Apple’s Second Wave of Betas Arrive for iOS 18 and the Gang
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As predicted last week, Apple has just pushed out its second round of developer betas for iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11, tvOS 18, and macOS 15 Sequoia.
These developer betas remain in the early stages; as the “developer” moniker suggests, they’re intended solely for test devices dedicated to software development and not on everyday production devices. However, as with last year’s iOS 17 developer betas, they’re available to anyone who signs up for a free Apple Developer account, not merely those who pay $99/year for the full Apple Developer Program membership.
That doesn’t mean you should rush out and install any of them, as they’re still pretty much guaranteed to have early bugs and instability issues, not the least of which will be exasperatingly poor battery life. However, the second release gets us closer to the public betas that will arrive next month, polishing things up a bit, fixing some bugs, and adding at least two significant new features into the mix.
What’s New in iOS 18 Developer Beta 2
While not all of the promised iOS 18 features are here yet — Apple Intelligence isn’t coming until later this summer, for example — the latest iOS, iPadOS, and macOS Sequoia betas deliver two other features Apple highlighted during its keynote: iPhone Mirroring and SharePlay screen sharing.
Last week, Apple told The Verge that we could expect both of these features to appear in today’s betas, although you’ll need to have the latest betas installed on both ends of the connection.
In the case of iPhone Mirroring, that’s a Mac running macOS Sequoia beta 2 and an iPhone running iOS 18 beta 2. SharePlay screen sharing can work across two iPhones or iPads as long as they’re both running iOS/iPadOS 18 beta 2.
According to Apple’s developer release notes, iPhone Mirroring isn’t fully baked yet, so expect a few bugs. Notably, Universal Clipboard and keyboard input might not work in all cases, and it may still be possible to launch locked apps while using iPhone mirroring. These will naturally be fixed in later betas.
The second iOS 18 beta also makes some improvements to the Journaling Suggestions features. Introduced in iOS 17.2 and expanded in iOS 18, the second beta will allow them to work in Landscape mode and offer “Reflection prompts.” There’s also support in the new beta for picking up State of Mind information logged in the Health app, tracking running and walking sessions from the iPhone (rather than just the Apple Watch), media played in compatible third-party apps, and people and pet names from the Photos app.
Additionally, FaceTime can now use more data even in low data mode to improve quality when network conditions are suitable. Headphone Accommodations can be configured on macOS Sequoia and transition seamlessly to your iPhone or iPad. Messages via satellite should also now work in the US, although SMS messaging via satellite is currently only available “on select carriers.”
Along the same lines, an RCS option will now appear for at least some supported carriers, although that’s not likely the complete list of carriers where it will be available. Some hidden hacks could be used to enable RCS support in iOS 18 beta 1, but it appears that beta 2 will allow some folks to switch it on more easily.
The new betas are available for download from the respective software update sections for registered developers, but they’re still not for the faint of heart. We recommend most folks wait until at least next month when the first public beta will be available or until September when Apple releases iOS 18 et al to the public.
