If you are excited about MacOS Sonoma and it’s new features like the return of desktop widgets or new screen savers, you likely want to know when the release date of MacOS Sonoma will be.
If you’re wondering when the final version of MacOS Sonoma will be released, you’re certainly not alone. Let’s discuss some of the knowns and unknowns regarding the official release date of MacOS Sonoma 14, the upcoming macOS system software version.
MacOS Sonoma Release Date – when will the final version of MacOS Sonoma be released?
Apple has said the exact release date for MacOS Sonoma will be sometime in the fall.
Fall technically begins on September 23, 2023, and while iOS release dates are often before the official beginning of autumn, usually macOS release dates are after that, sometimes by a month or two. So sure, it is possible for the MacOS Sonoma release date to be the same as the iOS 17 release date, but that is less likely based on past system software launches.
The official launch schedule for MacOS Sonoma is not known by anyone outside of internal Apple employees, so anything beyond that is going to be speculation and guesswork, usually based on prior macOS version release dates.
It is a reasonable guess that MacOS Sonoma will be launched in October or November of 2023, based upon prior release dates of other major macOS versions. For example, macOS Ventura launched on October 24 of 2022, macOS Monterey launched on October 25 of 2021, and macOS Big Sur launched on November 12 of 2020. Thus, it is reasonable to assume sometime at the end of October or early November, we will see MacOS Sonoma be released to the general public.
MacOS Sonoma Developer Beta Release Date
MacOS Sonoma became available for developers to download and test on their Macs right after the WWDC 2023 keynote, on June 5.
While MacOS Sonoma beta was first only available to developers, Apple did something different this year, allowing any user to sign up for the developer beta testing program entirely for free, skipping out on the annual hundred bucks to be a member. This allowed many more users to immediately install MacOS Sonoma beta onto their Mac and start testing it right away from June 5 onward, before the public beta became available a month later.
MacOS Sonoma Public Beta Release Date
The public beta of MacOS Sonoma started on July 12. The first public beta build matched the updated third developer beta. It’s a good bet that future updates to developer beta and public beta will match build numbers as well, as is typical with Apple.
Anyone can install the public beta of MacOS Sonoma but chances are that most curious users went ahead with the developer beta instead, since it was available earlier, and it is now free.
When do new versions of MacOS Sonoma beta come out?
Apple usually issues new beta versions of MacOS Sonoma beta at the same time as they release new versions of iOS 17 beta, and iPadOS 17 beta, and typically following a biweekly schedule. For example, if a new MacOS Sonoma beta arrived this week, then next week would usually be skipped, and another new beta would arrive the week after that.
If I’m running the beta, can I update to the final MacOS Sonoma version on the release date?
Yes, Apple allows users to seamlessly transition from a beta version of system software to a final release build.
The final version of MacOS Sonoma will arrive to MacOS Sonoma beta testers on the official release date, whenever that is, through the Software Update mechanism of macOS, accessible via Apple menu > System Settings > General > Software Update.
For what it’s worth, historically some versions of MacOS / macOS / Mac OS X / OS X were released on or nearly at the same time as new versions of iOS were made available, but Apple hasn’t done that in a while, so it’s likely that the release dates will not match this time with MacOS Sonoma or iOS 17 too.
