Apple speeds up seeding, offers new betas less than a week apart

Feb 7, 2014 07:35 GMT  ·  By

The second Mavericks software update is about to roll out, if Apple’s recent seeding habits are any indication. Developers are starting to receive fresh test builds less than a week apart, with the latest one being deployed hours ago.

OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 build 13C53 comes with the usual installation instructions, complete with Apple’s warning that testers will not be able to revert back to their previous system after updating.

Apple tells developers, “Please install this update on a system you are prepared to erase if necessary.”

Depending on their configuration, testers can install this update immediately, via the OS X Software Update Seed Configuration Utility, or they must first visit the Mac Dev Center to obtain the utility app if this is the first Mavericks beta they install.

The focus areas in OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 build 13C53 remain unchanged from the previous beta. Developers are asked to focus on hunting down bugs in areas like SMB2, Mail, Messages, Graphics Drivers, VoiceOver, and VPN, according to a person who is familiar with the software.

Apple reportedly tells developers, “This build is being provided to you for testing and development purposes. Should you encounter any problems, please submit a bug report using the online Bug Reporter at bugreporter.apple.com.”

As usual, testers must carefully outline the steps to reproduce the issue, as well as mark the bug report with a “10.9.2 (13C53)” label.

End users will receive OS X 10.9.2 as a free software update via the Mac App Store’s Updates tab on their Mavericks computers.

Various important fixes are expected to be deployed, including one for the Mail application, some scrolling fixes, graphics fixes, and various other maintenance tweaks throughout the OS.

Undoubtedly, some security issues will also be addressed, with Apple detailing them all in a timely advisory, separate from the main changelog.