Apple Seeds New iOS 12.1.3 Beta to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available]

Apple today seeded a new beta of an upcoming iOS 12.1.3 update to developers, just a few days releasing iOS 12.1.2, an update that focused on bug fixes for the eSIM feature and changed certain iPhone features in China after a Chinese court found that some iPhones infringe on Qualcomm patents.

Registered developers can download the new iOS 12.1.3 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.

ios12banner
The iOS 12.1.3 beta actually includes the same content that was destined for the iOS 12.1.2 beta, and it appears to be labeled as a second beta rather than a first beta. When Apple released iOS 12.1.2, it featured a build number of 16C101, while the first iOS 12.1.2 beta released for developers had a later 16D build number.

Apple appears to have tweaked iOS 12.1.2 to include some emergency bug fixes and the aforementioned software changes in China, rushing the update out and pushing content originally planned for iOS 12.1.2 to iOS 12.1.3 instead.

Apple was forced to push iOS 12.1.2 out earlier than expected after a Chinese court decided on December 10 that Apple's iPhone 6s through iPhone X infringed on two Qualcomm patents related to resizing and reformatting photos for wallpaper and the app switcher.

The court enacted a preliminary sales ban on the iPhone, leading Apple to make tweaks to the iOS software in China. Apple changed the way apps close when you swipe up on an open app from the app switcher, and it tweaked the share sheet interaction for setting contact and wallpaper images.

Apple has not stopped selling its iPhones in China, despite protests from Qualcomm, and it has said that it is in compliance with the court's preliminary order.

iOS 12.1.3 will mark the fourth update to iOS 12. We don't yet know what features are included, and no major changes were found in the original iOS 12.1.2 beta that was the precursor to iOS 12.1.3. As a 12.x.x update, iOS 12.1.3 likely focuses on minor changes, bug fixes, and operating system tweaks.

If we find anything new in the iOS 12.1.3 beta, we'll update this post.

Update: Apple has made the new beta of iOS 12.1.3 available to public beta testers.

Related Forum: iOS 12

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
iphone 17 dummies sonny dickson

iPhone 17 Air Almost as Thin as Its Buttons, New Images Show

Thursday April 24, 2025 2:14 am PDT by
If you missed the video showing dummy models of Apple's all-new super thin iPhone 17 Air that's expected later this year, Sonny Dickson this morning shared some further images of the device in close alignment with the other dummy models in the iPhone 17 lineup, indicating just how thin it is likely to be in comparison. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be around 5.5mm thick – with a thicker ...
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...

Top Rated Comments

C DM Avatar
83 months ago
iOS 13 must be good cos iOS 12 is such a boring release
At the same time "boring" usually means more stable and better overall.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
83 months ago
why they call it “Beta 2”
It’s the second beta of what was 12.1.2 before 12.1.2 got renumbered to 12.1.3 due to the emergency 12.1.2 release yesterday
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
smulji Avatar
83 months ago
With iOS 12 being a "Snow Leopard"-ish iOS release, with some tentpole features but focused mostly on improving performance and stability, I wonder if we will get any major new features on 12.2 or 12.3 releases.
I doubt it. All the more reason to expect iOS 13 to be a very big release
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dan9700 Avatar
83 months ago
I doubt it. All the more reason to expect iOS 13 to be a very big release
iOS 13 must be good cos iOS 12 is such a boring release
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nutmac Avatar
83 months ago
With iOS 12 being a "Snow Leopard"-ish iOS release, with some tentpole features but focused mostly on improving performance and stability, I wonder if we will get any major new features on 12.2 or 12.3 releases.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I7guy Avatar
83 months ago
Don't bet your boots! Consider that the iPhone 6, and ESPECIALLY the 6 Plus are constrained more by RAM than CPU performance, and both have the SAME amount of RAM as the 5s (1GB)—and that the ONLY difference between the 5s/6 and the 5 lineage that came before was 64-bit and 32-bit CPU—when goes the 5s the 6 and 6 Plus will undoubtedly follow. (Definitely the 6 Plus; the extra pixels on the 6 Plus with 1GB of RAM was a performance design flaw from Day 1. The 5s is more performant on iOS 12 than a 6 Plus at most tasks.) The 6s and later--including the SE--all have 2GB of RAM, which isn't just "double", because of OS baseline, it comes out to be more like 3x more available memory.
5 years of support unless Apple makes some exceptions. Next year the 5s turns 6, which means unless Apple changes it's policies, the 5s has seen its last update.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)