Apple Seeds First Beta of Upcoming macOS Catalina 10.15.6 Update to Developers

Apple today appears to have seeded the first beta of an upcoming macOS Catalina 10.15.6 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after releasing macOS Catalina 10.15.5 with battery health management features for Macs.

catalina10156beta
The macOS Catalina 10.15.6 beta can be downloaded from the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences, as it does not yet appear to be showing up in the Apple Developer Center.

There's no word yet on what features or improvements the sixth update to macOS Catalina will introduce, but it likely focuses on performance improvements, security updates, and fixes for bugs that weren't able to be addressed in the prior update.

Related Forum: macOS Catalina

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

iPhone 18 Pro Max Rumored to Deliver Next-Level Battery Life

Friday February 6, 2026 5:14 am PST by
The iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a bigger battery for continued best-in-class battery life, according to a known Weibo leaker. Citing supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a battery capacity of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh. Combined with the efficiency improvements of the A20 Pro chip, made with TSMC's 2nm process, the...

Top Rated Comments

hagjohn Avatar
74 months ago
Hopefully they actually fixed some bugs instead of creating more.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BWhaler Avatar
74 months ago
I can’t believe it, but I think Catalina will be the first major OS from Apple I just skip.

A year of bug patches and it’s still shoddy quality and not reliable.

I say this not to be snarky. It stuns me. And it makes me sad.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tywebb13 Avatar
74 months ago

So if you installed the supplemental update, it appears you don't get the 10.15.6 beta?
I think that is right.

I had 10.15.5 build 19F96. It could see the 10.15.6 beta.

I updated to build 19F101 with the supplemental update and could not see the 10.15.6 beta anymore.

I used a bootable usb of 10.15.5 build 19F96 to downgrade to 19F96. It can see 10.15.6 beta again.

Now updating to 10.15.6 build 19G36e.

Of course I backed up each time. So although I only actually ran 19F101 for a few minutes at least I have a backup of it before getting 10.15.6.

A possible reason for this behaviour: Although the beta was released on the same day as the supplemental update it could be that build 19F101 is actually newer than 19G36e - which explains why 19F101 can't see 19G36e i.e., 19G36e can't install over the top of 19F101 because 19F101 is newer.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
centauratlas Avatar
74 months ago

Ye, seems annoying. Don't know if 10.15.6 is not appearing yet (it usually takes about an hour for me, in the UK) or if we are supposed to install the supplemental update first.
I did the supplemental update and still don't see the 10.15.6 beta. (In the US.)

So I think it may just be a waiting game. It took a little while for the last 10.15.5 beta too.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sau93 Avatar
74 months ago
To owners of MBP 16''. Has it fixed anything?)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adrianlondon Avatar
74 months ago

Wake me when the thing where it can’t reconnect to an external share except by IP address unless you restart finder is fixed.
ok - sleep well!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)