Apple Seeds First Public Beta of macOS 13 Ventura

by

Apple today seeded the first beta of macOS Ventura to its public beta testing group, allowing non-developers to test the new macOS Ventura operating system ahead of its release.

clock weather macos ventura
Public beta testers can download the macOS 13 Ventura update from the Software Update section of the System Preferences app after installing the proper profile from Apple's beta software website.

macOS Ventura introduces Stage Manager, a new multi-tasking option for focusing on a task while having other apps waiting in the wings. ‌Stage Manager‌ puts your main app front and center, tucking your other apps to the side for quick access.

Continuity Camera allows you to use your iPhone as a webcam for your Mac, offering much better camera quality than the built-in Mac camera. Apple is building special stands to hold the ‌iPhone‌ with a Mac, and there are neat features like Desk View, which uses the Ultra Wide lens.

Handoff now works with FaceTime so you can answer calls on the Mac and then transfer them over to another device, and Messages is gaining undo, edit, and mark as unread features. SharePlay now works in Messages in addition to ‌FaceTime‌, and the Mail app has been overhauled. Search is more relevant, emails can be scheduled, and there's even an option to undo an email for up to 10 seconds after it's sent.

Apple brought the Weather and Clock apps to the Mac, redesigned System Preferences and renamed it System Settings, and added support for Shared Tab Groups. Passwords are being replaced with more secure Passkeys in iOS 16 and macOS Ventura, and there are updates to Spotlight, Visual Lookup, Live Text, and more.

There are a ton of other features in macOS Ventura, and we have a full rundown available in our dedicated macOS Ventura roundup.

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...
Read Full Article • 90 comments
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Read Full Article • 66 comments
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
Read Full Article • 26 comments
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
Read Full Article • 147 comments
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 >...
Read Full Article • 111 comments
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...
Read Full Article • 82 comments
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 Beta 1 Features: What's New So Far

Monday December 15, 2025 4:23 pm PST by
Apple is testing iOS 26.3, the next version of iOS 26 that will launch around January. Since iOS 26.3's testing is happening over the holidays, it is a smaller update with fewer features than we've seen in prior betas. We've rounded up what's new so far, and we'll add to our list with subsequent betas if we come across any other features. Transfer to Android Apple is making it simpler...
Read Full Article • 27 comments
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2 Likely to Offer These 10 New Features

Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...
Read Full Article • 34 comments

Top Rated Comments

chrisdazzo Avatar
chrisdazzo
45 months ago
Oh boooy I think it's time to install this on a daily driver!

guys, I'm kidding, don't do it (and come back here to complain how it's all a mess and you broke ur mack)
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
zorinlynx
45 months ago
By the way, for folks who want to try out the beta mostly risk free (things can still go wrong with firmware but that's rare), APFS makes it really easy to create a second volume and install the beta there. You can even have Migration Assistant copy your home folder and settings over from the primary Monterey installation.

The two systems are separate with distinct home folders and you can choose which one to boot into on startup. This is something I wish iOS could do. Been playing with Ventura now for the past couple weeks and I can easily boot back into my main install if something is broken. It's been surprisingly good though!

Apple even sanctions it with a support article:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208891
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BanjoDudeAhoy Avatar
BanjoDudeAhoy
45 months ago

Install macOS Ventura Beta on my main computer ✅
Install iOS 16 Beta on my main phone ✅
Here's the soundtrack for your endeavors ?

Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Colstan Avatar
Colstan
45 months ago

By the way, for folks who want to try out the beta risk free
I appreciate you sharing your advice, but it's not entirely risk free. The firmware will be updated to a beta version regardless of where you install Ventura. I'm sure Apple will try to minimize errors, but it's still there. For instance, if the firmware update goes awry with a T2 Intel Mac, then you'll need a second Mac capable of capable of DFU mode ('https://mrmacintosh.com/how-to-restore-bridgeos-on-a-t2-mac-how-to-put-a-mac-into-dfu-mode/') to revert to the old version. So, public beta or not, there are risks involved.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
landrew4 Avatar
landrew4
45 months ago
I absolutely despise their change to System Preferences to make it look more like iOS. As someone who supports all the Macs in my company (not to mention friends and family), this is going to cause huge confusion and problems. Not only is it a big change and makes settings much harder to find, but to limit an OS that generally has lots of screen real estate available to a long scrolling list (necessary on limited screen like iPhone) is just stupid. I was really hoping they would dump this silly idea before it made it to Beta. Hopefully enough people will complain and Apple will come to its senses.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
zorinlynx
45 months ago

yup. I've never used a beta that was SO bad I had to revert, but carefully read all of the info at beta.apple.com and go (or don't) from there :)
Keep in mind that the process is different than it used to be.

Before you could restore everything including the operating system itself from a Time Machine backup. You could even boot from it.

Now (Since at least Big Sur) you have to wipe the disk, reinstall the previous version of MacOS manually, then restore from the backup using Migration Assistant. It's a longer process that involves downloading the OS if you don't have a copy already handy.

Trying to make people aware as it's a bit more involved now.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments