Apple releases the macOS Sonoma 14.5 Release Candidate as a public launch nears

Apple has been beta testing the macOS Sonoma 14.5 update for a few weeks now, giving developers and public beta program testers the chance to put it through its paces. Apple hasn't yet confirmed when it will be released to the public, but the expectation is that it will arrive within the next few weeks. That's now become more likely than ever before after Apple made the first Release Candidate version of the update available for download by developers.

This Release Candidate suggests that Apple is almost ready to make the macOS Sonoma 14.5 update available for download by Mac owners around the globe, although it's possible we will see one or two more Release Dancidates made available depending on whether there are any new issues identified by testers.

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Perhaps most notable however is the news that Apple has shared details of what people can expect from the big update when it does finally become available for Mac owners. Apple doesn't often share release notes for beta updates depending on the platform and the features it expects to ship, but this Release Candidate does have a release note available for our perusal.

Unfortunately, the news isn't good for anyone who had been hoping for any big new features and it does mirror what we have seen from the earlier beta releases. There are two new additions to the previous version of macOS, Apple says, including a new Quartiles game that has been made available to Apple News Plus subscribers. Beyond that, Apple says that SCoreboard in News Plus Puzzles gives users access to new player data for Crossword, Mini Crossword, and Quartiles as well as stats and streaks.

That of course isn't something that too many people will get excited about, but we can also expect the usual array of bug fixes and improvements under the hood, too.

This new update is likely to be one of the last before Apple turns our attention to macOS 15, an update that is set to be previewed at WWDC on June 10. That update, alongside iOS 18, is expected to bring big new AI-powered features to the Mac. We don't yet know what those features will be, but it's been suggested that some will require AI processing in the cloud while others will process data natively on the Mac itself. That should ensure a speedy experience for users, all while keeping their data private at the same time. The macOS 15 update is then likely to be released to the public in the fall.