Apple surprised many by releasing the first iOS 13 public beta yesterday following just three weeks of developer beta testing. The first public beta was originally scheduled to release in July. Arrival of the public beta means that those who are not registered as a developer can also get the iOS 13 to try out the new features.
You can easily download the iOS 13 public beta on your iOS device. However, it is recommended that you don’t install it on your main device as it is still quite raw and would have several issues, such as poor battery life, app crashes, app-incompatibility, and plenty of other bugs that may prevent you from using the device normally.
Even Apple warns against the risk of installing public betas, saying, “since the public beta software has not yet been commercially released by Apple, it may contain errors or inaccuracies and may not function as well as commercially released software.”
Apple also advises people not to download beta software on a primary device, but rather on a secondary device that’s not “business critical.” Also, don’t forget to back up your device. After you do the backup, you can follow the steps below to download and install the iOS 13 public beta.
First, make sure that your iOS device is running the latest version of the iOS. If not, then you will have to update your device. Currently, the latest version available is iOS 12.3.1. Also, ensure that your iOS device is capable of running the iOS 13.
Here is the list of iPhones that are capable of running iOS 13: iPhone SE, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR and iPod touch (7th generation).
Now, to get the beta software, you will have to register with Apple (if you haven’t already). To register, visit Apple’s Beta Software Program website. Next, sign into the website with your new credentials. You will land on Apple’s terms and conditions page governing the Beta Software Program.
If you want, you can read all the text and then press the Accept button to continue, or directly scroll down to the bottom and click the Accept button. You will now have to install the configuration profile for the betas on your iOS device.
To install the profile, head to beta.apple.com/profile on your iOS device and download the relevant profile by pressing the Download Profile button. You may be asked to sign-in again to confirm the installation. Now, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.
If you have connected your Apple Watch with your iPhone, during the installation process you may get a prompt asking for the device on which you want to install the profile. Select iPhone if you get any such prompt.
After the installation is done, you will be asked to restart the device. Restart the device and when it is back up head to General > Software Update, and wait for the OTA update for the iOS 13 public beta 1.
Once you get the OTA, download and install it normally. You will now have access to the iOS 13 once the device reboots. The public beta is more or less the same as the second developer beta, suggesting you will be on the same footing as the developers.
Once you download the iOS 13 public beta, these are the features that you will have access to: Dark Mode, Low Data Mode, Robocall silencing, iMessage profiles, Audio Sharing, Redesigned first-party applications, Expanded NFC capabilities, CarPlay updates, improved app-tracking transparency, new Wallpapers and more.
Along with the iOS 13 public beta, Apple also released the iPadOS, macOS Catalina and tvOS 13 public betas. The process to install these other public betas is similar to the iPhone beta. To download the iPadOS public beta you will need an iPad 5th generation or newer, iPad mini 4 or later, iPad Air 2 or later, or any variant of the iPad Pro.
Since 2015, Apple has been allowing general users to participate in testing the upcoming iOS version. By allowing developers and the public early access to the OS, Apple aims to catch more bugs and make the final release much more stable. Apple is expected to come up with the final version of iOS 13 in September.
