iOS 18 Beta 5 & iPadOS 18 Beta 5 Released for Testing

iOS 18 beta 5 and iPadOS 18 beta 5 are now available for testing. The beta 5 updates are currently available to registered developer beta testers. Usually a public beta with the same build will arrive soon after a developer beta is released, which in this case would be versioned as public beta 3.

iOS 18 for iPhone and iPadOS 18 for iPad both include a multitude of new features and capabilities, including a new Passwords app, dark mode icons and widget options, color tinting for icons and widgets, customizations to Control Center, a redesigned Photos app, Apple Intelligence AI features, Calculator app for iPad, and many other smaller features and changes including additions to Notes and Safari, and much more.

The latest beta 5 updates include some changes to the confusingly redesigned Photos app on iPhone and iPad, and also includes a new Distraction Control feature in Safari that lets you hide annoying on-page elements that encumber many modern websites, like mailing list pop-ups and obnoxious stuff that overlays content.

Separately, macOS Sequoia beta 5, tvOS 18 beta 5, watchOS 11 beta 5, and visionOS 2 beta 5 are also available for beta testers.

How to Download & Install iOS 18 Beta 5 and iPadOS 18 Beta 5

Don’t forget to backup to iCloud before starting any software update, beta included:

1. Open the “Settings” app on your iPhone or iPad that is currently running iOS 18 beta
2. Go to “General”
3. Go to “Software Update”
4. Choose “Update Now” to download and install iOS 18 beta 5 or iPadOS 18 beta 5 on your device

The beta 5 update is larger than the last beta update, so it make take a little longer to download and install onto your device.

Developer beta builds are intended for developers, but just like the public beta, they are free to access and install for anyone who is curious. It’s important to remember that beta system software is buggy and typically does not perform as well as final versions, making the beta testing of operating systems really only suitable for advanced users. If you’re interested in beta testing, you can install iOS 18 beta on iPhone or install iPadOS 18 beta on iPad rather easily.

Outside of the beta track, the latest final versions of system software for Apple devices are currently iOS 17.6, iPadOS 17.6, macOS Sonoma 14.6, watchOS 10.6, and tvOS 17.6.

The final version of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 will be released this fall, according to Apple.