Betas are primarily intended for developers to try out new features and see whether their apps still work well under the latest version of iOS, macOS, etc. But as a regular user you can also participate in the public betas of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS. But is that a good idea? In this tip we explain what you should take into account.
- For whom?
- When to test betas?
- To participate in betas or not?
- Is it safe?
- To prepare
Who are the betas intended for?
Apple has two types of betas: the Developer Beta and the Public Beta. As the name suggests, these betas each have their own target group: app developers and public testers. The Developer Beta can only be installed by registered developers, while anyone can sign up for the public beta. The public betas appear a few weeks to a day after the latest developer beta. Public testers therefore usually do not have to wait too long.
Is the iOS beta stable? Are there many bugs in it?
Betas are for testing and to remove bugs from the software. Whether it is stable depends on the phase the software is in. The first beta of a major update (iOS 16, iOS 17, iOS 18 and beyond) will still contain quite a few bugs, but as the fifth or sixth developer beta is released, the first bugs are usually fixed. By then, the public beta will also be available for people who want to participate in testing. When there are major updates, you will always find an article on iCulture about issues that are going on, so that you can estimate whether it will have an impact on you. Our most recent article on iOS beta issues can be found elsewhere on our site. Here you can read which problems usually arise and which bugs users encountered with iOS 16. That gives a good idea of what you can expect, for example for the beta of iOS 17.
With later updates (iOS 16.1, iOS 16.2, iOS 16.3, etc.) the betas are more stable and as a risk-averse user you could already join the second or third (public) beta. But beware: they remain betas. It is therefore possible that some functions are not yet working properly. If you assume that “everything just works” you may encounter surprises. There is no point in leaving angry reviews because certain apps do not work properly. Rather, please contact the developer to report any bugs so that they can be resolved before the official release.
Whether you should work on the public beta also depends on personal circumstances. If you are facing a big deadline, you have to take an important exam soon, or you are in a phase of your life where you need little extra stress, then it is better to wait for a later beta. Or just skip a year and wait patiently for the official updates to come out. The major updates always appear in September and October.
Which betas cause the most risk?
In addition, installing an iOS beta has more risk than installing a beta for tvOS. The latter is usually without problems. This is because there are fewer changes and new functions and it is a device that you use less often. We believe that the risk of problems is greatest with iOS and macOS, although with macOS you can also choose to put the beta on a separate partition. You can then always continue to use the current official macOS version on the original partition.
In short, these betas pose the most risk for bugs, issues, and hangs (in order from most to least risk):
- iOS/iPadOS, especially with major updates like iOS 17.0. Risk is lower with additional updates such as iOS 17.1 etc.
- macOS, although you can limit the risk by putting the beta on a separate partition
- watchOS, additionally requires beta of iOS. Downgrading is not possible, so if you have any problems you will have to wait for new betas or the official release
- tvOS, virtually without the risk of major problems
When to test betas?
You can participate in the betas throughout the year, but the most interesting time is in the summer when the new versions of iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, watchOS and macOS are announced. This always happens in June during the WWDC developer conference, after which the beta versions become available to developers quite quickly. A few weeks later, the public betas will appear in which anyone with a suitable device can participate.
These betas will be tested from June 5:
- iOS 17: new version for the iPhone.
- iPadOS 17: new version for the iPad, with largely the same improvements as iOS 17.
- watchOS 10: major update for the Apple Watch.
- tvOS 16: upcoming update for the Apple TV.
- macOS 14: new update for the Mac.
You will follow everything via our beta articles as soon as the first beta is available. We update the beta articles with each new beta version, so keep following those articles to stay informed.
You can participate all summer long and install multiple beta versions until the final versions are released in September or October. The rest of the year there are betas of, for example, iOS 17.1, 17.2 and so on.
To participate in betas or not?
Whether you participate in the betas is a personal choice and depends on many factors, such as:
- Are you a developer? Then it is wise to use the beta, so that you can test whether your app still works properly and you can already work on supporting new functions. If you are not a developer, you probably have less need to install the betas and it will mainly be for fun and curiosity. Moreover, only the public betas are actually intended for you.
- Do you have a suitable test device? Someone who is smart will install the betas on a test device that you don’t need every day, but you should have it lying around.
- Are you an experienced user? Betas can still contain all kinds of surprises that cause things to no longer work. If this makes you panic quickly, it is better to wait a while.
- What other factors are you dealing with? Do you need certain software that you are highly dependent on? Are you good at dealing with bugs and do you enjoy finding them and reporting them to Apple? And are you currently expecting difficulties? Only you can estimate this yourself.
There are more things to consider:
- You CANNOT restore backups to an earlier version. If you have made backups with iOS 17, you will not be able to use them if you switch back to iOS 16.
- You can NO longer downgrade watchOS betas to an earlier stable version. If things go wrong, you will have to wait a few days/weeks for the next beta to appear.
- To be able to install the watchOS beta, you must also have the iOS beta on the iPhone.
It’s a bit easier for betas on the Mac. You can install the macOS beta on a separate drive without it interfering with your normal work.
Are betas safe to install?
Do not install betas on a device that you use every day and keep in mind that you may sometimes lose some data because Apple can reset certain components. You should also keep in mind that you cannot always restore backups. Once the first (public) beta of iOS 17 is available, you can always downgrade to iOS 16.x. But in that case you can only use backups that you previously made with iOS 16.x, i.e. before you started betas. They may already be a few days or weeks old and certain data may be lost if it is not stored in the cloud.
If the beta is not necessary for your work, we recommend waiting until the third or fourth beta. The public beta is often released around that time. This is a version that Apple believes is stable enough to release to the general public. If you are very careful, you can of course also wait until the third or fourth version of the public beta. It is of course wise to read online about experiences with the (public) betas, so that you know whether problems may arise for you with apps and functions that you often use.
On iCulture we always discuss iOS beta problems in a separate article.
Preparing for the (public) beta of iOS 17 and iPadOS 17
These updates will be released in June or July 2023, but if you want to prepare now, you can. The steps are largely the same for iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. Before you get started with the beta, we would like to remind you of a number of points.
#1 Use a test device
Yes really! Especially if you install the developer beta. The beta may still contain bugs and apps are not yet optimized, so they may not work properly or drain the battery quickly. This can cause problems with a device that you use every day and desperately need. For the Mac we recommend using a separate partition.
#2 Have a local backup on Mac or PC or Time Machine
Before you get started, make an iPhone backup on the desktop, made with the most recent stable version of iOS 16. By making a backup, you can always go back if you don’t like the beta. But as mentioned earlier: you can lose data because you cannot restore iOS 17 betas to iOS 16.
The advantage of a manual backup on the desktop is that there is a much smaller chance that this will be automatically exceeded by a new backup. With an iCloud backup there is a chance that this will happen. We therefore recommend that you always make a local backup of your iPhone.
#3 Have your Apple ID information handy
To install the beta, you’ll need to have your Apple ID information ready to log in to the developer portal or sign up for the public beta. You can register for the public beta via beta.apple.com. Also make sure you have a suitable device.
You can always unsubscribe from betas, going back to the last stable version or waiting for the tested update to appear for everyone.
Below you can read more about installing the various (public) betas:
- Install iOS, iPadOS and macOS betas
- Install watchOS betas
- Install tvOS betas
- Install HomePod betas
