Apple Officially Releases macOS Sierra 10.12.2 Beta 6

Just a couple of days after releasing the fifth beta, Apple seeded the sixth beta of the forthcoming macOS Sierra 10.12.2 to developers for testing today. The update is currently available through the Apple Developer Center and Mac App Store, whereas the full version is expected to launch by the end of the year.

The latest beta brings with it a couple of new features and several important bug fixes, most prominently aimed at rectifying the graphics issues currently plaguing some 2016 MacBook Pros. The reported graphics glitches range from transparency defects on app windows to discoloration to zany-looking image corruption and tearing. While some users conjectured that the issues were caused by hardware flaws, Apple senior VP Craig Federighi allegedly sent an email suggesting that software was to blame and noting that the newest beta would address all of the aforementioned graphics issues.

Another defect that the sixth beta addresses is a Time Machine flaw that caused some of the latest MacBook Pros to crash when users attempted to backup their laptops to an external hard drive using a wired connection.

Beyond these fixes, there weren’t too many new features and outward-facing changes in the 10.12.2 update. Beta 6 additions include new Unicode 9 character emojis, such as clown face, selfie, face palm, fox face, owl, shark, butterfly, avocado, bacon, professional emoji (both male and female), among others. In addition, many of the existing macOS emojis have been revamped to look less ‘caricaturish’ and more realistic.

Finally, Cupertino has introduced new wallpaper options for Macs, including the eye-catching color burst backgrounds that were prominently featured in several marketing campaigns.

Here’s a roundup of the features and fixes found in the latest macOS beta:

• Graphics and GPU glitch fixes
• Time Machine crashing issue
• A slew of new Unicode 9 characters
• Redrawn and more realistic renderings of existing emojis
• Several new background options including visual treats such as the color explosion wallpaper

macOS Sierra dropped in September, bringing a host of highly anticipated features to Macs, including Siri support, Apple Pay for web, Apple Watch cross-functionality, and more.