Apple releases fifth developers betas for iOS 18 and the rest
Apple has migrated to the seventh round of developer betas for iOS 18, iPadOS 18, tvOS 18, macOS Sequoia, watchOS 11, and visionOS 2, as it prepares to make the operating systems available within weeks.
The seventh round arrives after the sixth, which Apple brought out on August 12. The fifth round landed on August 5, while the fourth round was issued on July 23, though Apple did roll out a minor update to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 builds on July 26.
This is not the only developer beta track in operation. Apple is also testing out iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1, primarily for the introduction of Apple Intelligence.
The seventh developer betas of iOS and iPadOS 18 are build number 22A5346a, replacing 22A5338b. Apple’s seventh tvOS 18 build number is 22J5353a, up from 22J5346a.
The seventh watchOS 11 developer beta is 22R5348a taking over from 22R5340a. The seventh macOS 15 Sequoia beta is build number 24A5327a, replacing 24A5320a.
The seventh visionOS 2.0 developer beta is build 22N5314a, replacing the sixth, 22N5308b.
The sixth beta round was largely Apple putting the final touches on iOS 18, in preparation for its expected September launch. It did include some refinements to icon tinting, more dark mode interfaces, and a new Bluetooth toggle in Control Center, among others.
The fifth round added Distraction Control, a feature for Safari that allows users to remove unwanted elements from a webpage. Changes have also been made to Photos, including the removal of the Carousel view.
AppleInsider‘s Marko Zivkovic also was first to discover the new Sequoia Sunrise wallpaper in the macOS Sonoma beta.
The fourth iOS 18 beta included new Control Center changes, more refinement to the flashlight controls, new CarPlay wallpapers, and new background graphical changes.
Apple included SharePlay upgrades and iPhone Screen Mirroring in the second beta, which Apple confirmed days before issuing.
The confirmation was part of Apple’s response to stories that it may abstain from offering Apple Intelligence and other major new operating system features in the European Union, due to Digital Markets Act interoperability mandates.
AppleInsider and Apple strongly recommend that users avoid installing test operating systems or other beta or RC software on “mission-critical” or primary devices, as there is the small chance of issues that could result in the loss of data. Testers should instead use secondary or non-essential hardware and ensure they have sufficient backups of their critical data at all times.
