macOS Monterey Beta 5 Update (21A5304g) is Live! What’s New?

macOS Monterey Beta 5 (21A5304g) is now available for Developers.

UPDATED 8/12/21

Apple just dropped macOS Monterey Beta 5, let’s jump in and find out what’s new!

Apple initially mentioned in the Beta 4 patch notes that Universal Control was available. Crazy thing is, Apple removed the reference in the patch notes shortly after release! I’m checking to see if Universal Control is enabled in Beta 5.

UPDATE: Universal Control is NOT enabled 🙁

Monterey Beta 5 is now available as a software update, and IPSW M1 restore file. The Public beta is live and the full installer of Beta 5 is also now available.

https://youtu.be/415KtVXF9sI

macOS Monterey Beta Patch Notes Summary

• 1. New Features – 4
• 2. Known Issues – 21
• 3. Resolved Issues – 0
• 4. Deprecations – 5

Table of Contents

• 1. Apple Links
• 2. Mr. Macintosh articles of interest for Apple Silicon & macOS Monterey
• 3. Undocumented macOS Monterey Beta Update changes & fixes
• 4. Monterey Release History
• 5. macOS Monterey Full Installer.app
• 6. Apple Silicon IPSW Restore file Update
• 7. macOS Monterey Update sizes for Intel and M1
• 8. Apple Silicon M1 Firmware Update
• 9. Intel T2 BridgeOS Update
• 10. Safari Update
• 11. What’s new for enterprise in macOS Monterey
• 12. Security Content of macOS Monterey
• 13. macOS Monterey Release Notes / Patch Notes / Changes

Click “Continue Reading” for the rest of the article.

1. Apple Links

AppleSeed Notes Link = appleseed.apple.com/

Developer Public Link = developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes

macOS Deployment References Changes – https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment-reference-macos/document-revision-history-apd04dff7069/web

2. Articles of interest & info related to macOS Monterey Beta

• 1. None as of right now.

3. Undocumented macOS Monterey changes & fixes

• 1. None as of right now.

4. Monterey Beta Release History

• 5. Monterey Beta 5 (21A5304g) – 8/09/21 – Current Release
• 4. Monterey Beta 4 (21A5294g) – 7/27/21 – My Release Notes
• 3. Monterey Beta 3 (21A5284e) – 7/14/21 – My Release Notes
• 2. Monterey Beta 2 (21A5268h) – 6/28/21 – My Release Notes
• 1. Monterey Beta 1 (21A5248p) – 6/07/21 – My Release Notes

5. macOS Monterey Full Installer.app

I list all the the Beta versions of the macOS Monterey Full installer in the link below. The full installer is usually released alongside the Public Beta. The public beta is usually released a day or 2 after the developer update.

NOTE: Apple is only keeping the current version of the Monterey Beta Full installer available. When a new one is released, the previous version is pulled.

https://mrmacintosh.com/macos-12-monterey-full-installer-database-download-directly-from-apple/

• 5. Monterey Beta 5 = Not available yet
• 4. Monterey Beta 4 = 7/27/21
• 3. Monterey Beta 3 = 7/14/21
• 2. Monterey Beta 2 = 6/29/21
• 1. Monterey Beta 1 = 6/15/21

InstallAssistant.pkg = Full download. Installing this package will add the full “Install macOS Monterey.app” to your applications folder.

6. Apple Silicon IPSW Restore file Update

Apple has released the full IPSW restore file of macOS Monterey Beta for Apple Silicon Macs. I keep track of all of them in my Apple Silicon Firmware Database

• 5. macOS Monterey Beta 5 = UniversalMac_12.0_21A5304g_Restore.ipsw
• 4. macOS Monterey Beta 4 = UniversalMac_12.0_21A5294g_Restore.ipsw
• 3. macOS Monterey Beta 3 = UniversalMac_12.0_21A5284e_Restore.ipsw
• 2. macOS Monterey Beta 2 = UniversalMac_12.0_21A5268h_Restore.ipsw
• 1. macOS Monterey Beta 1 = Not released

Get them here –> https://mrmacintosh.com/apple-silicon-m1-full-macos-restore-ipsw-firmware-files-database/

7. macOS Monterey Update sizes for Intel and M1

Monterey Delta Update

This is the update is for updating from Beta 4 > Beta 5

Size =

Monterey Combo Update

The “Combo Update” has been replaced by an automatic sized update. This means if you are updating from an older beta (example Beta 2) you will get an update that includes only what you need.

Monterey Full Update

This is update is for if your volume is having issues or is not sealed.

Size = 11.0GB

8. Apple Silicon M1 Firmware Update

This update has a new firmware update. The version number is reported in System Information under “System Firmware Version“

Apple Silicon M1 Firmware – UPDATED = 7429.30.8.0.4

Previous M1 Apple Silicon Firmware Updates

• 5. macOS Monterey Beta 5 = 7429.30.8.0.4
• 4. macOS Monterey Beta 4 = 7429.0.207.141.1
• 3. macOS Monterey Beta 3 = 7429.0.181.131.1
• 2. macOS Monterey Beta 2 = 7429.0.133.121.1
• 1. macOS Monterey Beta 1 = 7429.0.72.0.3

9. Intel T2 BridgeOS Update

The Version of BridgeOS for your T2 Security Chip (2018-2020 Intel Macs) was updated.

BridgeOS version – UPDATED = 19.16.10321.5.5

Previous T2 Bridge Updates

• 5. macOS Monterey Beta 5 = 19.16.10321.5.5
• 4. macOS Monterey Beta 4 = 19.16.10310.5.5
• 3. macOS Monterey Beta 3 = 19.16.10300.5.4
• 2. macOS Monterey Beta 2 = 19.16.10284.5.7
• 1. macOS Monterey Beta 1 = 19.16.10264.5.14

10. Safari Update

The new version of Safar 15 is included in the macOS Monterey Beta update.

Safari – Updated = 15.0 (17612.1.26.1.3)

• 5. macOS Monterey Beta 5 = Safari 15.0 (17612.1.26.1.3)
• 4. macOS Monterey Beta 4 = Safari 15.0 (17612.1.24.1.4)
• 3. macOS Monterey Beta 3 = Safari 15.0 = (17612.1.22.1.4)
• 2. macOS Monterey Beta 2 = Safari 15.0 (17612.1.18.1.3)
• 1. macOS Monterey Beta 1 = Safari 15.0 (17612.1.15.1.14)

11. What’s new for Enterprise in macOS Monterey Beta

Enterprise changes in macOS Monterey Beta

• 1. None

12. Security Content of macOS Monterey

macOS Monterey Security Document

• 1. None

13. macOS Monterey Beta Release Notes

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-12-beta-release-notes

NOTE! I remove all the release note parts that do NOT pertain to Beta 5.

Waiting on beta 5 notes!!

This will help you see only the new changes each update.