Apple has now released the third public beta version of iOS 18.
The latest iOS 18 public beta brings improvements to the big overhaul of the Photos app, like the removal of the carousel, and a new feature in Safari, nicknamed “Thanos snap” because of its design, that lets you remove distractions, such as advertisements and videos, from websites in your web browser.
It’s simple to download and install iOS 18. All you have to do is sign up for Apple’s Beta software program website and you’ll be on your way to becoming a beta tester from the comfort of your couch.
You’re probably aware that the iOS 18 beta has been available to developers since June. However, not everyone wants to run the developer beta because, well, it’s for developers and is usually less stable than a public beta. Ultimately, both betas aren’t as stable as the general release of iOS 18, but that won’t drop until the fall, and you might not want to wait until then to try iOS 18.
Read more: iOS 18 Beta Cheat Sheet: All Your iPhone Update Questions Answered
iOS 18 brings several key new features and tweaks to iPhone, including a completely redesigned photo album, satellite text messaging, a dedicated password app, better customization for your home screen, a new Control Center revamped and support for RCS messages.
Here’s everything you need to know about downloading the iOS 18 public beta on your iPhone.
Look at this: iOS 18: My 5 favorite features
First, does your iPhone support iOS 18?
Except from Apple Intelligencewhich will be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max when it’s released later this year and next year, iOS 18 runs on a wide range of iPhone models since 2018. Here’s the full list of iPhones that support iOS 18:
The iPhone 16, expected to be unveiled later this year, will run iOS 18 out of the box.
Then, a warning…
A public beta is usually more stable than a developer beta — but it’s still a beta, which means you can deal with bugs and other critical issues that could negatively affect your phone. If you have a spare iPhone in your drawer somewhere, use it to run any beta version of iOS 18, whether it’s the developer version or the public version.
However, in my personal experience, it’s usually best to run a public beta on your main phone. You might run into a bug here and there, maybe a function in a third-party app doesn’t work exactly as intended because it’s obviously not yet optimized for any beta iOS software. But it’s never crippling, just maybe a little annoying, and if you don’t mind, running the iOS 18 public beta on the iPhone you use every day shouldn’t be a big deal.
Also, before you consider updating to iOS 18, first update to the latest version of iOS 17 (currently 17.5.1) and then backup your device. go to SETTINGS > your name > iCloud > iCloud backup and hit Book now.
If you don’t have enough cloud space for a backup, use your computer.
How to download iOS 18 public beta on your iPhone
Now that you’ve backed up your phone, you can download the iOS 18 public beta. Here’s what you need to do:
1. On your iPhone, go to the Apple Beta Software Program website and sign up (if you’re already a member) or sign up for the program. Of course, you need an Apple ID. If you are registering for the first time, follow the instructions.
2. Next, tap on the iOS tab and you should see more information about the iOS 18 public beta.
3. Under Get Started, hit blue register your iOS device connection.
4. Now go to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates and select iOS 18 public beta to install.
5. Finally, go to Settings > General > Software Update and install the iOS 18 public beta.
iOS 18 public beta download is over the air.
After your phone reboots, you should be running the first public beta of iOS 18.