Apple seeds second developer betas for iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, & macOS Sequoia 15.1

Apple's second beta track for the fall releases with Apple Intelligence is on its second round, with new builds of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 now available for testing by developers.

The second round of developer betas for iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 exist alongside a concurrent beta for the fall releases. Those consist of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, tvOS 18, macOS Sequoia, watchOS 11, and visionOS 2.

Apple provided the first round of the betas on July 29.

The second iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 build number is 22B5023e, replacing 22B5007p. The second macOS Sequoia 15.1 build number is 24B5024e, up from 24B5009l.

The main difference between the 18.1 and 18 versions is Apple Intelligence, the Cupertino giant's push into offering generative AI and machine learning to its users. Only some of the features are available in this version for testing.

What has surfaced included a new Siri animation, Type to Siri, a better understanding of queries and contextual awareness, product knowledge, and a swathe of writing tools.

For the fifth developer beta of iOS 18, Apple introduced Distraction Control, a feature for Safari that removes unwanted elements from webpages. It also made changes to the Photos app, updating the UI to remove the Carousel among other alterations.

While it is too early to tell, it is highly likely that Apple incorporated these changes from the iOS 18 beta to the 18.1 variants.

AppleInsider and Apple strongly recommend that users avoid installing test operating systems or other beta or RC software on "mission-critical" or primary devices, as there is the small chance of issues that could result in the loss of data. Testers should instead use secondary or non-essential hardware and ensure they have sufficient backups of their critical data at all times.

Find any changes in the new builds? Reach out to us on Twitter at @AppleInsider or @Andrew_OSU, or send Andrew an email at andrew@AppleInsider.com.