Apple has just released macOS 14.5 beta 2 to developers. At this moment, it’s unclear what features this software update might bring, as we haven’t found anything so far. As we approach the macOS 15 announcement, it’s more likely that Apple is focusing on bug fixes and security patches as it works on new features for this upcoming major update, which is said to add Artificial intelligence functions.
While macOS 14.5 beta seems a pretty minor upgrade so far, macOS 14.4 also didn’t revamp much as well. For example, Apple expanded multiple timers on macOS Sonoma with all ringtones currently available on the iPhone. Previously, only the classic tones were available.
For Apple Music, Books, and Podcasts apps, Apple switched the Listen Now tab to Home. In addition, macOS 14.4 added 28 new emojis. Most of the figures are skin tone modifiers and gender variants. Still, the new emojis include a lime, shaking heads, a phoenix, and four new gender-neutral family emojis intended to be represented via silhouettes.
Podcasts Episode text can be read in full, searched for a word or phrase, clicked to play from a specific point, and used with accessibility features such as Text Size, Increase Contrast, and Voice Over. It also brought Business Updates in Messages for Business, which lets you get updates that you’ve opted into, like order status, flight notifications, fraud alerts, or other transactions from trusted businesses.
Finally, Safari Favorites Bar adds an option to show only icons for websites. BGR will keep following the latest changes with macOS 14.5 beta 2, and we’ll let you know if we discover anything new.
Alongside macOS 14.5 beta 2, Apple has also seeded the second testing version of iOS 17.5, iPadOS 17.5, watchOS 10.5, tvOS 17.5, and visionOS 1.2.
