Apple today seeded the eighth beta of an upcoming iOS 12 update to developers for testing purposes, just a few days after seeding the seventh beta and more than two months after introducing the new software at the Worldwide Developers Conference.
Registered developers can download the new iOS 12 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air after installing the proper certificate.
iOS 12 beta 8 comes just two days after the release of iOS 12 beta 7, which Apple was ultimately forced to pull a few hours after it was released due to performance issues.
Many people who downloaded the seventh beta reported problems when launching apps, with serious delays between when an app icon was tapped and when the app opened.
Most users said that the delay disappeared after five or 10 minutes of using the iPhone, but it was a serious enough bug that Apple pulled the update until a fix was available, and some users also saw continual delays, crashes, and freezes.
Apple removed the over-the-air update first and then later also pulled the download from the Apple Developer Center. No public beta was released due to the performance issues, but now that an updated beta has launched, a public beta should be available soon.
iOS 12 beta 7 removed the Group FaceTime feature that has been present in iOS 12 since the update was first introduced in June. Apple has decided to delay Group FaceTime for now and reintroduce it in an iOS 12 update set to be released later this fall.
Group FaceTime, one of iOS 12's major new features, is designed to allow users to chat with up to 32 people at once.
Though Group FaceTime will no longer be available when iOS 12 launches, the update will bring Screen Time for monitoring time spent on iOS devices, new Animoji and Memoji, a new Effects camera in Messages and FaceTime, Siri Shortcuts, grouped notifications, and more.
Update: Apple has released a new version of iOS for its public beta testers. iOS 12 Public Beta 6 is identical to the eighth developer beta.
