Apple continued its prolific beta strategy late Monday by releasing the eighth Developer Preview of OS X Mavericks. The most recent build arrives about two weeks after the seventh Developer Preview, a pace which the company has roughly maintained since unveiling the software in June at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference.
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According to developers, Developer Preview Eight features a number of fixes and changes related to Aperture, Migration Assistant, and Preview. There are also reportedly several new desktop wallpaper options at 5,120-by-2,800 resolution, further supporting the rumors that Apple will release “Retina” models of the iMac and Thunderbolt Display in the relatively near future.
Another notable change in the latest beta is a new build of iTunes 11.1, which includes tweaks to browsing podcasts in a user’s local library, iTunes Radio history, iOS 7 UI previews while managing connected iOS 7 devices, and an option to disable Notification Center alerts when a song changes.
Apple has stated that it plans to release OS X Mavericks “this fall,” with many speculating an October release date alongside new MacBook Pro models. With an October or later release date, Apple has plenty of time to push several additional Developer Preview builds as the company refines the software, although with eight betas, Mavericks has already doubled the number of builds of its predecessor.
Pricing remains unknown; for comparison, Apple released the current version of OS X, Mountain Lion, in July 2012 for $19.99. Once released, customers with compatible Macs will be able to obtain OS X Mavericks as a direct download from the Mac App Store. Registered developers can get Developer Preview 8 now via the Mac App Store’s Software Update.
