Apple Releases iOS 14.6 Public Beta 2 for iPhone

Apple seeded public testers the second iOS 14.6 beta today, Friday, April 30. The update (build number 18F5055b) comes three hours after Apple released the second 14.6 developer beta, four days after the launch of iOS 14.5, which introduced over 60 new features and changes to iPhone, and eight days after the first 14.6 beta hit developers' iPhones.

Apple released this update at 1 p.m. PDT, the standard release time for public beta updates. The company usually releases public betas three-to-24 hours after releasing that version's developer beta, as we saw earlier today.

Since we already had 14.6 developer beta 2, we know what to expect from public beta 2. Unfortunately, it isn't much. It looks like beta 2 is mostly an under-the-hood update, with minor fixes that most users won't be able to tell for themselves.

iOS & iPadOS 14.6 Beta 2 Release Notes

Overview

• The iOS & iPadOS 14.6 SDK provides support to develop apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices running iOS & iPadOS 14.6 beta 2. The SDK comes bundled with Xcode 12.5, available from the Mac App Store. For information on the compatibility requirements for Xcode 12.5, see Xcode 12.5 Release Notes.

Xcode: Deprecations

• Don't use the iOS MinimumOSVersion information property list key to declare the minimum release of macOS in which your app runs. Use LSMinimumSystemVersion instead. (73890473)
• Future releases of macOS ignore the MinimumOSVersion key in Mac apps, including apps built with Mac Catalyst.
• Future releases of macOS use the LSMinimumSystemVersion key in iOS apps built with Xcode 12.5 or later. If an iOS app doesn't include an LSMinimumSystemVersion key, future releases of macOS compare the app's MinimumOSVersion with the version of its Mac Catalyst runtime to determine compatibility.

How to Install the Latest iOS 14.6 Beta

To update your iPhone to iOS 14.6 public beta 2, sign up through Apple's beta site, download and install the configuration profile, then update over the air. If you already have the profile, go to Settings –> General –> Software Update, then tap "iOS 14.6" under "Also Available" to begin the installation of the latest beta build, or you can wait until it installs automatically if "Automatic Updates" is enabled.

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Cover image by Mark Spurrell/YouTube; screenshots by Jake Peterson/Gadget Hacks