macOS Sierra 10.12.4

Everything new in macOS Sierra 10.12.4

Apple yesterday unleashed a barrage of OS updates with iOS 10.3, macOS Sierra 10.12.4, watchOS 3.2 and tvOS 10.2. We've already posted our “What's New in iOS 10.3” hands-on and now our resident video editor Andrew O'Hara has done the same for the latest Sierra update.

Check out everything macOS Sierra 10.12.4 has to offer and let us know what you think in comments.

macOS Sierra 10.12.4 with Night Shift for Mac launches

Hot on the heels of releasing iOS 10.3 with Find My AirPods and other improvements and watchOS 3.2 for Apple Watch with Theater Mode and Siri in apps, Apple also today posted the fourth major update to its desktop operating system powering Macs. The software update is now rolling out via Mac App Store’s Updates tab.

Apple seeds macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 8 and watchOS 3.2 beta 7

Apple on Monday seeded an eighth beta of macOS Sierra 10.12.4 and a seventh beta of watchOS 3.2 to its registered developers and members of the Apple Developer Program. Both macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 8 (build 16E192b) and watchOS 3.2 beta 7 (build 14V5249a) can be deployed over-the-air on devices running a prior beta and a using a special configuration profile that can be downloaded from Apple's portal for developers and beta-testers.

Apple seeds sixth betas of iOS 10.3 and macOS Sierra 10.12.4

Apple on Monday seeded the sixth betas of iOS 10.3 and macOS Sierra 10.12.4. Registered developers can install the new betas either via over the air update mechanisms, or as standalone downloads from Apple's Developer Center.

Today's releases come less than a week after Apple issued beta 5 of both iOS 10.3 and macOS Sierra 10.12.4, indicating Apple may be closing in on remaining bugs and preparing to launch the software publicly in the near future.

Apple seeds macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 5 to registered developers

Apple on Tuesday seeded a fifth beta of what would become the fourth major update to Sierra. macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 5 (build 16E183b) can be deployed over the air on Macs with a prior beta and an appropriate configuration profile via the Mac App Store's Updates tab. We'll let you know if we find any outward-facing improvements in this beta.

Apple seeds fourth betas of iOS 10.3, macOS Sierra 10.12.4 and watchOS 3.2 to developers

Apple today seeded fourth betas of iOS 10.3, macOS Sierra 10.12.4 and watchOS 3.2 to members of the Apple Developer Program. iOS 10.3 beta 4 (build number 14E5260b), macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 4 (build number 16E175b) and watchOS 3.2 are now all available as over-the-air downloads through the Software Update mechanism on devices with an appropriate configuration profile. We'll update the article if we find new features or important under-the-hood changes in the new betas.

Beta 3 of iOS 10.3 and macOS Sierra 10.12.4 released for public beta testing

iOS 10.3 beta 3 with Find My AirPods and other enhancements and macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 3 with Night Shift Mode and other perks are both now available for public beta-testing, assuming you've enrolled in Apple's Beta Software Program. After signing up on the web at beta.apple.com, deploy a special configuration profile on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Mac and you'll be able to install the latest beta over-the-air via Apple's standard Software Update mechanism.

macOS 10.12.4 beta 3 seeded to developers

Aside from watchOS 3.2 beta 3, tvOS 10.2 beta 3 and iOS 10.3 beta 3 with a new name and shame list for legacy apps,  Apple today seeded a third beta of what would become the fourth major update to Sierra since its launch last fall. macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 3 (build 16E163f) with Night Shift Mode and other perks is now available to registered developers.

You can deploy the latest beta over the air on your Mac through the Mac App Store's Updates tab. Today's release is only for developers but a version aimed at public beta testers should drop in the next 24 hours.

macOS Sierra 10.12.4 now available to public beta testers

macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 2 with Night Shift Mode and other improvements is now available to public beta testers, two days after the software was seeded to Apple's registered developers.

Public beta testers can deploy the latest beta of Sierra over the air via the Software Update mechanism provided they have installed an appropriate configuration profile through Apple's Beta Software Program website.

Apple seeds macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 2 to developers, iOS 10.3 beta 2 to public testers

Apple on Tuesday seeded the second beta of macOS Sierra 10.12.4 (build number 16E154a) to developers. Registered Mac developers can install the new software via the Updates tab in the Mac App Store or through Apple's dev portal.

Today's beta comes 1 day after the second betas for iOS 10.3, watchOS 3.2, and tvOS 10.2, and two weeks after the original macOS 10.12.4 beta was released. It includes Night Shift mode and other improvements.

References to next-generation MacBook Pros with Kaby Lake chips found in Sierra code

A developer-only preview of what would become the macOS Sierra 10.12.4 software update references a total of eight next-generation MacBook Pro models with the latest Kaby Lake processors from Intel. First discovered by the Apple-centric blog named Pike’s Universum, the code strings in question point to unused IDs for three motherboard identifiers. Aside from other improvements, the Kaby Lake platform enables lower power consumption while possibly bringing support for 32GB RAM.

macOS 10.12.4 properly displays icons for Windows executable files in Finder

Yesterday's beta release of what would become the fourth major software update to macOS Sierra doesn't just bring iOS's Night Shift mode to your Mac. Aside from that feature and things like an updated PDF API, expanded Dictation support or the ability for Siri to look up cricket scores and rosters, macOS Sierra 10.12.4 includes better handling of Windows executable files in the Finder.

As discovered by Microsoft's Mac product designer Vaclav Vancura, rather than use a generic icon to represent Windows executables like before, macOS Sierra 10.12.4 now actually parses .EXE files for native Windows resources such as icons.