Apple today seeded the fifth beta of the upcoming macOS 14 Sonoma update to developers for testing purposes. The beta comes a couple of weeks after the launch of the fourth beta.
Registered developers can download the beta through the Apple Developer Center and after the appropriate profile is installed, with the betas available through the Software Update mechanism in System Settings.
macOS Sonoma introduces new Apple TV-like screen savers that also serve as wallpapers after you log in, plus it moves widgets to the desktop. You can use the new widget gallery to choose from a range of widgets, and then drag them to your Mac’s desktop.
Widgets can be arranged in any way that’s useful, and when you’re using an app, they are designed to fade into the background so they’re less distracting. Widgets are more interactive than before, so you can use them to do things like play music, turn off the lights in your home, and more. Through Continuity, your iPhone’s widgets can also show up on your Mac’s desktop.
Video conferencing has improved with a new Presenter Overlay view that shows your desktop or project in new ways, plus Safari now supports web apps for the Dock and the option to create Profiles so you can separate personal browsing from work browsing.
Other new features include improved search that’s faster and more responsive, password and passkey sharing, a revamped stickers interface for the Messages app, PDF integration in notes that makes it easier than ever to manage PDFs, and more.