Apple issues fifth developer betas of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, tvOS 18, watchOS 11, visionOS 2

Apple releases fifth developers betas for iOS 18 and the rest

The fifth round appears after the fourth round, which was issued on July 23, though Apple did roll out a minor update to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 builds on July 26. A similar thing happened for the third round, as after an initial July 8 introduction for most updates, July 10 for macOS Sequoia, Apple then reissued the betas for iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia on July 15.

Apple is also concurrently running developer betas for its current generation of operating systems, including iOS 17. There’s also a second beta track for the fall operating systems, including iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.

The fifth developer betas of iOS and iPadOS 18 are build number 22A5326f replacing the fourth, 22A5316K. Apple’s fifth tvOS 18 build number is 22J5335d up from the fourth, 22J5424f.

The fifth macOS 15 Sequoia beta is build number 24A5309e, replacing 24A5298h. The fifth watchOS 11 developer beta is 22R5328e taking over from 22R5318h.

The fifth visionOS 2.0 developer beta is build 22N5297g, replacing the fourth, 22N5286g.

New to the fifth round is Distraction Control, a feature for Safari that allows users to remove unwanted elements from a webpage. Changes have also been made to Photos, including the removal of the Carousel view.

The fourth iOS 18 beta included new Control Center changes, more refinement to the flashlight controls, new CarPlay wallpapers, and new background graphical changes.

The second included SharePlay upgrades and iPhone Screen Mirroring, which Apple confirmed days before issuing.

The confirmation was part of Apple’s response to stories that it may abstain from offering Apple Intelligence and other major new operating system features in the European Union, due to Digital Markets Act interoperability mandates.

AppleInsider and Apple strongly recommend that users avoid installing test operating systems or other beta or RC software on “mission-critical” or primary devices, as there is the small chance of issues that could result in the loss of data. Testers should instead use secondary or non-essential hardware and ensure they have sufficient backups of their critical data at all times.