Apple releases fifth public beta version of iOS 14, iPadOS 14 and tvOS 14

By Mike Peterson

Apple has released the fifth beta of iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and tvOS 14 to members of its public software testing program.

Credit: Apple

The fifth public betas should be essentially the same as the fifth developer beta, which Apple seeded on Tuesday. The builds can be acquired from the Apple Beta Software Program web portal.

Among the changes in iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 beta five are a new onboarding screen for shortcuts, location access permissions for widgets and a fix for a phone call bug in AirPods Pro.

Both iOS and iPadOS 14 make updates to the Home screen and app interface, as well as Messages and Safari, overhauls Siri's interface, adds elements to Maps, adds Sound Recognition alerts, and introducesCarKey, among other changes.

The Apple TV's tvOS 14 adds the Home app to the set-top box, updates HomeKit Secure Video, and makes smaller adjustments to Apple Arcade.

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.