iOS 18 Public Beta Coming Soon: How to Get Your iPhone Ready

[MacRumors]

Apple last month announced that the first public beta of iOS 18 would be released in July, so it should be available to try out soon.

Below, we outline everything you need to know about the upcoming iOS 18 public beta.

Timing

The first iOS 17 and iOS 16 public betas came out in the first half of July in the past two years.

• iOS 16: Monday, July 11, 2022
• iOS 17: Wednesday, July 12, 2023

How to Get Ready

Enrolling in Apple's free public beta testing program is simple: visit beta.apple.com, sign in to your Apple ID account, and accept the terms and conditions.

After signing up, open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap General → Software Update → Beta Updates. This is where the iOS 18 public beta will be listed once available, and you will be able to tap on it to begin the installation process. Note that the iPhone must be signed in to the same Apple ID enrolled in the public beta program.

Due to software bugs and other potential issues, we recommend installing the iOS 18 public beta on a secondary iPhone, rather than the device that you use daily. We also highly recommend backing up your iPhone to your Mac before installing beta software on the device, to prevent data loss in the event something goes wrong.

We will be sharing a more detailed step-by-step guide on installing the iOS 18 public beta following its release later this month.

Compatible iPhones

iOS 18 is compatible with the same iPhone models as iOS 17 is:

• iPhone 15
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max

• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone XS
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)

New Features

iOS 18 introduces new customization options for the Home Screen and Control Center, a redesigned Photos app, the ability to use any emoji as a Tapback in the Messages app, an option to lock apps behind Face ID or Touch ID, and much more.

The tentpole feature of iOS 18 is the Apple Intelligence suite of AI features. These features will help you improve your writing, summarize your notifications, generate custom emoji and images, and much more. Apple Intelligence will also power a smarter version of Siri with on-screen awareness, deeper per-app controls, and more.

Apple Intelligence features have yet to be added to any iOS 18 developer betas, so they might not be available in the first iOS 18 public beta.

Read our in-depth iOS 18 roundup to learn more about the update.

Skipping the Beta?

iOS 18 should be widely released to all users with a compatible iPhone in September.

Article Link: iOS 18 Public Beta Coming Soon: How to Get Your iPhone Ready

 

[arkitect]

iOS 18 Public Beta Coming Soon: How to Get Your iPhone Ready?

By keeping it as far away from the Beta as possible.

/jk

 

[BigTimEnergy]

Last Beta I did was iOS 7. Never had the itch again since then, I can wait.

 

[PsykX]

Last Beta I did was iOS 7. Never had the itch again since then, I can wait.

That's when the pile of bugs started. I remember iOS 9 was also a disaster.

I installed iOS 18 on my old XR and I did a quick tour yesterday. Looks like a solid update overall.
Also in Apple's release notes, there's SO many fixes in EVERY single platform, including their development platform (Xcode), and their programming languages (Swift, SwiftUI...). In fact, I've never seen as many fixes in the release notes.

Either they are being more transparent about bug fixes, or they really put more time into bug fixing this year. I suspect it's a little bit of both.

That being said : The average Joe should definitely wait until September to install it. The best features won't be ready this year anyway (Apple Intelligence).

 

[trusso]

Since iOS and macOS are essentially rolling release now, and the new features are either half baked right now or not even there… take my advice and just wait for the official release in 2-3 months. You don’t need the public beta unless you’re actually a developer.

 

[podycust]

MR didn’t even mention that Apple Intelligence isn’t available to anyone that doesn’t not own the iPhone 15 pro models lol (so 95% of users)

 

[fwmireault]

MR didn’t even mention that Apple Intelligence isn’t available to anyone that doesn’t not own the iPhone 15 pro models lol (so 95% of users)

They've mentioned it in several articles already

 

[McWetty]

Only reason I would put this on my iPhone before release is RCS support and smarter Siri. These are beta releases for a reason.

 

[CarAnalogy]

iOS 18 Public Beta Coming Soon: How to Get Your iPhone Ready?

By keeping it as far away from the Beta as possible.

/jk

Since iOS and macOS are essentially rolling release now, and the new features are either half baked right now or not even there… take my advice and just wait for the official release in 2-3 months. You don’t need the public beta unless you’re actually a developer.

Hard agree. If one doesn't already know how to do the developer beta, one should not do the developer beta.

If you really are going to do a developer beta, step 1 is to put it on a device that is not your main device and is not signed in to your main iCloud account.

If you really can't wait, at most do the public RC.

 

[Bolt1982]

It’s very lacklustre thus far

 

[Infodataset]

Finally i can prepare up to transfer my porn files into hidden apps. Thanks apple

 

[anthogag]

To get your iPhone ready for a public beta...
- clean the body with a high quality lemon scented spray cleaner
- spray the screen with Windex and wipe it with Kleenex
- use Apple polishing cloth to finish-off the screen to perfection

 

[now i see it]

Don’t install it if you want a reliable phone

 

[Realityck]

Due to software bugs and other potential issues, we recommend installing the iOS 18 public beta on a secondary iPhone, rather than the device that you use daily. We also highly recommend backing up your iPhone to your Mac before installing beta software on the device, to prevent data loss in the event something goes wrong.

As they say, “The best way to solve a problem is to prevent it from happening in the first place.”

Anyone beta testing just needs to backup your settings/data on a another device.

In my own experience with WWDC’s seeding of multiple OS’s I really haven’t encountered anything that frustrates one with regrets. This years seeding have been quite usable, not a can of worms.

 

[ForkHandles]

The beta is fine on my iPhone 15pro. Apart from a few bits of tidy up and a complete redesign of the Photos app (Hmmmmm!) , very little is different to be honest.

Very stable for me.

 

[Realityck]

Don’t install it if you want a reliable phone

Rather then claim that, be more aware that some third party apps might show issues possibly, but the actual phone usage is very reliable with iOS 18 IMHO. It’s not like your phone stops being usable.

 

[W£S]

Rather then claim that, be more aware that some third party apps might show issues possibly, but the actual phone usage is very reliable with iOS 18 IMHO. It’s not like your phone stops being usable.

Most of the time, it is the lack of support from 3rd party apps. If it happens to be critical for you, like banking apps, then it will not be suitable as your main phone.

Then again, Apple never intended for you to use a beta on your main device, or so they say 😆

 

[Unity451]

Last Beta I did was iOS 7. Never had the itch again since then, I can wait.

Same. I use the same phone for personal and work. I can't afford to be carrying around a brick.

 

[krspkbl]

I was excited about iOS 18 at first but so many features won't be there at launch. I'm gonna wait until 18.1 maybe even 18.2 or .3

While I am happy about all the new features I am also worried it's going to cause a lot of bugs. I'll let you all beta test now and after launch until it's not a mess anymore.

 

[W£S]

I was excited about iOS 18 at first but so many features won't be there at launch. I'm gonna wait until 18.1 maybe even 18.2 or .3

While I am happy about all the new features I am also worried it's going to cause a lot of bugs. I'll let you all beta test now and after launch until it's not a mess anymore.

Indeed. It was disappointing that so many features that were announced were not ready. Hopefully most will be ready by launch

 

[1561147]

To get your iPhone ready for a public beta...
- clean the body with a high quality lemon scented spray cleaner
- spray the screen with Windex and wipe it with Kleenex
- use Apple polishing cloth to finish-off the screen to perfection

If you use a third party polishing cloth you won’t be able to install apps. For safety 🤣 /jk

 

[WarmWinterHat]

The only thing I care about is RCS, and it's not enabled by my carrier yet, so I can wait.

 

[MNWildFan]

That's when the pile of bugs started. I remember iOS 9 was also a disaster.

I installed iOS 18 on my old XR and I did a quick tour yesterday. Looks like a solid update overall.
Also in Apple's release notes, there's SO many fixes in EVERY single platform, including their development platform (Xcode), and their programming languages (Swift, SwiftUI...). In fact, I've never seen as many fixes in the release notes.

Either they are being more transparent about bug fixes, or they really put more time into bug fixing this year. I suspect it's a little bit of both.

That being said : The average Joe should definitely wait until September to install it. The best features won't be ready this year anyway (Apple Intelligence).

Exactly

Nothing really earth shattering in terms of the new features without the AI stuff being available not until next year yet; that being said though, there still are some cool things like send later for messages (which I have used a ton already), dark/tinted app icons (the dark ones are nice, especially now that beta 3 has added in dark icons for 3rd party apps), and RCS, amongst the laundry list of other changes

Sadly, I won't be seeing any of the AI stuff with having a non Pro 15 though

 

[joshwithachance]

I'll be installing solely for RCS. As buggy as betas tend to be, the public betas tends to be manageable overall (outside of certain banking apps not working and random UI glitches) so I'm willing to give it a try. Worst case scenario, I can revert back to iOS 17.

 

[OUsooner08]

Apple last month announced that the first public beta of iOS 18 would be released in July, so it should be available to try out soon.

Below, we outline everything you need to know about the upcoming iOS 18 public beta.

Timing

The first iOS 17 and iOS 16 public betas came out in the first half of July in the past two years.

• iOS 16: Monday, July 11, 2022
• iOS 17: Wednesday, July 12, 2023

How to Get Ready

Enrolling in Apple's free public beta testing program is simple: visit beta.apple.com, sign in to your Apple ID account, and accept the terms and conditions.

After signing up, open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap General → Software Update → Beta Updates. This is where the iOS 18 public beta will be listed once available, and you will be able to tap on it to begin the installation process. Note that the iPhone must be signed in to the same Apple ID enrolled in the public beta program.

Due to software bugs and other potential issues, we recommend installing the iOS 18 public beta on a secondary iPhone, rather than the device that you use daily. We also highly recommend backing up your iPhone to your Mac before installing beta software on the device, to prevent data loss in the event something goes wrong.

We will be sharing a more detailed step-by-step guide on installing the iOS 18 public beta following its release later this month.

Compatible iPhones

iOS 18 is compatible with the same iPhone models as iOS 17 is:

• iPhone 15
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone XS
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)

New Features

iOS 18 introduces new customization options for the Home Screen and Control Center, a redesigned Photos app, the ability to use any emoji as a Tapback in the Messages app, an option to lock apps behind Face ID or Touch ID, and much more.

The tentpole feature of iOS 18 is the Apple Intelligence suite of AI features. These features will help you improve your writing, summarize your notifications, generate custom emoji and images, and much more. Apple Intelligence will also power a smarter version of Siri with on-screen awareness, deeper per-app controls, and more.

Apple Intelligence features have yet to be added to any iOS 18 developer betas, so they might not be available in the first iOS 18 public beta.

Read our in-depth iOS 18 roundup to learn more about the update.

Skipping the Beta?

iOS 18 should be widely released to all users with a compatible iPhone in September.

Article Link: iOS 18 Public Beta Coming Soon: How to Get Your iPhone Ready

Go to General—> Software Update—>Beta Updates and select iOS 18 Public Beta. You don’t have to sign up on the website anymore.