Apple releases fourth betas of macOS 10.15.4, iOS 13.4, iPadOS 13.4, tvOS 13.4 [u]
Apple is now on its fourth round of betas, providing participants of its developer and public beta programs with new builds of iOS 13.4, iPadOS 13.4, tvOS 13.4, and macOS 10.15.4.
Builds of each operating system can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center by those taking part in the testing program, along with the option to perform an over-the-air software update for devices already enrolled into the scheme. The public beta versions of each developer beta were brought out just over an hour later, and are acquirable from the Apple Beta Software Program website.
This is the fourth set of developer betas in the current cycle, with the third released on February 26, the second on February 19, and the first on February 5.
At the time of publication, a fourth beta of watchOS 6.2 was not available to download.
For earlier builds of iOS and iPadOS 13.4,Apple introduced a number of changes, including the return of iCloud folder sharing, options for developers to sell macOS and iOS apps as a single purchase, extra Memoji stickers, an updated Mail toolbar, Photos keyboard shortcuts, tweaks to Family Sharing in the TV app, new CarPlay controls, and a refreshed location access authorization prompt. Elements were also found in iOS referring to a CarKey API, suggesting the iPhone or Apple Watch may be usable as an NFC key to lock, unlock, or start a car.
References to a new Apple TV 4K device were made in tvOS 13.4, including a new model number. In the second macOS 10.15.4 beta, Apple added time-synchronized lyrics to Apple Music, a feature that previously appeared in the iOS version of the app.
Both AppleInsider and Apple strongly suggest users avoid installing betas on to "mission-critical" or primary devices, due to the potential for data loss or other issues. Instead, the recommendation is to install betas onto secondary or non-essential devices, and to ensure there are sufficient backups of important data before making any major changes.
Update:Just over an hour after the developer betas were released, Apple put out the public beta counterparts.
Find any changes in the new betas? Reach out to us on Twitter at @AppleInsider or @Andrew_OSU, or send Andrew an email at [email protected].
Builds of each operating system can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center by those taking part in the testing program, along with the option to perform an over-the-air software update for devices already enrolled into the scheme. The public beta versions of each developer beta were brought out just over an hour later, and are acquirable from the Apple Beta Software Program website.
This is the fourth set of developer betas in the current cycle, with the third released on February 26, the second on February 19, and the first on February 5.
At the time of publication, a fourth beta of watchOS 6.2 was not available to download.
For earlier builds of iOS and iPadOS 13.4,Apple introduced a number of changes, including the return of iCloud folder sharing, options for developers to sell macOS and iOS apps as a single purchase, extra Memoji stickers, an updated Mail toolbar, Photos keyboard shortcuts, tweaks to Family Sharing in the TV app, new CarPlay controls, and a refreshed location access authorization prompt. Elements were also found in iOS referring to a CarKey API, suggesting the iPhone or Apple Watch may be usable as an NFC key to lock, unlock, or start a car.
References to a new Apple TV 4K device were made in tvOS 13.4, including a new model number. In the second macOS 10.15.4 beta, Apple added time-synchronized lyrics to Apple Music, a feature that previously appeared in the iOS version of the app.
Both AppleInsider and Apple strongly suggest users avoid installing betas on to "mission-critical" or primary devices, due to the potential for data loss or other issues. Instead, the recommendation is to install betas onto secondary or non-essential devices, and to ensure there are sufficient backups of important data before making any major changes.
Update:Just over an hour after the developer betas were released, Apple put out the public beta counterparts.
Find any changes in the new betas? Reach out to us on Twitter at @AppleInsider or @Andrew_OSU, or send Andrew an email at [email protected].
Comments
a bug in 10.15 that I’m having is trying to use third party preference panels in system preferences. I updated USB Overdrive which I’ve been using since it first came out, and which was updated for 10.15. The update installs. But as with all other third party preferences, when I click it in the prefs panel, I get a message stating that system preferences needs to close and start again in order to use it. I close it, and open it, and the same message is there. This happens for every third party preference panel there. It works with Apple’s. When I click the question mark for more info, a window opens, and says that no information is available at this time.
anyone else have this problem? if you did, did any of these new betas fix it? Every time Apple came out with a new update, I was hoping it would work. But it still doesn’t in 10.15.3. It’s a real pain.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/10/12/missing-message-issues-plague-mail-users-in-macos-catalina
I’ve been intermittently following Michael Tsai’s blog post and the issue seems to persist.