Well, that was unexpected. Apple released the fifth iteration of the iOS 12 public beta on Monday, August 6, just hours after iOS 12 developer beta 6. The company sometimes releases developer and public betas on the same date, sometimes even at the same time, but has not done so during iOS 12's beta period until now.
Users won't find many new features when updating to iOS 12 public beta 5, however, there are some new changes to look out for. Aside from a small list of resolved bugs, Apple has removed the "waves" wallpaper that accompanied iPhones since iOS 10 but also included three new colored wallpapers to choose from in the Home app. Testers might even notice a new AirPlay icon on the lock screen, as well as a splash screen introducing new music video features in the Music app.
These are far from all the changes users will see when updating their iPhones, and not all for the better. For a complete list of all official updates in public beta 5, check out our dev beta 6 guide, which is the same as public beta 5.
To update your iPhone to iOS 12 public beta 5, you need to be a public tester with a valid configuration profile. If you have iOS 12's new "Automatic Updates" enabled, you can let the software update overnight while you sleep. To download the new beta right now, however, open the Settings app, select "General," then "Software Update." Tap "Download and Install," then follow the on-screen prompts to download and install iOS 12 public beta 5.
While iOS 12 is still in beta testing, it already has cemented itself as an essential upgrade from its predecessor, iOS 11. While latter introduced far more features than iOS 12 does, the former blows iOS 11 out of the water regarding performance and user experience. There's a lot to look forward to with Apple's latest iPhone update.
Still, it's not all good news. iOS 12 is still in beta right now, meaning the software is considerably more unstable than the official release is presumed to be. While many see the benefits outweighing the costs with this one, there are plenty of reasons to not download this beta, and instead, wait until Apple issues the official update in September.
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Cover image by Justin Meyers/Gadget Hacks
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