As attention begins to turn to macOS 14 and WWDC 2023, Apple continues to work on the current macOS 13 Ventura release. As part of that, the company has now made the second macOS 13.5 beta available for download by developers.
Developers who have the required developer profile installed can now download the second beta from the System Settings app under the Software Update section.
While it isn't yet clear when this release will be made available to the public, it's likely that there will be a few more betas before that happens.
What's new?
As for what this macOS 13.5 update brings to the table, those hoping for big sweeping changes are set to be left disappointed. No new big new features have been discovered so far and instead, it appears that the iterating has been done under the hood, so to speak.
It's possible that Apple is readying iMessage Contact Key Verification, however, with the iOS 16.6 and iPadOS 16.6 betas paving the way for the security feature's release.
"Now with iMessage Contact Key Verification, users who face extraordinary digital threats — such as journalists, human rights activists, and members of government — can choose to further verify that they are messaging only with the people they intend," Apple said in a press release announcing the feature last year. "Conversations between users who have enabled iMessage Contact Key Verification receive automatic alerts if an exceptionally advanced adversary, such as a state-sponsored attacker, were ever to succeed breaching cloud servers and inserting their own device to eavesdrop on these encrypted communications." Apple goes on to say that "for even higher security, iMessage Contact Key Verification users can compare a Contact Verification Code in person, on FaceTime, or through another secure call."
With WWDC 2023 kicking off on June 5 we can expect Apple to unveil macOS 14, although the next big Mac software update isn't expected to ship to users until September or October.
