macOS 10.14: Release date rumors, feature speculation, and more

macOS 10.14 is expected to be previewed at WWDC on June 4, 2018. Here's everything you need to know!

This year, macOS hits lucky number 10.14. Apple's been working on it since last fall, when marketing weighed in on what it thought the next update needed, engineers pitched new ideas, and Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi sifted through the big pile on his desk. Since Apple doesn't tease future releases, until Federighi takes the stage on June 4 at WWDC 2018, it's impossible for anyone on the outside to know everything that made the cut but that doesn't stop the rumors from flying.

Here's what's made the news so far!

June 2, 2018: macOS 10.14 dark mode, Xcode 10, App Store redesign, and News app

Developer Steve Troughton-Smith has shared screenshots of what he ways are the new Xcode 10, macOS 10.14 dark mode, redesigned Mac App Store with video previews, and the Apple News app for macOS.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Xcode 10 on macOS 10.14. Dark Appearance, Apple News, App Store w/ video previews pic.twitter.com/rJlDy81W4W

— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) June 2, 2018

We'll see the whole thing on Monday when Apple kicks off the WWDC 2018 keynote at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT.

May 28, 2018: Mac App Store once again rumored to be getting a macOS 10.14 makeover

I thought this was pretty much common knowledge since WWDC 2017, following the launch of the iOS App Store redesign last year, but it's widely, deeply expected that the Mac App Store redesign, like the iBook Store redesign, will follow this year.

Stlll, Gruber dropped this on Daring Fireball and it's getting attention, so it's worth the reminder:

One of the things I'm most looking forward to next month at WWDC is seeing this sort of treatment on the Mac App Store, too.

Something unexpected could always go wrong, but it'd be news if we don't get this stuff in June.

When will we see macOS 10.14?

If Apple keeps to its recent schedule, it will show off macOS 10.14 for the first time during the keynote for it's annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 4, 2018. Tim Cook will introduce macOS 10.14, while Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, will go through its different tentpole features.

It's likely that the first developer beta of macOS 10.14 will be made available the same day as the presentation. As with the last few iterations of macOS, a public beta should follow later in the summer.

What new features will we see in macOS 10.14?

macOS 10.14 is rumored to be low on new features and high on stability and reliability fixes, much like macOS High Sierra and OS X Snow Leopard were. Apple has made many, huge changes under the hood over the last couple of years, including everything from a new file system to a new windowing server, and it has to keep paying down that technical debt.

What new features have been rumored include:

• New framework to make it easier for developers to bring iOS apps to the Mac.
• System-wide Dark Mode.
• Home app
• APFS for Fusion Drives

When will macOS 10.14 launch for the public?

For the last few years, new versions of macOS have gone into general release in the fall. While iOS has been tied to the release of new iPhones, always arriving a couple days before the new models launch, macOS has been more fluid. (Though, increasingly, Apple seems to be trying to coordinate the releases due to the amount of shared features between them.)

• 2017: September 25
• 2016: September 20
• 2015: Spetember 30
• 2014: October 16
• 2013: October 22

What will macOS 10.14 be called?

Is this the year Craig Federighi finally gets to use macOS Weed? Probably not. It's the crack marketing team, as he often points out, that gets to choose the names.

More likely is one of the following, part of a list of Apple trademarks unearthed in 2014:

• Big Sur
• California
• El Diablo
• Redwood
• Mammoth
• Miramar
• Mojave
• Monterey
• Pacific
• Sequoia
• Sonoma
• Tiburon
• Ventura

What do you want to see in macOS 10.14?

I'm still waiting for better Split View handling, the Home app, the News app, and proper drag-and-drop support for the Photos app, amoung other things.

What about you?