Public betas of macOS Catalina, iPad OS, iOS 13, tvOS 13 now available
Apple has started to provide participants of its public beta program with the first builds of four of its milestone operating systems, including iOS 13, iPadOS, tvOS, and macOS Catalina.
The first wave of public beta builds can be picked up from the Apple Beta Software Program website to those signed up to take part in the testing scheme. The public versions usually follow a short time after their developer beta counterparts, though for major releases, not typically after the initial developer builds are issued.
Prior to Monday's release, and AppleInsider's hands on, Apple had already issued two rounds of developer betas, with the most recent being on June 17.
As with other public beta releases from Apple, it is usual to find the contents of the public test version to be functionally similar to that of the most recent developer beta.
Apple is also running developer betas for iOS 12.4, tvOS 12.4, watchOS 5.3, and macOS 10.14.6 at the same time as its milestone variants, with a public release of those betas likely to occur long before the major releases are distributed to users.
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.
Find any changes in the new betas? Reach out to us on Twitter at @AppleInsider or @Andrew_OSU, or send Andrew an email at [email protected].
The first wave of public beta builds can be picked up from the Apple Beta Software Program website to those signed up to take part in the testing scheme. The public versions usually follow a short time after their developer beta counterparts, though for major releases, not typically after the initial developer builds are issued.
Prior to Monday's release, and AppleInsider's hands on, Apple had already issued two rounds of developer betas, with the most recent being on June 17.
As with other public beta releases from Apple, it is usual to find the contents of the public test version to be functionally similar to that of the most recent developer beta.
Apple is also running developer betas for iOS 12.4, tvOS 12.4, watchOS 5.3, and macOS 10.14.6 at the same time as its milestone variants, with a public release of those betas likely to occur long before the major releases are distributed to users.
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.
Find any changes in the new betas? Reach out to us on Twitter at @AppleInsider or @Andrew_OSU, or send Andrew an email at [email protected].
Comments
Call me a sticker, but I feel that companies should be allowed to choose how they operate if it's legal and ethical. If they want to allow betas (public or otherwise) so that they can more effectivaly weed out bugs before an official launch then I see no reason to force them to stop.
And, as far as user feedback is concerned, Apple also listens to us, poor "public beta testers", because it did with me more than once.
The Dock swipe from bottom has disappeared though 🤨
so, for example, I use an app called AudioTools. With the 13 beta, it crashes as soon as I open it. A friend, with the same iPad Pro 12.9” 2018 tablet, with the same memory, has no problem with that app. I have some different plug-ins from him. Also, different apps. So why is this happening? Something, somewhere is interfering with some API or framework on mine that isn’t on his. Either Apple or the developer will have to figure this out.
but, Apple does recommend that you not use a beta on a machine that’s critical to your workflow, or personal life. In fact, it’s always good practice to wait a week after the final release comes out before installing it, because as we all know, even final releases somehow can have some debilitating bug that no one saw. I know, someone reading this will whine that they want all the new features NOW, and how dare I suggest otherwise. But it’s a choice. I’m running the betas on my tablets because I have tablets from a year earlier that I can alway use if a problem that makes the machine unusable comes up before Apple fixes the problem.
but I don’t install it on my iPhone, because I only have one of those, and if it goes, it’s a problem.
It does seem like there is more of these non-standard bugs than in decades past, but perhaps that is what happens when you support so many old devices with such complex code with countless features.
Anecdotally speaking, these YoY updates are considerably more stable then when they only offered a macOS updates once every several years for $129.
Mostly.
The only problem I've come across is that the Google Home-app doesn't work right: https://support.google.com/chromecast/thread/8695742?hl=en&dark=1