Beta 4 of macOS Catalina 10.15.5 launches for developer testing

Apple today seeded to its registered developers and members of the Apple Developer program a fourth beta of what would become a fifth major update to the macOS Catalina software.

The new operating system update can be installed through the Software Update mechanism on Macs enrolled in the company’s developer program. The fourth beta has arrived a week following the third beta. The company kicked off testing of macOS 10.15.5 at the end of March.

macOS Catalina 10.15.5 does not bring major new features, with one notable exception.

Battery Health Management in macOS Catalina 10.15.5

‌A new Battery Health Management feature, found in the Energy Saver section of System Preferences, is available for Mac notebooks. Similar to the Battery Health feature in iOS, its macOS counterpart optimizes battery charging and performance to extend its lifespan.

According to Six Colors:

The feature works by analyzing the temperature of the battery over time, as well as the charging pattern the laptop has experienced—in other words, does the laptop frequently get drained most of the way and then recharged fully or is it mostly kept full and plugged in? In the latter case, Battery Health Management is more likely to stop a bit short of full capacity in order to extend the battery’s long-term lifespan.

For instance, the feature may delay charging your MacBook to hundred percent when connected to power, which can increase the rate of chemical aging and kill battery life.

The previous major software update, macOS Catalina‌ 10.15.4, brought new features such as iCloud folder sharing, Screen Time Communication Limits and live Apple Music lyrics.