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Apple Seeds Third macOS Monterey 12.3 Beta to Developers

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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

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Top Rated Comments

Realityck Avatar
Realityck
60 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
BWhaler
60 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
Realityck
60 months ago
[SPOILER="macOS Monterey 12.3 Beta 3 Release Notes"]
FaceTime
Known Issues

* 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)

Kernel
Deprecations

* 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)

LibreSSL
Known Issues

* 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.

Mobile Software Update
Resolved in macOS Monterey 12.3 Beta 3

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

Python
Deprecations

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

Safari
Known Issues

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

ScreenCaptureKit
Known Issues

* 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)

Universal Control
Known Issues

* 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)

WebKit
Known Issues

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

Deprecations

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


[/SPOILER]
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
Realityck
60 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)
S
steve333
60 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)
Realityck Avatar
Realityck
60 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)
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