Malcolm Owen
Apple is continuing to shake down Apple Intelligence in the developer betas, with fifth builds of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 now available alongside second builds of visionOS 2.1, tvOS 18.1, and watchOS 11.1.
With the iPhone 16 now out, the pressure is on for Apple to deliver Apple Intelligence to end users. In another round of betas, Apple is trying to make sure everyone gets a great experience once the updates officially release and let customers actually play around with the features.
The fifth developer betas of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1, as well as the second builds of visionOS 2.1, tvOS 18.1, and watchOS 11.1, arrive after the respective fourth builds and first builds, which Apple introduced on September 17.
The difference in build counts can be put down to Aple continuing to beta test tvOS 18, watchOS 11, and visionOS 2 at the same time as the Apple Intelligence-infused iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.
The new iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 build numbers are is 22B5045g and 22B5045h, replacing 22B5045g, while macOS Sequoia has moved on to build 24B5046f. Apple's tvOS 18.1 beta moves to 22J5543e, watchOS 11.1 is on build 22R5545g, and visionOS 2.1 gets to 22N5548d.
The main difference between the 18.1 and 18 operating system versions is Apple Intelligence, which includes generative AI and machine learning features. Not all Apple Intelligence features will be available when it is eventually released.
Early Apple Intelligence features that appeared included a new Siri animation, Type to Siri, a better understanding of queries and contextual awareness, product knowledge, and a swathe of writing tools.
The third developer beta brought with it Clean Up for Photos, which lets users remove unwanted elements from images.
AppleInsider and Apple strongly advise that users do not install test operating systems or other beta or RC software onto "mission-critical" or primary hardware, due to the small chance of issues that could result in the loss of data. Testers should therefore use secondary or non-essential devices and make sure they have sufficient backups of any critical data.
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.
Wesley Hilliard
Christine McKee
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
6 Comments
It’s surprisingly good at filling in missing data as long as it’s not too much it needs to perform AI magic on. I’ve been thoroughly impressed; it seems to be better on my 16 Pro Max.
This is how I installed it on my macOS, (this is not for how you should, just how I did) LOL:
I had to change from the Developer Beta 15.1 installs back to regular Developer Beta Installs, then after so quit SysSettings reopens the Beta showed up, and picked up from Beta 4 to Beta 5.
This is how I installed it on my iOS, (this is not for how you should, again just how I did):
I just went to SysSettings got a "try again" error, and just rebooted, took some time to show the update but eventually came up with just the regular Developer Beta Installs, and picked up from Beta 4 to Beta 5.
Laters,
2¢
2 HomePod minis bricked after trying to install software 18.1 beta 5.
Cannot restore them - the light goes white, then red, then vanishes instead of continuing with 3 audio beeps - they don't even show up as USB devices in System Info on my Mac.
Had 18.1 beta on my HomePod minis because I updated to 18.0 a few days early (because travel) and mistakenly validated updating to the previous 18.1 beta.Update - I could restore them to software 18.0 using Apple Configurator.
I've encountered far fewer beta issues when subscribing to the Public beta releases even when I have access to the Dev betas. It's leading edge (Public) versus bleeding edge (Dev).
But stuff still happens in the release channel. I've run into a couple of minor or fixed-by-rebooting (FBR) issues and even some regressions with the iOS 18.0 release build. There are so many moving parts that something is going to break. Let's see what happens when Apple Intelligence lands on a boatload of unsuspecting customers.
MacOS Firewall still badly broken in 15.1-Beta 4