It’s in summer when the betas of Apple operating systems are most active. After its presentation in early June at the WWDC 2024, iOS 18 reached the third beta a few days ago, which means that we will soon have the public beta. In fact, Apple announced that the first public beta of iOS 18 will be released in July, which means that between next week and the following, we should be able to officially test the iOS 18 beta.
When will the public beta of iOS 18 be available?
Historically, public beta versions of iOS have been released in the first half of July. Previous versions iOS 16 and iOS 17 were released on July 11th and July 12th, respectively, so it’s reasonable to expect that iOS 18 will follow a similar pattern.
How can I participate?
Participating in the public beta is very simple. Just visit the website beta.apple.com, log in with your Apple Account and accept the Terms and Conditions of the testing program. After this, you will go to Settings > General > Software Update, and in the Beta Updates section select the public beta.
Once this is done, your iPhone will display the beta updates just like it would with any other updates. Then, it’s just a simple tap on Download and Install, as you would normally do, to begin testing iOS 18 once the first public beta is available.
A beta is a beta
Despite the excitement that trying out the latest updates can generate, it’s vital to remember that beta versions may contain errors and other potential issues. Therefore, it’s recommended that you install the beta on a second device that is not used daily. Additionally, it is of utmost importance that you make an archived backup of your iPhone on a Mac before installing the beta, to avoid data loss should an error occur, or should you decide to revert back to iOS 17.
One other thing to keep in mind is if you’d prefer to wait and avoid the potential inconveniences of beta versions, the final version of iOS 18 will be available in September for all users with a compatible device.
Compatible devices
Concerning compatible devices, the list of those that’ll support iOS 18 includes all devices from the iPhone SE (2nd generation) to the latest iPhone 15 Pro Max. A wide range of compatibility that ensures we have opportunity to test the iOS 18 public betas if we wish.
The public beta of iOS 18 offers an excellent balance between waiting for official versions and diving into the first developer betas. Aware that this program is open to the general public, Apple takes specific care to ensure there are no errors in these versions. So, if you’re eager to enjoy all the new features, you can start preparing now.
