- iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia developer betas are available for anyone to use.
- Betas break things, shorten battery life, and make things annoying.
- Those cool Apple Intelligence features aren't in beta yet.
You might be eager to install the iOS 18 beta and try out all the new features, but this year, it's better to wait, and not for the usual reasons.
iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 are now available as developer betas, with public betas launching in July. All the usual warnings apply: don't use the beta version on production machines, be aware of possible data loss, etc. But there's another reason to hold off until later in the testing cycle this year - it's not yet worth the trouble. Of course, on top of that, Apple has now, as usual, ruined one of its most important apps.
"For the average consumer, patience is a virtue, as the public beta released in July will provide a more stable experience for those interested in the new features. However, I strongly recommend waiting for the official release later this year. Release, unless you already have one, Steven Athwal, founder and managing director of UK refurbished phone retailer The Big Phone Store, told Lifewire via email.
In the past, only membership in Apple's developer program, which cost around $100 a year, gave access to the company's annual beta version of the operating system. Then Apple added a public beta program that anyone could sign up for. Now, anyone can get the developer beta for free. All you have to do is go to the Software Update panel in the Settings app on your Mac, iPhone, iPad, etc.
By its very nature, beta software is not yet complete. It can lose or corrupt data, and even if you have a device specifically for testing, be careful when using it with your primary Apple ID. Any data corruption on the test device may eventually sync to your regular device.
A public beta starting next month is better suited for testing. First, they have a month of extra work behind them. Apple, on the other hand, delays the public release by a few days or a week after developers release the same version. This gives any particularly egregious bugs time to appear before the public loads it onto their phones.
But even with a public beta, you might run into all kinds of trouble. First, important applications may not start at all. Banking applications in particular may not work because banks may not allow them to use untested operating system versions for security reasons.
Another big risk is battery life, which was almost always worse during much of the testing period when other things were working. In my experience, it's usually only the last beta build that battery usage drops back to normal levels. That's fine for an iPad you only use at home, but it's a real pain if you rely on your phone.
This is all standard advice for any beta test. But this year, there's less incentive to join early because there aren't any AI tools, and those are definitely the features people are most excited to try. Apple Intelligence features, such as better Siri, won't be available until later, perhaps not until the fall operating system update actually rolls out.
"For the most part, I don't think it's a good time to try a new beta. They don't have the full set of changes announced, except that the first developer beta is probably pretty unstable. The first beta's changed version may will change the way they work under the hood, so even if a stable version of iOS 18 is released, apps or services may appear in an inconsistent state (and can only be fixed by resetting the device),” Serhii Popov, Software at MacPaw engineers told Lifewire via email.
What you get instead are new customization options, as well as some great privacy features. For example, you can now restrict how apps access your address book, just like you can restrict their access to your photo library. It works. I have a developer friend who restricted WhatsApp's access to his contact list, allowing it to see only a small subset of people, rather than putting his entire real social graph into Facebook's surveillance machine. He said it worked fine, although he had to restart WhatsApp every time he added a contact.
You can also lock and hide apps and use a new password app, which will make managing passwords easier. Now, you still have to dig deep in the Settings app to find them.
The most interesting thing, though, is the customization. You can change the color and appearance of your app icons, and you can place these icons wherever you like, leaving gaps if needed.
But a big reason for not testing the beta is that Apple has redesigned the Photos app, and not necessarily for the better. Gone is the navigation sidebar, giving you quick access to different parts of the app. Now you have to scroll forever to get to these sections. Not only is this annoying, but it's also a step backwards in terms of accessibility. Hopefully Apple will soften up and revert to the previous design, just like Apple did with its disastrous 2021 redesign of Safari in iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey.
I often update early because I have to research new features for my work. But this year, I'd probably hold off until the fall, when the official version is released and some of the Apple Intelligence stuff goes live.
