First Public Beta of iOS 16 Expected in July, Will Coincide With Third Developer Beta

Public beta testers will be able to try out the upcoming iOS 16 update starting in July, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The update is reportedly scheduled for release alongside the third developer beta, which is expected to come out after developers have tested the beta software for a few weeks.

iOS 16 mock for feature
In past years, Apple has typically released public betas of next-generation iOS updates alongside the second developer beta, so if Apple is planning on a third developer beta release, the public testing is slated to begin later than usual this year.

Gurman speculates that the public beta could be running behind, and that internal seeds are a "bit buggy" at the current time.


Apple is expected to preview iOS 16 at the Worldwide Developers Conference, with the update seeing an introduction during the keynote event on Monday, June 6. Developers will have the opportunity to download the software directly after the keynote event.

First betas are often riddled with bugs that need to be worked out, which is why Apple goes through a months-long beta testing period before the updates see a public launch in September. Because of the bugs, Apple often recommends that betas be installed on a secondary device rather than a main device.

We know very little about iOS 16 at this time as Apple has kept the update under wraps and there have been few leaks. We are expecting notification updates, Health app improvements, and possibly features like car crash detection.

Gurman also this weekend said that Apple will introduce new ways of system interaction and "fresh Apple apps," but what exactly that means is unclear.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

jonnyb098 Avatar
34 months ago
In other words, water is wet. This is the way its been since public beta program started years ago.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonnyb098 Avatar
34 months ago
Also iOS 15 is still “a bit buggy” after a total of 11 months of development.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pdaholic Avatar
34 months ago
So, ios16 will have “new ways of interacting with the system,” “fresh Apple apps,” and early betas are “a bit buggy.” But, “things are fluid” and none of those may be correct. Thank you, Gurman, what would we do without you.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JCCL Avatar
34 months ago

Here's hoping for some general refinement and stability instead of new features. The Snow Leopard approach.

Some of your apps and features need general bug fixing and improvement, Apple.
Problem is, for a few releases now, iOS releases are missing both new meaningful feature and general refinement. Not sure what. There have been several releases reported to focus on stability but once they're release they are as, if not more, buggy than the preceding one.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LawJolla Avatar
34 months ago
If this is the level of rumors people find interesting, follow my new blog.

First spoiler...

Public beta testers will be able to try out the upcoming iOS 17 update starting in July 2023, according to LawJolla. The update is reportedly scheduled for release alongside the third developer beta, which is expected to come out after developers have tested the beta software for a few weeks.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Paddle1 Avatar
34 months ago
This honestly isn't anything exciting. We still know nothing about the actual update.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)