From June 10, participants of the Apple’s Developer Program Already testing iOS 18 in an early version. The third beta was recently released. However, if you don’t want to register as a developer (for free), you can also test soon: As is traditional, the public beta period starts in July. The reason for the waiting time: Apple wants to test its early versions with professionals – i.e. developers – before going public with the third or fourth beta. This approach has proven itself over the years.
Advertisement
There is no charge to participate, feedback is welcome
The public beta is expected to begin in the coming days. Apple is already writing that initial versions will be available “soon”. The central point of contact is Public Beta Website. Here you log in with your Apple ID to become a participant. You can then register your devices. In practice, it looks like this: After logging in with the stored Apple ID, a switch appears in the Updates area on supported devices with which you can activate and deactivate beta downloads.
You cannot join without an Apple ID. Using the public beta is free, but there is no compensation for reporting bugs or other problems. Apple hopes that more and more participants will learn about this tool Feedback Assistant (available on the web and as an app on the device) Provide feedback. This is the only way the company can promptly fix errors before the first public version of iOS 18 is (presumably) available in September.
What you should consider when beta testing
Although Apple always makes public betas available after developer betas, it should be noted that the operating systems are still pre-release versions. These may contain more or less serious bugs, which in the worst case can even result in data loss. Accordingly, it is highly recommended to only participate in the public beta program if you have a spare iPhone on which you install the pre-release version – but do not use your main productive device. If you want to be safe, you can also create a new Apple ID so as not to endanger the data in iCloud. Then of course you do not have access to them.
With a little caution you can test to your heart’s content. In addition to iOS 18, Apple also offers betas of iPadOS 18, macOS 15 Sequoia, tvOS 18, watchOS 11, and even HomePod software 18. However, a firmware beta for AirPods has apparently not been made available – despite the exciting new features. iOS 18 runs on iPhone XR or iPhone SE 2 and higher.
Updates
July 16, 2024,
Telecom: MagentaMobil tariff permanently doubles data volumes 09:46
Watch
Apple has now presented iOS 18, macOS 15 and Co. as public betas.
(B.Sc.)
Tracking prevention: Apple promotes privacy features in Safari
