Apple seeds first public betas of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, tvOS 15, watchOS 8
Wesley HilliardUse Quick Notes in the iPadOS 15 public beta
Apple promised that it would release public betas of its forthcoming operating systems in July, and versions for iOS 15, iPadOS 15, tvOS 15, and watchOS 8 have arrived one day early.
The first public betas should be essentially the same as the second developer beta, which Apple also updated Wednesday. The public builds can be acquired from the Apple Beta Software Program web portal.
The new operating systems were announced during Apple's annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). New features focus on socializing, device customization, and Focus. The second developer beta unlocked SharePlay, a new feature in FaceTime that enables users to share video and music content during a call.
Changes to watchOS 8 include new workouts and better keyboard interactions. Users can also view photos and share them via the share sheet directly from the Apple Watch.
Apple didn't mention tvOS during its WWDC keynote, but it did add new screensavers and support for SharePlay in the tvOS 15 update. There is also a new package detection feature for HomeKit cameras that will show up as a notification on Apple TV.
Many new aspects of the updates will not be available until the official release in the fall. Developers will need to build their apps to target new APIs and other changes throughout the operating systems.
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.
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