14 DAY TRIAL // The first beta of OS X Mavericks 10.9.3 is available for download to all registrants of Apple’s annual developer program, featuring a small number of focus areas and at least one new feature which the company, in typical manner, doesn’t disclose in the accompanying seed notes.
Apple tells developers that OS X Mavericks 10.9.3 build 13D12 is offered for testing and development purposes. Developers are urged to submit their bug reports using the online Bug Reporter at bugreporter.apple.com, as usual. Focus areas include Graphics Drivers and Audio.
Newcomers must download the OS X Software Update Seed Configuration Utility from Apple’s Mac Dev Center and use it to download OS X Mavericks 10.9.3.
Those who already have the OS X Software Update Seed Configuration Utility installed can simply choose Software Update from the Apple menu, or launch the Mac App Store and check for the new build in the updates tab.
As usual, Apple informs testers that they will not be able to revert back to their previous system after updating. As such, testers are to install this seed on a system they are prepared to erase if necessary.
The seed notes give away little in terms of the new features planned for OS X 10.9.3, but already testers have found some goodies inside. Those wielding 4K-resolution monitors can confirm that “With 10.9.3, Mac users can now natively set their 4K monitors to run the Mac operating system at a pixel-doubled ‘Retina’ resolution.”
The setting panel that holds the option to enable this feature is displayed in the image above, courtesy of 9to5mac. The 4K compatibility will most likely be a flagship feature of OS X 10.9.3 when it’s released to the public.
Apple’s 10.9.3 beta comes almost two weeks after 10.9.2 was deployed with several new features and some important security fixes.
Notably, the update adds the ability to make and receive FaceTime audio calls, call waiting support for FaceTime audio and video calls, an option to block incoming iMessages from individual senders, improved accuracy of unread counts in Mail, improved AutoFill compatibility in Safari, and more.
10.9.2 also addressed a widely reported SSL/TSL vulnerability, also dubbed as the “goto fail” bug. The flaw was originally discovered in iOS and then subsequently emerged in OS X configurations.
Apple took a while to patch it, but eventually got the job done. Alongside 10.9.2, the company also offered Security Update 2014-001 which contains dozens of other security fixes.