Has Apple already completed the beta phase of iOS 18? At least that’s what Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, a usually well-informed Apple journalist, claims. As he wrote on X this week, he was told that the latest iOS 18 seed – that is, developer beta 7 – be “last”: However, there may be features added that come with the new hardware – i.e. the iPhone 16.
Advertisement
Is there nothing much left to do?
Before the public version, Apple is also expected to release at least one Release Candidate (RC). However, if Gurman’s source is correct, it could also be based on beta 7. Apple could then possibly publish its own build for new devices, including new hardware functions, but it should not have already been leaked to the outside world.
This year, the new iOS versions are a bit more complex: Apple is also testing iOS 18.1 in parallel with iOS 18. This includes the first Apple Intelligence functions. At the moment it is expected that iOS 18 will appear in September with the iPhone 16 and iOS 18.1 in October. The iPhone event could take place comparatively early this year, at least some rumor mongers claim: possibly as early as September 3.
Release Candidate Still Coming
Gurman’s statement could also mean that Developer Beta 7 is only “feature complete”, but Apple is still pushing another beta or a slightly revised release candidate to fix errors. iOS 17 was released on September 12, 2023, a week after the iPhone 15 series was introduced on September 18.
Apple is likely to take a little longer to roll out iOS 18.1, in mid-to-late October; that’s more than it was at the beginning of the month. For now, it looks like EU residents will have to do without Apple Intelligence initially. However, as part of the second developer beta of iOS 18.1, Apple softened its geoblocking. Apple Intelligence will be available next year only in languages optimized for Europe; the only supported language is US English. This applies to all functions, including Siri and the “writing tool”.
(B.Sc.)
