Apple held the opening keynote of its Worldwide Developer Conference 2022 on Monday. The Apple brand took the opportunity to announce the launch of iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS Ventura and WatchOS 9, its new operating systems. for iPhone, iPad, Macbook and Apple Watch. These software updates include a long list of new features and improvements, from the ability to edit or delete sent messages in iMessage to external monitor support for M1 iPads.
As usual, Apple released the first developer beta of the unfinished operating systems so app makers can start integrating the new APIs and features into their own apps.
Anyone with a paid developer account will have access to the beta version(s) and can install the update(s) on a compatible device with just a few clicks. And even if you don’t have a paid developer account, Apple says the public beta of all of its updates announced on Monday will launch next month, giving everyone access to the updates.
Patience !
One of the reasons Apple’s beta program usually runs from June to September is that it hasn’t ended. And when a software is not completed, several issues may appear as users install the update. Some of these bugs can, and often do, make it very difficult to use your iPhone or iPad for basic tasks.
Even though these are not that frequent, it is certain that you will encounter compatibility issues with the applications that you use on a daily basis. Since these apps haven’t been updated to work with the latest software (and likely won’t be until it’s released in the fall), some of them just won’t work. Granted, a forced shutdown of Twitter isn’t the worst thing that can happen, but it can be really frustrating when an app you use and rely on daily doesn’t work because you installed a beta version.
If the risk doesn’t scare you, maybe the battery life will. Indeed, the battery life during the beta program is absolutely horrible. If you’re used to spending a full day with your iPhone running iOS 15, expect it to be cut in half. On a good day. To make matters worse, just because an app, feature, or battery life is good on a specific beta doesn’t mean a future update will break something you need.
If you want advice, wait until the end of the beta cycle, around the end of July or mid-August, before taking the plunge. This amount of time will allow Apple to collect and implement feedback from the most die-hard users who are willing to spend time resolving issues and submitting feedback. Especially since you won’t be able to go back to iOS 15 and keep all the information on your device intact. Unless, of course, you created a local backup of your iPhone or iPad before updating to iOS 16.
If you forgot to create a local backup on your Mac and thought you could use iCloud to restore your phone, you won’t be able to restore an iCloud backup created in iOS 16 to an iOS 15 device. In other words, you will need to reset your device and start all over to get back to an official version of iOS/iPadOS.
How to install iOS 16 or iPadOS 16?
If you insist on participating in the beta program, here’s what you need to install the developer beta on your iPhone or iPad. First, you need to sign up for Apple’s paid developer program. The cost of the program is around $100 per year, which gives you early access to software updates and documentation. You can sign up for the program on the web or use the Apple Developer app.
Before anything else, be sure to create a backup of your iPhone or iPad on a computer. To facilitate restoration in the future, be sure to create an encrypted backup. Once you’ve signed up for a developer account and backed up your device, visit the Downloads page on the developers’ website. There you will find the appropriate developer beta profiles for iOS 15.6 and iOS 16.
You need to install the developer beta profile on the specific device you want to install the beta on, so I recommend visiting the Downloads page on that device to speed up the process.
Lots of devices affected
After installing the developer profile, follow the instructions on your iPad or iPhone. You’ll need to restart your device, then go to Settings > General > Software Update to download and install the update as you would an official update.
Here are all the iPhone models you can install iOS 16 on: iPhone 13; iPhone 13 mini; iPhone 13 Pro; iPhone 13 Pro Max; iPhone 12; iPhone 12 mini; iPhone 12 Pro; iPhone 12 Pro Max; iPhone 11; iPhone 11 Pro; iPhone 11 Pro Max; iPhone XS; iPhone XS Max; iPhone XR; iPhone X; iPhone 8; iPhone 8 Plus; iPhone SE (2nd generation or later).
And here are all the iPad models that will work on iPadOS 16: iPad Pro (all models); iPad Air (3rd generation and later); iPad (5th generation and later); iPad mini (5th generation and later).
Note that Stage Manager and external monitor support requires an iPad that uses Apple’s M1 processor. This means that the current generation iPad Pro and the iPad Air are the only two models that have access to this feature.
Source: ZDNet.com