Apple Officially Releases macOS 10.12.4 Beta 3 to the Public

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Just one day after Apple released the third developer beta of macOS 10.12.4, Apple began seeding the third public beta version. Like the developer beta released yesterday, today’s public beta OS includes the usual unnamed bug fixes and performance enhancements, as well as a number of new features.

New Features Available in macOS 10.12.4 Beta 3

  • Dictation support for the Shanghainese language
  • Updated PDFKit APIs for reading, writing, and navigating PDFs within apps
  • Siri update than includes up-to-date knowledge regarding the sport of cricket – scores, schedules, player rosters, and more from the Indian Premier League and International Cricket Council.
  • Night Shift.

Probably the most important feature to appear in the third macOS 10.12.4 public beta, however, is the addition of Night Shift. The feature, which debuted in iOS 9.3, actively changes the color temperature of the display to reduce the user’s exposure to blue light during the evening. The “warmer” color temperature is designed to not only reduce eye strain when working in dark environments, but it will also theoretically help the user get a good night of rest. Studies show that exposure to blue light, which the displays on our phones and monitors produce in abundance, suppresses melatonin production and disrupts the user’s circadian rhythm, making it harder to sleep at night. By minimizing the user’s exposure to blue light, Night Shift may allow users to rest their heads easily after long hours on their Macs.

Users who have access to the latest macOS public beta can activate Night Shift via Siri – heading to the “Displays” section of the System Preferences app, however, allows users a bit more control over the feature, permitting them to create a Night Shift schedule or adjust the color temperature of the feature when enabled.

The third macOS 10.12.4 public beta is only available to users enrolled in Apple’s Public Beta program. Users enrolled in the program can access the new beta update via the Updates section of the Mac App Store. Users that aren’t currently enrolled in the Public Beta Program can do so on the official Apple Beta Software Program website.

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