Apple issues second macOS 10.12.4 Sierra beta for public testers

AppleInsider

Nearly two weeks after releasing an initial public beta version of its upcoming macOS 10.12.4 update, Apple on Wednesday pushed out a second test version of the operating system to Public Beta Program members.

Like the second developer beta issued on Tuesday, today's public evaluation version brings Night Shift mode to Mac. Originally incorporated into iOS, Night Shift minimizes user exposure to blue light from device screens during nighttime working hours, a technique thought to minimize impact on a user's circadian rhythm.

In addition to Night Shift, macOS 10.12.4 includes Siri support for checking Cricket scores, schedules, and player rosters from the Indian Premier
League and International Cricket Council. The update also brings dictation support for Shanghainese, system APIs for reading, writing and navigating PDFs, and the usual assortment of bug fixes and performance improvements.

Apple's first macOS 10.12.4 Sierra beta arrived in late January, with developers granted access to the update two days prior to public beta testers.

Users currently enrolled in Apple's Public Beta Program can download the latest macOS test version from the Updates section of the Mac App Store. Those interested in testing beta software before wide release can sign up for Apple's program via the company's official website.

Addman7100

No Night Shift for my MacBook Pro 2011 after update to 10.12.4 bets.   

hypoluxa

Please bring back the dark mode in the notification center! Why did they remove it????

lkrupp

Addman7100 said:

No Night Shift for my MacBook Pro 2011 after update to 10.12.4 bets.   

So what? It’s a beta.

lkrupp

hypoluxa said:

Please bring back the dark mode in the notification center! Why did they remove it????

It’s a beta. How do you know it won’t be back? I swear...

macxpress

lkrupp said:

hypoluxa said:

Please bring back the dark mode in the notification center! Why did they remove it????

It’s a beta. How do you know it won’t be back? I swear...

Yes if you're that concerned about this stuff then don't run beta software on your primary Mac. 

hypoluxa

lkrupp said:

hypoluxa said:

Please bring back the dark mode in the notification center! Why did they remove it????

It’s a beta. How do you know it won’t be back? I swear...

Well they removed it from Sierra when it was released. I'd love to know why. Its much easier to read items when it was dark instead of white like it is currently, plus it doesn't change when you change the Finder from light to dark.

seanismorris

Night Shift is worthless...

You're better off adjusting the brightness yourself.  Night Shift increases eye strain, making text difficult to read.  For best results change the background to black with white text.

MacPro

seanismorris said:

Night Shift is worthless...

You're better off adjusting the brightness yourself.  Night Shift increases eye strain, making text difficult to read.  For best results change the background to black with white text.

Sorry to totally disagree with you but a lot of science points to color shift (not brightness only), as used by Night Shift, does indeed alter the brain for most people to better match the circadian cycle and thus be less disruptive to our natural sleeping pattern.  Your suggestion of adjusting brightness only would not achieve this as you'd still be at the wrong color temperature for the time of day which as nothing to do with brightness.  I'd suggest your problem maybe better helped with glasses or perhaps you have a form of color blindness that is being exacerbated with color shift?

ylon

I have heard that Apple is not allowing Night Shift on most older Macs so just keep using F.lux.