The first public betas of Apple’s next-generation low-level operating systems are released today – Ars Technica

Apple is officially releasing the first public betas of iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and macOS 14 Sonoma today, just over a month after releasing the first developer betas at its Worldwide Developers Conference.

While it’s not quite as landmark as it was in years past – developer betas are now available to anyone who signs up for a free Apple developer account, and the versions released today are basically identical to the third developer beta Apple released last week – the trial period indicates Generally speaking, Apple’s latest operating systems are close to the level of stability and polish needed for a public release.

To get the new iOS or macOS beta, first sign up at Apple public beta program with your Apple ID. Then, on a compatible device, go to the Software Update page in Settings and sign up for the beta of your choice (there’s also a separate beta track available for those who continue to test iOS 16 and macOS 13 updates). As always, you should make sure you have current backups before upgrading, and don’t install trial software on any devices you rely on on a daily basis because the only way to go back to non-trial software is Full reset in recovery mode.

The iOS 17 update will run on iPhone XS, iPhone XR, or later. The iPadOS 17 update requires an iPad 6th generation or later, iPad mini 5th generation or later, iPad Air 3rd generation or later, or iPad Pro 2nd generation or later. The macOS Sonoma Update generally requires an Intel or Apple Silicon Mac in 2018 or later. WatchOS 10 and tvOS 17 will run on any watchOS 9 or tvOS 16 compatible devices.

For those who have installed the beta, expect a relatively light year for major new features as Apple directs more of its development efforts into VisionOS and new developer tools for the upcoming Vision Pro headset.

All OS updates include improved autocorrect, new iMessage and AirDrop features, separate profiles for Safari, an improved Private Browsing feature, and the removal of the word “Hey” from the “Hey Siri” activation phrase. The iOS update includes a new smart always-on display mode called StandBy when your phone is plugged in and charging on a stand. iOS and iPadOS are also getting a new journaling app called Journal. The iPad will get the customizable lock screen features Apple introduced in iOS 16 last year, Sonoma includes redesigned desktop widgets and the ability to sync iPhone widgets with your Mac, as well as a new “Game Mode” and widgets to help developers port Their Windows is as easy as playing games on your Mac.

Some features that are available in betas may not be available in the first “official” release of operating systems this fall, and some previously announced features won’t be available in betas yet. At this point, it’s common for Apple to keep a few of the announced features back for a later OS update, giving the company more time to work on them without disrupting the release of the rest of the OS. The Freeform collaborative app, for example, was announced at WWDC in the summer of 2022 but wasn’t added to the operating system until December 2022, several months after the initial releases of iOS 16 and macOS 13 Ventura.

Based on past years, we expect iOS 17 to roll out with Apple’s next-generation iPhones in September. The macOS update is likely to be released in October, and iPadOS could be released in either September or October, depending on how advanced it is (Apple delayed the release of iPadOS 16 last year, and the first publicly available version was actually iPadOS 16.1).