Leaks Show Dark Mode, Apple News App in macOS 10.14

Apple this weekend accidentally leaked a Mac App Store preview video of a new version of Xcode, which happened to also show off new features in the upcoming macOS 10.14 update. Apple quickly restricted access to the video, but not before prolific leaker and developer Steve Troughton-Smith grabbed and shared screenshots via Twitter.

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

While the video is no longer available the screenshots provide a number of hints of what users can expect from the upcoming macOS 10.14 release, which is expected to be announced today for a final release later this year.

Dark Mode

The trend among the leaked screenshots is a new true “dark mode” for the Mac. Apple has long offered the option for users to enable a dark menu bar and Dock, but apps themselves retained their color schemes when making the switch.

Based on the screenshots, it appears that Apple is introducing APIs so that first- and third-party applications can switch to a true dark mode as well. This is similar to the path taken by Microsoft in Windows 10, although third party adoption of Windows 10’s dark theme is minimal due to the relative dearth of quality applications in the Windows Store.

Apple News for Mac

Although there are no images of its interface, the screenshots clearly show an Apple News icon in the Dock.

The growing success of the Apple News platform makes it no surprise that Apple would bring support for it to the Mac.

Video Previews in the Mac App Store

The mere existence of the Xcode preview video reveals another new feature: video previews in the Mac App Store. The iOS App Store got video previews way back in 2014 as part of the iOS 8 update, but no equivalent feature ever made its way to the Mac App Store.

The addition of video previews in iOS was part of a major redesign of that platform’s app store, so it’s possible we’ll see some big changes to the Mac App Store design as well.

macOS Mojave?

A final tidbit from the screenshots is the presence of an unreleased wallpaper image behind the Xcode windows. Apple typically uses the default macOS wallpaper in marketing images for each new version of the operating system, and the wallpaper in the leaked video appears to be sand dunes.

With Mojave as a potential name for macOS 10.14, a wallpaper featuring sand suggests that the next version will indeed be called macOS Mojave after the southern California/Nevada desert.

Apple fans won’t need to wait long to confirm any of this leaked information. Apple’s WWDC keynote address kicks off today at 1:00 p.m. EST / 10:00 a.m. PST. Check back with The Mac Observer for complete coverage and analysis of the day’s announcements.