Apple Seeds First Public Beta of macOS Sonoma 14.2

Apple today seeded the first public beta of an upcoming macOS Sonoma 14.2 update, allowing non-developers to test out the software ahead of its release. The public beta comes a day after the first developer beta.

macos sonoma 4
Beta testers can opt-in through the Software Update section of the System Settings app. Under Beta updates, simply toggle on the Sonoma Public Beta. Note that you must sign up to participate on Apple's beta testing website.

‌macOS Sonoma‌ 14.2 adds Messages sticker reactions, which make it quicker to add a sticker or an emoji to an iMessage. It also includes support for collaborative Apple Music playlists, allowing multiple people to add songs to a single playlist.

There's a new Favorites ‌Apple Music‌ playlist as well, better support for Messages in iCloud syncing, and iMessage Contact Key Verification for people who face extraordinary digital threats.

Related Roundup: macOS Sonoma
Related Forum: macOS Sonoma

Top Rated Comments

Realityck Avatar
7 weeks ago
The install of 14.2 beta 1 on top of 14.1 RC was fairly quick. Not seeing anything really amiss with my two AS Macs.

What was released yesterday to devs/PB testers today

* iOS 17.2 beta (21C5029g)
* iPadOS 17.2 beta (21C5029g)
* macOS 14.2 beta (23C5030f)
* tvOS 17.2 beta (21K5330g)
* watchOS 10.2 beta (21S6331f)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
7 weeks ago

BTW, I still despise the new System Setting introduced in Ventura. Real, genuine hatred. I thought it would grow on me and I'd develop some muscle memory after more than a year, bit I still can't remember where anything is. I used to be able to get to 80% of what I needed with one click. Now it's at least two, sometimes three or four clicks.
Don't forget about the Alphabetical list view in Mac System Settings. While the below image is from Ventura, Sonoma is the same.

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
achtung! Avatar
7 weeks ago
Finally, Apple Music has received more updates. I am looking forward to seeing what's in store for the future. There's plenty of room for improvement.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mudflap Avatar
7 weeks ago

What's the overall consensus with Sonoma? I'm curious as to how stable it's been.
Sonoma is solid for me.

This is the first macOS in quite some time that worked with all of my software out of the box. Adobe CC has a couple glitches here and there but it works, generally. And of course — although I'm going to sound like a borked record — the screensaver/wallpapers are absolutely stunning, especially in HDR on a 14" or 16" MacBook Pro. I do miss the third party Mail Receipt plugin for Mail.app; Apple got rid of plugins altogether and are moving to extensions. So maybe we'll have an alternative in the future but for now, nope.

Apple Remote Desktop is noticeably more responsive administering a couple Mac minis I have set up as audio and video servers. That was a very pleasant surprise!

I just installed it yesterday, waiting until I was finished with a big project to be safe. The only issues I've seen so far; sometimes an app's window is stuck behind or in front of another window. I might update to 14.2b to see if that fixes it, as long as it doesn't introduced other problems. And I swear everything really does feel a little zippier on my 14" M1 Pro.

BTW, I still despise the new System Setting introduced in Ventura. Real, genuine hatred. I thought it would grow on me and I'd develop some muscle memory after more than a year, bit I still can't remember where anything is. I used to be able to get to 80% of what I needed with one click. Now it's at least two, sometimes three or four clicks.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr.Mozi Avatar
7 weeks ago
Journal app maybe?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jbmelby Avatar
7 weeks ago

Sonoma is solid for me.

This is the first macOS in quite some time that worked with all of my software out of the box. Adobe CC has a couple glitches here and there but it works, generally. And of course — although I'm going to sound like a borked record — the screensaver/wallpapers are absolutely stunning, especially in HDR on a 14" or 16" MacBook Pro. I do miss the third party Mail Receipt plugin for Mail.app; Apple got rid of plugins altogether and are moving to extensions. So maybe we'll have an alternative in the future but for now, nope.

Apple Remote Desktop is noticeably more responsive administering a couple Mac minis I have set up as audio and video servers. That was a very pleasant surprise!

I just installed it yesterday, waiting until I was finished with a big project to be safe. The only issues I've seen so far; sometimes an app's window is stuck behind or in front of another window. I might update to 14.2b to see if that fixes it, as long as it doesn't introduced other problems. And I swear everything really does feel a little zippier on my 14" M1 Pro.

BTW, I still despise the new System Setting introduced in Ventura. Real, genuine hatred. I thought it would grow on me and I'd develop some muscle memory after more than a year, bit I still can't remember where anything is. I used to be able to get to 80% of what I needed with one click. Now it's at least two, sometimes three or four clicks.
Solid as a rock for me.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

ios stolen device protection

iOS 17.3 Beta Adds New Stolen Device Protection Feature to iPhone

Tuesday December 12, 2023 10:20 am PST by
The first iOS 17.3 beta rolling out to developers today includes a new "Stolen Device Protection" feature that is designed to add an additional layer of security in the event someone has stolen your iPhone and also obtained the device's passcode. Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern and Nicole Nguyen reported about instances of thieves spying on a victim's iPhone...
iOS 17

33 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 17.2

Tuesday December 12, 2023 1:57 am PST by
Apple has made available for download its major end-of-year iPhone software update, iOS 17.2, featuring a large number of features and changes that users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we've listed 33 new things that your iPhone can do once you've installed the update. Check Settings ➝ General ➝ Software Update on your device to get downloading. 1. Help You Keep a Daily ...
iPhone 16 Mock Back 1

iPhone 16 Early Prototypes: What Apple's Next-Generation iPhone Will Look Like

Tuesday December 12, 2023 3:07 pm PST by
With the launch of the iPhone 15, Apple introduced design changes like a curved frame and a frosted glass back. Information acquired by MacRumors suggests that Apple's next-generation iPhone 16 will build on these updates with modifications to the buttons and the camera layout. We have details on early pre-production designs for the iPhone 16, including a look at the variants and hardware...
CarPlay Phone Call

GM Says It's Nixing CarPlay to Make Drivers Safer

Tuesday December 12, 2023 1:47 pm PST by
Earlier this year, General Motors (GM) announced plans to phase out Apple's CarPlay and Android Auto in its future electric vehicles, with the company instead relying on an infotainment system co-developed with Google. This has not been a popular decision with iPhone users, and today, GM provided some additional insight into the decision in a discussion with MotorTrend. According to Tim...
iPhone 16 Side Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Rumored to Have These 12 New Features

Monday December 11, 2023 10:46 am PST by
While the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are still over nine months away from launching, there are already several rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped new features and changes expected for the devices so far. These are some of the key changes rumored for the iPhone 16 Pro models as of December 2023:Larger displays: The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be equipped...
Apple TV 2022 Feature Blue

Apple Releases tvOS 17.2 With Revamped Apple TV App

Monday December 11, 2023 9:58 am PST by
Apple today released tvOS 17.2, the second major update to the tvOS 17 operating system that came out in September 2023. tvOS 17.2 comes more than a month after tvOS 17.1, an update that expanded the availability of the Enhanced Dialogue feature. tvOS 17.2 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Go to System > Software Update to get the new software. ‌Apple TV‌...
maxresdefault

Top Five Features in macOS Sonoma 14.2

Wednesday December 13, 2023 3:21 pm PST by
When Apple releases new software, iOS updates tend to get most of the attention, and there are sometimes useful new features in Mac updates that go under the radar. That's the case with macOS Sonoma 14.2. It doesn't have flashy features like the Journal app that came in iOS 17.2, but there are a number of useful improvements that make it worth installing. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube ...