First macOS Big Sur, fourth iOS 14 & iPadOS 14 public betas now available
Apple on Thursday released the first public beta of macOS Big Sur and the fourth iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 betas to the public software testing program.
First macOS Big Sur public beta available
While iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 is in its fourth public beta release, this is the first time macOS Big Sur has been available to the public. Sign up for the Apple Beta Software Program on the website.
The latest iOS and iPadOS updates include new widgets for the TV app and the return of the Weather widget. Exposure notification also gets its own menu in the Settings app.
The macOS Big Sur public beta should reflect the same build as the fourth developer beta released on Wednesday. The biggest changes in macOS are in its design, with rounded windows and more transparency throughout. This beta also enables 4K playback of YouTube videos for the first time when using Safari.
Apple has not released the public beta for watchOS 7 yet.
AppleInsider, and Apple itself, strongly recommend users don't install the betas on to "mission-critical" or primary devices, as there is the remote possibility of data loss or other issues. Instead, testers should install betas onto secondary or non-essential devices, and to make sure there are sufficient backups of important data before updating.
First macOS Big Sur public beta available
While iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 is in its fourth public beta release, this is the first time macOS Big Sur has been available to the public. Sign up for the Apple Beta Software Program on the website.
The latest iOS and iPadOS updates include new widgets for the TV app and the return of the Weather widget. Exposure notification also gets its own menu in the Settings app.
The macOS Big Sur public beta should reflect the same build as the fourth developer beta released on Wednesday. The biggest changes in macOS are in its design, with rounded windows and more transparency throughout. This beta also enables 4K playback of YouTube videos for the first time when using Safari.
Apple has not released the public beta for watchOS 7 yet.
AppleInsider, and Apple itself, strongly recommend users don't install the betas on to "mission-critical" or primary devices, as there is the remote possibility of data loss or other issues. Instead, testers should install betas onto secondary or non-essential devices, and to make sure there are sufficient backups of important data before updating.
Comments
Update...
Preparing update took over one hour. The file for my iPad (6th gen) was less than 500 mb.
Now installation is dragging along-10 minutes and counting now.
Update 2...
Bar completed and then screen flashed and now bar starts again. Finally finished after 15 minutes.
Might try again a bit later in the day. Damn, was looking forward to having a play over the weekend.
Widgets
Known Issues
All widgets must be rebuilt using the iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 4 SDK and won't run on previous versions of iOS & iPadOS 14 beta. (65290210)
Some widgets might appear blank after updating to iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 4. (65989369)
Workaround: Remove the affected widgets and then add them again.
When set to My Location, the Weather widget might display weather for a different location. (65733006)
The weather widget might take longer than expected to display data. (66014597)
Some widgets might disappear from your Home Screen after updating to iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2 or later. (64823469)
Workaround: Add the missing widgets back to your Home Screen.
Fonts size currently doesn't adjust automatically for different device sizes. (60348216)
Widgets aren't blocked for Screen Time when their parent app is blocked. (60747373)
WidgetKit extensions can continue to access location services for up to 15 minutes after being viewed if their app has been granted While Using the App location access. (62888317)
You can't resize an existing widget. (63500799)
Workaround: Remove the widget and re-add it at the desired size.
You might need to reconfigure your widgets after updating to iOS & iPadOS 14 Beta 3 or later. (65485709)
Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 4
The Quick Actions menu no longer appears behind the widget overlay. (64456466)
The conditions displayed in the Weather widget now match the conditions displayed in the Weather app. (64948860)
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modifier applied automatically. (65040472)When indicating a significant change in temperature for the next day, the Weather widget no longer displays temperatures in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. (65061840)