Apple just released a near-final beta of the latest version of macOS, Sequoia 15.1, available to developers and public beta testers. So if you have a Mac device and can’t wait to try out the latest macOS features, you can grab the beta – although for most people we’d recommend waiting for the general public release of Sequoia 15.1, which is expected coming soon and should be much more stable. This beta version comes a week after the last beta version, indicating that testing is accelerating before a final version is available to everyone soon.
If you want to give the latest beta a try, you can sign up if you’re registered as a developer (you can read how to sign up on the official Apple Developer site), but be warned: there is a subscription fee. You can then install the Sequoia 15.1 beta from the Software Update section of your Mac’s System Settings app.
The big new feature of this beta is the introduction of Apple Intelligence to macOS, bringing AI-powered features to your Mac. This includes additional support for writing tools, improved Siri capabilities, smart replies that help you respond faster and more efficiently in Mail and Messages, and memory movie and cleaning features in Photos.
This update doesn’t yet bring Image Playground, Genmoji, and more advanced Siri functionality, but I expect we’ll see them very soon. Image Playground is an AI tool that allows users to generate images and emojis, and Genmoji similarly lets people generate their own emojis using text prompts.
Charting the Course for Apple Intelligence
One important thing to note is that Apple Intelligence only works on newer Macs equipped with Apple’s silicon processors, such as the M1 or M2 (and higher). Unfortunately, older Intel-based Macs cannot use Apple Intelligence.
This will be the first time that Apple Intelligence has been made available to large numbers of people, so I’m curious to see what it will be like in practice. Microsoft’s Copilot is currently on a somewhat shaky path and has yet to show how it can improve the Windows 11 user experience. I’m sure Apple hopes that Apple Intelligence will do better, and like its other products, it will win over users if it looks sleek and runs smoothly, even if it’s not the first AI tool on the market comes.
However, if you try the beta version of Sequoia 15.1, keep in mind that a beta version may still contain some bugs and glitches, and you will need to report them to Apple. This also means that you should avoid installing it on a device you rely on for daily work, just in case something goes wrong.
If you also have an iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max, you can also try out Apple Intelligence on them thanks to the iOS 18.1 beta that has also been released. Apple presented Apple Intelligence as an ongoing part of their ecosystem that I think will learn more about you and perhaps help you better if you use it on both your Mac and Apple handheld devices.