The seventh developer beta of iOS 18 may be the same build that iPhone owners will upgrade to, as it is apparently finalized for features for current-generation models.
A render of the iPhone 16
Apple's lengthy list of features and changes it is bringing to the iPhone in iOS 18 has gradually been added to it as the beta process rolls on. However, Tuesday's beta of iOS 18 may be the last with any material feature changes at all.
In an X post after Apple issued the seventh developer beta round of its fall operating systems, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg advised of the milestone development. "The latest iOS 18 seed, I'm told, is final other than features tied to the new hardware," he posted.
In effect, Gurman claims that if there are more betas of iOS 18 and others, that they shouldn't really contain any features that apply to already-released devices. At most, they will include performance improvements and bug fixes as pre-launch preparation.
This will not stop Apple from working on other feature changes that rely on hardware elements coming in with the iPhone 16 and other hardware. Indeed, it's possible that code references to these features could appear in betas, providing hints on what's on the way within the coming weeks.
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Max are expected to have changes including new chips and potentially a 48MP camera upgrade, among other changes.
While iOS 18 may not get more features, developers are still able to try out more inbound alterations via Apple's second developer beta track. The iOS 18.1 update is being put through its paces, with it including a number of features from the Apple Intelligence push.