iOS 18 public beta 5 and more now available ahead of September launch

Apple has just released iOS 18 public beta 5 for iPhone, alongside beta 5 for iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and more. Earlier today, the companion developer betas dropped. These new updates are available for all users who are part of Apple’s public beta program. Existing beta users will see the releases in the Software Update section of Settings.

Beta 5 arrives for iPhone users with minimal changes

Public beta 5 focuses largely on bug fixes and performance improvements. Apple is working hard to get iOS 18 and its companion releases ready for their big public launch.

Earlier today, Mark Gurman reported that following today’s betas, iOS 18 is ‘final’—aside from features coming exclusively to the iPhone 16.

Likely this means that iOS 18 is feature complete following today’s betas.

However, it’s hard to identify much in the way of changes even in today’s releases. They should run smoother than before, for one. But noticeable feature updates are minimal compared to the previous beta.

Almost time for iOS 18’s public launch in September

The public release of iOS 18 is only one month away. Apple is expected to host its big iPhone 16 event in early September—possibly on September 10—and it’s there the company will reveal the iOS 18 release date.

With only a few weeks until that public launch, today’s iOS 18 beta 5 is one of the last beta releases to expect.

Beta 5 arrives not long after last week’s beta 4 release. That version introduced a handful of changes, including the following:

• Apple Music renamed its Browse tab to New
• Control Center gained a dedicated Bluetooth control
• App icon tinting became tied to your wallpaper/Lock Screen setups
• Dark mode icons displayed properly in notification banners
• Various Control Center icons were redesigned

Per Gurman, it’s unlikely we’ll see any more changes with future beta releases in the lead-up to September. The goal now is for iOS 18 to become more stable before its September debut, so bug fixes are Apple’s focus rather than new or changed features.

Are you running iOS 18 public beta 5? Let us know of any changes you find via the comments.