Apple has officially seeded the release candidate for macOS Sequoia 15.5, marking the final stretch in the beta testing cycle for this version. The RC build, numbered 24F74, is now available to both developers and public beta testers. A release candidate is essentially the version Apple plans to ship to the general public, pending any last-minute issues, and serves as the final round of validation before launch.
These builds typically prioritize performance optimizations, bug fixes, and compatibility improvements rather than introducing new features, which appears to be the case here, as the update arrives without any significant functional changes.
This release follows a beta testing period that began in mid-March, with the fourth beta having been seeded on April 28. Earlier builds in the sequence included version 24F5068b, which the RC now supersedes. The macOS Sequoia 15.5 update is a minor one, with early betas also lacking major new additions. This follows Apple’s expected development timeline, as focus begins to shift to macOS 16, which will debut at WWDC in June. In the meantime, the Sequoia 15.5 RC delivers a more stable and polished experience for those already participating in the beta program.
macOS is not the only platform receiving a release candidate. Apple has also issued RC builds for iOS 18.5, iPadOS 18.5, tvOS 18.5, watchOS 11.5, and visionOS 2.5, signaling that the spring software update cycle is nearing completion. iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 carry build number 22F75, while tvOS 18.5 is 22L572, watchOS 11.5 is 22T572, and visionOS 2.5 is 22O473. These releases follow a series of beta updates pushed throughout April, reflecting Apple’s momentum in finalizing its cross-platform software rollout.
While earlier iOS 18.5 betas introduced minor tweaks like new options in the Mail app to show or hide contact photos, later versions have focused more on stability than feature expansion. The same is true for macOS Sequoia 15.5, which has consistently been positioned as a maintenance release. With WWDC around the corner, Apple is clearly wrapping up this cycle to prepare for the next wave of software introductions.
It’s worth remembering that release candidates, while generally stable, are still pre-release versions. Apple continues to recommend caution when installing beta software on primary devices. Bugs and data loss remain possible, so beta testing is best done on secondary hardware with proper backups in place.
