macOS Sonoma, test drive with the public beta. Autumn is coming and a special season of Apple software is about to end. A season that like every year begins in June or July, coinciding with WWDC, the developers’ conference. It has a first moment, a spark, on the presentation stage (now virtual and well staged), with the new generations of macOS, iOS, iPadOS and all the other operating systems of the Cupertino family.
Apple is testing 3D printing for the production of Apple Watch
Then there are the beta versions for developers, available immediately because after all WWDC is their party and their show. They are beta versions of software that make no sense for a general public. They are needed by those who develop software to prepare for the transition to the new versions of the operating system of this or that Apple platform or to be able to take advantage of the new APIs and new tools to work on new apps.
This year, for example, was certainly the year of Vision Pro and with this the year of those who wanted to understand how the new device technically works, as well as understanding how to create apps that exploit its potential. Finally, in late July, the time comes for the rest of us, the “normal” users, to finally get our hands on the “public” beta version of the software.
It’s a joy to experience novelties and peculiarities at your own risk, always present, but significantly reduced compared to the version of the operating systems for developers. It lasts relatively little because, with the announcements usually first of the iPhone (in September) and then of the Mac and iPad (in October), together with the new devices the definitive versions of the operating systems are also released and we can say that, by the end of October it is all finished. It is part of “normality” and, if you don’t want to have a preview of subsequent versions of an operating system, you can actually position yourself on the normal version, without a problem.
The complexity of the beta world
However, if you think that the work done by Apple is simple, review your positions because it is far from the case. First of all, because the company has a limited number of developers who can only work on a certain number of projects. There are activities that are cross-cutting (“deep” technologies that are used by all of Apple’s operating systems) but most operating system innovations are done by different groups, no matter how similar the features are. And it’s not just this.
There are no official statements on how many Apple developers are involved or how they are distributed or even what type of process is used to develop all the operating systems, but we can make more or less detailed hypotheses. Or, as the Americans say, “educate”.
In the beta period there are in parallel: the working group of the “old” operating system, which is still the official one, which usually develops one or two updates. There is the group that takes care of emergency updates, the minor ones that serve to patch specific serious vulnerabilities that must be closed immediately and in which Apple has invested heavily.
This group may or may not be made up of the same people who also take care of the creation of the versions with specific patches for the previous versions of the operating system (the last one or two), usually released to avoid making the use of, say, macOS dangerous 12 if risks concerning him emerge.
What does it take to make two beta releases?
Then there is the group working on the release of the future operating system, of which two types of beta versions are available: those for developers, with most of the new and brand new features, which alternate with those for the public.” normal”, which are more refined and tested enough to be considered “safe” in use (even if not for critical situations and in any case always backing up all the data first) but incomplete compared to the brand new features.
The two groups of software are probably developed by the same set of engineers, even if one part takes care of filing and refining the product for the public beta which will then be the one that will become the “golden master” version, i.e. ready for launch. scene as the first definitive version.
Here too, but with a different organisation, there are other developers who are responsible for collecting information on security and risks dictated by vulnerabilities common to previous operating systems, and which are in the process of being resolved, with “patches” already ready, or which are being solved by a different group at different times.
The scene is complex
The work of managing a single operating system is quite complex but becomes extremely complex when you consider that there are various ones to manage: one for computers, one for telephones, one for tablets, one for watches, one for TV, the one for cars, the one for the viewer.
And then the advanced firmware with various functions of the various accessories (headphones, for example, or speakers) which must enter into a “deep” relationship with the operating systems of the various devices to offer that quality of service to which Apple has accustomed us so much that we now notice it the few times it misses a beat or misfires.
All of this, as we were saying, is complex to imagine, and Apple certainly does not explain in detail how it works even if various interviews and meetings with managers and executives, as well as behaviors, practices and types of final products, suggest some of the rules of the internal development process if nothing else in broad terms. And all this without taking over the “standard” applications of the operating system, be they the well-known ones, such as the iWork and iLife suites, or the new ones, such as Freeform.
New tricks for old ponies
Obviously the computer always performed very well in all the testing phases of the new operating system, starting from the first version released around mid-July. Having chosen to upgrade to the previous Ventura version with all the data rather than proceeding with a clean installation, the computer showed a slightly higher consumption than normal but it was an expected event. It was an internal update job of all indexes and data, which is usually performed by the operating system as new data is added but which in this case took some time to “stabilize”.
We have not encountered any problems, although there is always a small, statistically insignificant percentage of people who encounter problems or bugs: it is part of the testing process of a public beta. For us no problem but a couple of unpleasant bugs, including one on the management of permissions to read and above all to save new documents by third-party applications which especially messed up the app we use for writing, i.e. iA Writer , when saving documents. Since the second version of the beta everything has returned to working as expected.
Some of the interface features were also missing, such as the spectacular new animated wallpapers that also act as a desktop lock element: available from the second public beta onwards, they make the lock screen experience completely different. In practice they are like the animated screensavers of Apple TV, made with visual flights from the drone over a series of different scenarios. And in fact, in addition to those for Sonora, which refer to the Californian location, there are also many that come from the Apple TV library.
Few initial incompatibilities with widgets, one of the main innovations of the operating system together with the others: private browsing with password for Safari, web apps that go in the Dock, the new Game Mode which transforms the Apple personal computer into something more similar to a console moving practically all the power of the Apple Silicon chip to the game being played, the possibility of using iPhone widgets via Continuity, and then a rather large series of common innovations for example for Passkey and Password Sharing, PDF support in Notes , new features for video conferences and presentations, screen sharing etc.
We are currently in the fourth public beta of Sonoma (the sixth beta for developers) and the use of the operating system is comparable to its final version. There are no apps that don’t work while those who work on development and use the HomeBrew packet manager for example have no substantial problems apart from an initial “non-support and non-compatibility expected” message that is shown.
The beauty of public beta
Compared to the times when the beta versions of macOS were a rare and fearful commodity, Apple’s new strategy in force for some years is proving to be increasingly successful. So much so that even with the latest versions of macOS Ventura and the iOS and iPadOS operating systems, the experience of activating and deactivating beta updates has been greatly simplified for both the public and developer versions.
A signal that Apple considers betas not only a technical tool for testing software but also a marketing tool to attract users and activate them to use an operating system that will then be distributed free of charge. A practice, incidentally, essentially launched by Apple in the world of commercial operating systems, making the expensive Microsoft Windows licenses a thing of the past.
Our relationship, as we approach the end of testing this new version of the macOS operating system but also on the use of the public beta versions, could not be simpler and more linear: everything went well, as we had imagined, and the scruples made for backup and availability of a second Mac mini to be sure of being able to work in any case proved to be obviously necessary but fortunately excessive.
Apple’s strategy of giving beta versions is, among the warnings not to leave them in the hands of users who are not accustomed to using computers because it could cause a bit of havoc, an excellent strategy. You learn new things and have fun, especially in a period (July-August) that is usually a little slower than the winter months.
And let us tell you one thing: the new “iPad style” lock screen, with date and time at the top and name at the bottom, all with a beautiful animation among the over one hundred available, is really very beautiful. It’s perfectly natural, so much so that looking at it just now we said to ourselves: “But how have we managed without it until now?”.