but there's also an API for developers so third-party apps can also use SharePlay FaceTime features for games and other experiences.
SharePlay is already available in the release versions of iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, and tvOS 15.1, so the Monterey 12.1 update brings Macs in line with other Apple devices.
Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
In his Powe...
Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models.
"All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today.
"I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
We are still waiting for the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate to come out, so the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week or two away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro.
There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
great question. There is an audience for this, but it is minuscule compared to the population that needs a stable, “it just works” operating system.
what’s amazing to me is how many aspects of the os break each release which get no additional functionality.
I'd like to see them pull another 10.6. Just take a full update to do nothing but fix bugs, clean up code, do optimizations and refinements. Spend time tweaking and perfecting the already included tools. Not add anything that would take a very minimum amount of work to do. Just focus on the core OS itself and what's already included. To be frank I'd really like to see MS do the exact same. Take a few update cycles to do NOTHING but fixing open bugs, cleaning up any code that needs it and spending time to re-write what needs to be. Just do what they can for 6mo-12mo focusing ONLY on bugs and performance. Don't add anything new. Just all hands-on deck to FIX.
How many people are actually going to use all of this SharePlay stuff? I mean, really? It sounds cool, but how many people in their busy lives are really all that bothered about it?
