macOS Sierra Public Beta 2 released to testers

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In addition to releasing a second public beta of iOS 10, macOS Sierra Public Beta 2 is now also available to those signed on the Apple Beta Software Program.

The third beta of Sierra was seeded to Apple’s registered developers two days ago, and now public beta testers can take it for a spin (public beta 2 and developer beta 3 offer the same features).

The update should appear as an over-the-air download via the Software Update mechanism through the Mac App Store’s Updates tab on Macs that run the first public beta and are enrolled in Apple’s program.

NOTE: the second public beta and the third developer beta offer the same features. The third developer beta of Sierra does not contain any new outward-facing user features.

What’s new in macOS Sierra Public Beta 2?

macOS Sierra Public Beta 2 and developer-only beta 3 are light on new features.

The first public beta gave the general public a chance to play with the features Apple added to developer beta 2, such as a new default Siri keystroke, the ability to unlock a Mac awoken from sleep by wearing an Apple Watch—a feature aptly named Auto Unlock—as well as iTunes 12.5 and a few other tidbits highlighted in the video below.

Don’t see the video? Watch in on YouTube!

Check out our write-up for detailed overview of these changes and please do subscribe to iDownloadBlog on YouTube for more videos from the iDB team.

iDB’s macOS Sierra previews

In addition to the above changes, other Sierra features worth taking a closer look at include Siri for Mac, deeper integration with iOS through expanded Continuity features, Desktop and Documents sync via iCloud Drive, the ability to copy and paste text and media from one Apple device to another, Safari 10 with support for Picture-in-Picture, native App Extensions and Apple Pay on websites, a much-improved Photos app with a new Memories feature that uses advanced objet recognition, and more.

Check out our previews of these features:

macOS Sierra beta 3 was seeded to Apple’s registered developers two days ago.

macOS Sierra availability

Initially, Sierra was available as a developer-only preview to members of the Apple Developer Program before releasing to public beta testers in July.

Sierra will release for public consumption this fall as a free software update via the Mac App Store and has been confirmed to support a smaller number of Macs.

Compatible Macs for macOS Sierra, according to Apple, include late-2009 and later MacBooks and iMacs and 2010-and-later MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros, Mac minis and Mac Pros. Macs manufactured before 2009 won’t be supported.

Your thoughts on beta 2

If you’re a registered Apple beta tester who’s taken the first public beta of Sierra for a spin, we’d like to hear your thoughts on Public Beta 2. Have you noticed any improvements in Siri performance? Did you manage to get Auto Unlock to work?

Chime in with your thoughts in the comment section below.