New iOS 18 beta will be the last before the iPhone 16 launches – here’s how to try it

Gearing up for the full release

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Over the last month or so,Applehas released a steady stream of software betas for people to try out, including those foriOS 18,macOS Sequoiaand more. Yet now it looks like we may have had the final update, at least for iOS 18, according to a well-connected reporter.

That news comes from Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, whoposted on X(formerly Twitter) that “the latest iOS 18 seed, I’m told, is final other than features tied to the new hardware.”

It’s an interesting suggestion, as the latest iOS 18 beta is still missing a lot of features – particularly those surroundingApple Intelligence, Apple’s upcoming artificial intelligence (AI) platform. Gurman has previously hinted that some of these missing features might not appear untilafter iOS 18 gets released– or perhapsnot even until 2025.

However, there’s plenty of interesting new additions to try out in the betas. In iOS 18, theControl Center has been redesigned,Safarican highlight and summarize web page content, there’s anew Passwords appfor all your logins, and a whole lot more.

How to download the iOS 18 beta

If you want todownload the latest iOS 18 beta, you’ll first need to sign up to Apple’sBeta Software Programon its website and follow the on-screen instructions to enroll your iOS device.

Once you’ve done that, open the Settings app and go to General > Software Update > Beta Updates and choose iOS 18 Public Beta from the list. Your iPhone should then tell you if there’s an update to be downloaded, which you will subsequently be able to install.

If this really is the final iOS 18 beta update before the full version of the software drops, it suggests that Apple is almost ready to launch iOS 18 in full. And that in turn implies that theiPhone 16launch event is only just around the corner.

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For a while now, it’s been assumed that Apple will hold its iPhone 16 showon September 10. Yet recently, we’ve seensome speculationthat it could actually happen a week earlier – on September 3 – in order to avoid clashing with the U.S. presidential debate that is also scheduled for September 10.

Either way, the idea that Apple has just released its final iOS 18 beta suggests that the iPhone 16 – and everything else Apple plans to unveil at its September event – is more or less imminent. And with that, the full release of iOS 18 will be hot on its heels.

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Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he’s learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That’s all his brain can hold. As well as TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at MacFormat magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.

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