Apple announced iOS 18 at its WWDC developers conference on June 10, releasing the first developer beta of the update immediately after the opening keynote. Two weeks later, Apple released the second beta to developers. And now, another two weeks later, the third developer began rolling out.
So with another iOS 18 beta release, you’d be expecting Beta 4, right? Not this time. Instead, Apple is re-releasing iOS 18 Beta 3 to developers, with an updated version. It remains to be seen what is new or different, but we’re not expecting many changes. Rather, this update is likely to align the build number and other code with the first Public Beta release that we’re expecting.
iOS 18 Beta 3 packs plenty of bug fixes and improvements to the early version of iOS 18, making it more stable to run on devices. Alongside these fixes, there are a few new features included in the update. Most notably, more third-party app icons now support automatic dark mode tinting. The emoji keyboard has changed slightly, with larger emojis in each row. You can now react to iMessages with Memojis in addition to set Tapbacks.
iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 beta 3 are available to download over the air for developers enrolled in the program. We do not recommend installing the software on your main device, as it is still unstable. New betas for tvOS 18, watchOS 11, and visionOS 2 are also now available. We’ll likely see the next developer beta released in another fortnight, which is perhaps when the first public beta will appear.
What else to expect from iOS 18
One of the biggest software updates we’ve ever seen, iOS 18 brings some incredible new features and more customization options to the iPhone than ever before. Later this summer, the iOS 18 beta will add Apple Intelligence, one of the most impressive software additions to Apple devices we’ve ever seen.
For now, unfortunately, still no sign of Apple Intelligence in this beta, not that we were expecting it. Apple’s new AI features aren’t due in the betas until later this summer. Instead, all eyes will be on the two features that have made their debut for the first time. While you’ll have to wait to get your hands on AI, you can try iOS 18 today by downloading the iOS 18 developer beta.
