Apple Seeds Second macOS Sierra 10.12.4 Beta to Developers

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming macOS Sierra 10.12.4 update to developers, two weeks after seeding the first macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta and just over a two weeks after releasing macOS Sierra 10.12.3.

The second macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta is available for download through the Apple Developer Center or the software update mechanism in the Mac App Store for those who have previously installed a beta.

macos-10-12-4-beta
macOS Sierra 10.12.4 brings iOS's Night Shift mode to the Mac for the first time. First introduced with iOS 9.3, Night Shift is designed to gradually shift the display of a device from blue to yellow, cutting down on exposure to blue light. Blue light is said to disrupt the circadian rhythm and is believed to interrupt sleeping patterns.

Night Shift can be activated through the Displays section of System Preferences, where a setting to have it come on at sunset and turn off at sunrise is available. Night Shift can also be toggled on manually through the Notification Center or via Siri.


The 10.12.4 update focuses mainly on Night Shift, but also includes dictation support for Shanghainese, cricket scores for Siri, and improved PDFKit APIs. Today's beta adds an opt-in option for iCloud Analytics that pops up after installing the update.

Related Forum: macOS Sierra

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb

Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.2 With Edge Light

Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1. Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
ipados 26 1 slide over

Apple Releases iPadOS 26.2 With Multitasking Improvements

Friday December 12, 2025 10:09 am PST by
Apple today released iPadOS 26.2, the second major update to the iPadOS 26 operating system released in September. iPadOS 26.2 comes a month after iPadOS 26.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. iPadOS 26.2 continues with the multitasking improvements that were added with iPadOS 26.1. You can now drag and...
bug security vulnerability issue fix larry

Update Now: iOS 26.2 Fixes 20+ Security Vulnerabilities

Friday December 12, 2025 11:11 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, iPadOS 26.2, and macOS 26.2, all of which introduce new features, bug fixes, and security improvements. Apple says that the updates address over 20 vulnerabilities, including two bugs that are known to have been actively exploited. There are a pair of WebKit vulnerabilities that could allow maliciously crafted web content to execute code or cause memory...

Top Rated Comments

Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
116 months ago
The Mac Pro is gathering dust - but rest assured...

Siri now understands cricket scores.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
justperry Avatar
116 months ago
Whats changed nothing lol oh yeah big fixes lol
[doublepost=1486495318][/doublepost]All these updates and one stupid night shift i never use come on sort out the operating system and make it faster
Then don't update, simple.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chriscrowlee Avatar
116 months ago
Wonder if it fixes the nasty gmail bug in mail?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SvP Avatar
116 months ago
Oh. Nice. ~~So, it still can't be used as a boot partition?~~

Edit: I realised that I was confusing this with the next (to be released) macOS version. Ignore my question. I'm fairly certain they won't do that major a change in a minor version update.
They've announced they'd do the conversion in 2017, and they announced they'd convert it in-place... i think they'll do it in MacOS11. I'm very impressed by what it's capable off and think the limitations (like not being able to boot) are made intentionally.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
liberte1776 Avatar
116 months ago
Night Shift STILL does not work and does not exist on my late 2011 MacBook Pro 17". :mad:
[doublepost=1486593393][/doublepost]
No night shift support for an early 2011 MBP
Would have been good if Apple documented somewhere that there was no Night Shift support for a 2011 MBP!!! Otherwise I would have skipped this beta!!!

Back to f.lux!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
justperry Avatar
115 months ago
Article Link: Apple Seeds Second macOS Sierra 10.12.4 Beta to Developers ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/02/07/apple-seeds-macos-sierra-10-12-4-beta-2/')

My macbook md101 after updating sierra 10.12.3 cannot zoom in or zoom out on the quick look on finder. Is it just another bug or something?
Download the next file from : http://support.apple.com/downloads/DL1905/en_US/macosupdcombo10.12.3.dmg
Next apply the update, it might very well fix your issue.
It's the combo update so fairly big.

One note, this is normally not the place to ask for help, there are other threads for this but since you are new I think I just help you out here.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)