iOS 17 has been out as a pre-release developer beta since early June. Now the beta pool is expanding to more testers with the more accessible iOS 17 public beta.
iOS 17 brings loads of changes to Phone, Messages, and FaceTime as well as a new Journal app and Standby feature for displaying information in landscape mode. iPadOS 17 includes Lock Screen customization, the Health and Journal apps, and much more.
iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 will be available as a developer and public beta through summer and be available to everyone this fall.
Top comment by gpitman
To the people asking if it is safe to use the Beta, the answer is maybe, depends on your willingness to take a chance and how much you need certain apps.
First off, battery life usually goes down with a beta.
Some apps may not work, or work correctly. For me Threads would not allow a picture to attach and the BC Services app not longer works, this is an app to easily access government services in my province and the Canadian government, being very secure app it will only work on release versions of iOS. There is a Moleskin app where the widgets no longer work correctly, but the app is fine.
If you don’t want to take chances, then don’t download the beta.
Finally, if things don’t work don’t blame Apple or app developers, you have been warned.
In previous years, Apple’s public beta program has allowed non-developers to test drive the next major software update before it’s finalized. Apple dropped the $99/year developer membership requirement to install the developer beta this year.
However, Apple’s public beta program offers a less risky route to testing iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. That’s because Apple typically waits to release the public beta version after the developer beta version has been released in the wild.
Apple is also testing pre-release versions of tvOS 17 for Apple TV, watchOS 10 for Apple Watch, macOS Sonoma for Mac, and updates for HomePod and AirPods. For developers, Apple also has a software development kit for preparing apps for visionOS before Vision Pro launches in early 2024.
Learn more about Apple’s public beta program here.
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