Apple’s public betas: all the news on iOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and more – The Verge

How to install the iOS 26 public beta

2025-07-24T13:36:27-04:00

People with Apple developer accounts have had all the fun with the iOS 26 beta so far (and yes, if you missed it, there's a new naming system now), but now that the public betas are out, anyone can try the new features.

Setting up the public beta is slightly less involved than setting up the developer beta but just as free. And if you're looking for help with the iPadOS 26 beta, you're in the right place: the setup process is the same.

You should understand what you're getting when you try a beta, though. For one, you won't get all the new features at once; many of them will come later. Also, the fun of trying early features comes with th …

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Apple’s iOS 18.2 public beta starts opening up access to more AI features

2024-11-06T14:09:52-05:00

Apple has released iOS / iPadOS 18.2 into public beta, as spotted by MacRumors. It includes access to the second wave of Apple Intelligence features that were already available to developers, like the AI-generated custom emoji feature Genmoji and the Image Playground feature that generates pictures.

It also adds ChatGPT integration, Visual Intelligence for searching using iPhone 16 cameras, a more robust Siri with improved responses to queries, and OpenAI's ChatGPT is an option to step in and answer instead. ChatGPT access is free and doesn't require an account to use it.

Access to some of the Apple Intelligence features is still behind a …

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In iPadOS 18, the whole iPad is a calculator app

2024-07-16T09:20:00-04:00

You’re telling me this took 14 years to develop? | Image: David Pierce / The Verge

The new Calculator app in iPadOS 18 is, at first glance, wildly unimpressive. When I installed the new operating system, which is now in public beta, I tapped the Calculator icon expecting something that felt uniquely tablet-focused and powerful. I got, well, the iPhone's Calculator app - only slightly larger. It's a nice addition to the iPad, sure, but there's nothing here that took 14 years to make.

The Calculator app doesn't really matter, though. I suspect you'll hardly ever use it. What's actually extremely cool and innovative about iPadOS 18 and iOS 18 is that there is a calculator baked into the operating system itself. Tap in the te …

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Phone mirroring on the Mac might change how you use your phone

2024-07-16T08:40:00-04:00

It’s your phone. On your Mac. That’s really the whole thing. | Image: David Pierce / The Verge

One of the surprise hits of Apple's WWDC 2024 was a new feature for desktops and laptops. In Sequoia, the new operating system due this fall and now in public beta, you can mirror your phone to your Mac.

I've been testing the new feature for a bit, and it really is what it sounds like. You open up the phone mirroring app, and it presents you to… your iPhone. Rounded corners and everything. You click on the bottom bar to go home and click and drag to go between apps, click with your mouse, and type with your keyboard. The only chrome in the app appears when you hover your mouse up at the top; there's a button for going home and a button for …

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RCS on the iPhone is almost the solution to our green-bubble nightmare

2024-07-16T08:05:00-04:00

The photos aren't blurry! As a longtime iPhone user married to a longtime Android user, I've spent years sending and receiving photos that come through both postage-stamp small and about as sharp as a pointillist painting. But a few minutes after I installed the iOS 18 beta on my iPhone 15 Pro, I asked Anna to send me a photo, and what came through was the blissfully high-res photo I'd hoped for. That, right there, is what I call an upgrade.

RCS support is just one of the new things coming in iOS 18, of course. At WWDC a few weeks ago, Apple talked a lot about homescreen customization, improvements to Siri, a revamped Photos app, and more. …

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Apple is finally embracing Android’s chaos

2024-07-16T07:00:00-04:00

For years, I've kept a pretty spare iOS homescreen. Two or three rows of icons on the top of the screen, sometimes arranged in such a way that the app icon colors complement each other, and three apps in the dock. Because of Apple's resistance to letting its users muck with the homescreen's look and feel, I haven't been able to make things quite as simple as I would like.

I've looked at more customizable Android homescreens with jealousy. I've had an iPhone since the day the first one came out, and while Apple's smartphones have since become wildly more powerful, capable, and larger, the company has forced me to organize my apps starting fr …

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iOS 18 might help you rescue photos you thought were gone forever

2024-07-15T19:30:36-04:00

Apple's next major iOS, iPadOS, and macOS updates will add a new "Recovered" album in the Photos app to help you find photos and videos on your device that may have been lost or damaged, according to 9to5Mac.

When you update to iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, your device will scan for potential photos or videos that could appear in the Recovered album, 9to5Mac reports. If there are, the Recovered album will show up in the Utilities section of the app.

Note that the Recovered album is separate from the Recently Deleted album, where photos you delete are accessible for 30 days before they're deleted permanently. I've asked Apple if pho …

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The watchOS 11 beta slowed me down, in a good way

2024-07-15T16:14:47-04:00

The Modular Ultra face now allows you to have bezels for your training load and vitals.

One thing always irked me about the Apple Watch. Rain or shine, in sickness and in health, it pushed me to close my rings. Never mind if I had covid-19, shin splints, or was mentally in a dark place. It nudged me to be a "better" version of myself, so long as better didn't involve a day off. But with watchOS 11 - the public beta of which arrives today - it feels like my Apple Watch is finally cutting me some slack.

This is largely due to a trio of new features: the new Vitals app, Training Load feature, and the ability to pause your Activity Rings. I waxed lyrical about the latter right after WWDC, but after spending some time with the dev …

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Apple releases public betas for iOS 18, macOS, and more

2024-07-15T16:13:06-04:00

You can now download the public betas for iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, watchOS 11, and tvOS 18. Apple's updated iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating systems will eventually include Apple Intelligence AI features and a better Siri - if you have the right device, that is. For now, the betas will bring less exciting but still useful features to the various Apple devices.

The public iOS 18 beta will bring with it key updates to the way the iPhone software works, including support for RCS messaging and new customization options that let users put apps wherever they want to on the homescreen (finally) or apply a tint to the icons and widgets. It …

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How to install the iOS 18 public betas

2024-07-15T16:13:00-04:00

People with Apple developer accounts have had all the fun with the iOS 18 betas so far, but now that the public betas are out, anyone can try the new features. Setting up the public beta is slightly less involved than setting up the developer beta but just as free. And if you're looking for help with the iPadOS 18 beta, you're in the right place: the setup process is the same.

You should understand what you're getting when you try a beta, though. For one, you won't get all of the new features at once; many of them will come down the road. Also, the fun of trying features early comes with the potential thrill of stability issues and excessiv …

Read the full story at The Verge.