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 Roundups: iOS 16, iPadOS 16
Related Forum: iOS 16

Top Rated Comments

jonnyb098 Avatar
14 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
14 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
14 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
14 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
14 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
14 months ago
This honestly isn't anything exciting. We still know nothing about the actual update.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)