Key Takeaways
- macOS Sequoia developer beta 2 introduces iPhone Mirroring and minor App Store changes.
- System Settings menu receives updates, including a new General header and an easier-to-find iCloud tab.
- Headphone Accommodations and new screen recording options are added, while iPhone Mirroring has limitations.
We’ve spent ample time with macOS Sequoia developer beta 2, which brings iPhone Mirroring to the Mac. It’s one of macOS Sequoia’s biggest features — excluding Apple Intelligence, of course, which isn’t available yet. However, there are a handful of under-the-radar features and changes that were added to macOS Sequoia. Plus, we learned a bit more about iPhone Mirroring, including some of its limitations. Let’s break down six things macOS Sequoia developer beta 2 told us about the upcoming version of macOS, and whether you should install it.
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6 App Store
The macOS Sequoia App Store requires less space to install new apps
There’s a minor change to how macOS Sequoia developer beta 2 handles new app installations that you probably won’t ever see. Per Apple’s official release notes, the App Store no longer requires double the amount of free space in order to download an app. It now only requires the amount of space that will be taken up by a new macOS app, plus a small buffer. For example, in macOS Sonoma, downloading a 15MB app would require around 30MB of free space on your Mac’s storage drive. The same app in macOS Sequoia developer beta 2 would need less than 20MB of free space available to complete the installation.
5 System Settings
Apple seems to be continually tweaking the System Settings app throughout the macOS Sequoia developer beta testing period. The first change in developer beta 2 is that there’s a new General header explaining everything that you can do on the page. In macOS Sequoia developer beta 1, Apple made General the default tab that opens when System Settings is launched.
iCloud now has its own tab in the sidebar, which makes it easier to find. Previously, you could only get to your iCloud settings by clicking your name and picture on the Apple Account tab at the top of the System Settings list. This change will make it easier for casual users to find their iCloud settings in macOS Sequoia, so it’s a small but welcomed tweak.
4 Headphone Accommodations
You can create a custom audio profile for Beats and Apple headphones
macOS Sequoia developer beta 2 brings the Headphone Accommodations accessibility feature from iOS and iPadOS to the Mac. This feature makes it possible to tune select Apple and Beats headphones to your hearing needs via a Custom Audio Setup process. After resetting your EQ and Balance settings to their defaults, you can use Custom Audio Setup function to listen to various audio samples and choose the one that sounds best. Tapping Use Custom Settings afterward will apply your new preferences in macOS Sequoia when these headphones are connected. It’s not an entirely new feature, but it’s great that Headphone Accommodations now work on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
3 Screen recording
There’s a new way to stop recording your screen in macOS Sequoia
macOS Sequoia introduces new ways to record and share your screen with apps, and that includes a brand-new SCRecordingOutputConfiguration API. In macOS Sequoia developer beta 2, Apple will give users another way to stop recording their screen when using an app that supports this API. There’s now a Stop Recording This Window button in the purple window sharing menu that can immediately stop sharing or recording your screen. It’s yet another way macOS helps you understand what parts of your screen are being shared, and offers ways to stop sharing or recording if necessary.
2 iPhone Mirroring
No, it doesn’t work with Apple Vision Pro
iPhone Mirroring in itself doesn’t count as a hidden feature in macOS Sequoia. In fact, it’s the biggest feature addition in macOS Sequoia developer beta 2. However, we did learn an iPhone Mirroring tidbit that wasn’t publicly known before. Apple devices can only connect to other Apple products using one Continuity feature at a time. For example, Apple’s release notes for the beta reveal that Universal Clipboard won’t work when iPhone Mirroring is in use.
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This also rules out iPhone Mirroring as an option when a Mac is already using Sidecar with an iPad or Mac Virtual Display with Apple Vision Pro. It’s an unfortunate limitation that has been uncovered with macOS Sequoia developer beta 2, and it might limit iPhone Mirroring’s usefulness.
You can use iPhone Mirroring with Mac Virtual Display and Vision Pro, provided you use the $300 Developer Strap to connect the headset to your Mac.
1 Icon tinting
The big iOS and iPadOS 18 feature could be coming to macOS Sequoia
iOS 18 brought a slew of home screen customization options with it, including app icon tinting. When you switch the Appearance setting to Darkthe app icons on your screen will be automatically tinted to match the overall look of iOS. After updating to macOS Sequoia developer beta 2, you might notice that there’s a hint that app icon tinting might come to the best Macs, too. Certain app icons, including those for the iPhone Mirroring and Trash apps, appear slightly darker when the Dark theme is in use. For now, it’s unclear whether this foreshadows full app icon tinting coming to macOS Sequoia in the future.
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Should you install macOS Sequoia developer beta 2?
macOS Sequoia developer beta 2 appears to have more bugs and performance problems than developer beta 1 after about a week of testing. As such, we wouldn’t recommend installing it on your daily driver. Instead, you can try loading it up in a macOS virtual machine with Parallels Desktop 19 for Mac. It’s also relevant that the public beta for macOS Sequoia — which will likely be much more stable than the developer betas — is right around the corner. It’ll likely debut sometime this month. Otherwise, you can always follow our guide to installing the macOS Sequoia developer beta on your Mac if you’re willing to take the risk.
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