iOS 15.1 Public Beta 4
Anthony Karcz
It’s a week before Apple’s next big event and, right on time, they’ve released iOS 15.1 Public Beta 4.
What’s New?
While last week saw a new toggle, allowing users to turn off Auto Macro mode in the cameras and the ability to capture ProRes video, there’s nothing new this week. Not surprisingly, Public Beta 4 is more about fixing the bugs that persisted (or were added) in iOS 15.1 Public Beta 3.
Here’s a rundown of everything the general public will be getting soon in iOS 15.1:
- Auto Macro mode toggle
- The ability to shoot ProRes video
- SharePlay – the feature pulled from the original beta, and talked about voluminously during Apple keynotes. This feature lets you share your media with everyone during FaceTime calls.
- Lossless Audio – if you’re looking for hi-fi sound on your iDevice, this feature does just that (as long as you have AirPods Pro or Max).
- Virtual Vaccination Cards – if you’re lucky enough to live in a state that provides digital medical records, you can add your vaccination card to Apple Wallet.
What’s Broken?
Shockingly, the official release notes have the same amount of bugs as last week. That’s unfortunate for anyone that’s using a Matter device in the Home app or, y’know wants to use their iPhone as a phone.
- Matter accessory notification won’t work (requiring a reboot of the Home app)
- You might lose audio on phone calls, followed by the call dropping altogether! If it happens, toggle Airplane mode, then back.
- The App Store might not register that transactions are completed.
- If you’re using Voice Over, you might not be able to activate alarms in the Clocks app.
While it’s not a big list of bugs, the fact that the Telephony bug’s persisted for two release cycles now is worrisome. I know that most people don’t actually talk on the phone anymore but this isn’t the iPad, it’s the iPhone. It’s right there in the product name.
What’s Fixed?
While I was expecting to see the Telephony bug fixed with this week’s release, that didn’t happen. Meaning that it’ll hopefully be caught by the time the golden master comes out sometime next week.
What’s Next?
The October 18 keynote pushes up the time frame quite a bit for iOS 15.1, especially if it supports the rumored AirPods 3 that everyone’s expecting to be unveiled. But that increased time frame hopefully won’t come at the cost of one of the key features of the device that it supports. If people start dropping calls on their new iPhones because of an iOS update, that’s going to reduce confidence, hurting the pretty stellar upgrade adoption rate Apple’s enjoyed for years.
I’m confident that the Telephony error isn’t as bad as it looks, or not as common (I haven’t encountered it yet, in my testing). Better yet, I hope that Apple is able to track down the issue and fix it before the golden master is released next week.
Honestly, this is more drama than we’ve seen in some time from a beta. Let’s hope it doesn’t last.
Want to join the iOS 15.1 beta test and see for yourself what the issue is? Keep reading for how to get enrolled!
How Do I Sign Up?ead over to the Apple Beta Program site on the device you’d like to enroll, sign in with your enrolled Apple ID (or create a beta account if you don’t have one already) and follow the steps, it’s as simple as that! You’ll download the beta profile to your iPhone or iPad, then reboot, check for a software update, and you’ll be testing in no time!
Remember, this is beta software and Apple makes it extremely clear in the agreement you scroll past on the way to the Agree button that it can do anything up to and including bricking your device and corrupting your data. My Public Beta Installation Guide has all the housekeeping steps you need to take before installing the beta.
