Try new iPhone features early with the iOS 18 public beta

Alex Choros - Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor

Last updated 16 July 2024

Apple has released public betas of its latest operating system updates including iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, allowing users to test them ahead of their final release later this year.

To try out the new version of Apple's mobile operating system, you'll need to register your Apple ID through Apple's beta software portal.

After you've registered, installing the beta versions on your iPhone or iPad is pretty simple. If you're on a device running iOS 16.4 or iPadOS 16.4 or later, you'll then be able to follow these steps on your device:

Open the Settings app
Tap General and then Software Updates
Choose the public beta and follow the prompts

If you're not running iOS 16.4 or iPadOS 16.4, the easiest way to install the beta is to update to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS (currently 17.5.1) through the Settings app, and then install the beta.

The beta download will be a couple of gigabytes, so you'll want to do it on WiFi. Once done, your iPhone or iPad will restart and install iOS 18 or iPadOS 18, respectively. As with a typical iOS update, you won't lose any apps or files as part of the upgrade.

As always, you probably shouldn't install iOS 18 on your primary device, as the operating system may still exhibit stability issues. In addition, beta operating systems can increase battery drain and result in compatibility issues with unoptimised apps.

If you're feeling brave and want to install the iOS 18 beta on your main iPhone or iPad, you can always roll back to an earlier version of iOS if anything goes wrong. This does however require wiping your phone and reinstalling iOS 17, so make sure you take a backup before you upgrade to the iOS 17 public beta.

Announced last month, iOS 18 includes new features such as more home screen personalisation options, a customisable Control Centre, the ability to lock individual apps, new messaging features, and a dedicated password manager app.

A raft of AI features will also be coming as part of iOS 18 - including smarter Siri, writing tools, and image generation -, but these will initially be limited to devices set to American English at launch. (It's pretty easy to swap an Australian iPhone to US English, however.) The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will be the only current iPhones to support AI features.

Every iPhone that supports iOS 17 will be able to upgrade to iOS 18.

You can install iOS 18 on the following iPhones:

iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pus, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 13, Phone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone SE (2022), iPhone 12, Phone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE (2020), iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR.

We're expecting to see the final version of iOS 18 launch in September alongside new iPhones.

Meanwhile, iPadOS 18 will get most of the new features from iOS, as well as a native calculator app and handwriting refinement for those using an Apple Pencil.

These are the oldest iPad models that will support iPadOS 18:

7th generation iPad, 5th generation iPad mini, 3rd generation iPad Air, 3rd generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and 1st generation 11-inch iPad Pro.

The 6th generation iPad, 2nd generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and 1st generation 10.5-inch iPad Pro won't be able to upgrade from iPadOS 17 to iPadOS 18.

In addition to new iPhone and iPad operating systems, public betas for the latest version of macOS, watchOS, and tvOS are also available.

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Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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