iOS 12 Public Beta 7 for iPhones Released to Apple Software Testers

Can't say we didn't see this coming — Apple released iOS 12 public beta 7 on Monday, August 20, the same day it seeded the ninth version of the beta to developers. While the two betas may have different names, public beta 7 and dev beta 9 are virtually identical, so public testers shouldn't feel as though they are missing out.

Public beta 7 is a particularly minor update to the sixth beta released last week. Users won't find many new features here, mostly minor bug fixes and security patches instead. Notably, Maps might not display traffic data, and Downtime's start and stop timers might not function correctly if set up before updating to beta 7. See below for all fixes and bugs present in public beta 7.

• Update: iOS 12 Public Beta 8 for iPhone Released to Apple Software Testers

To download the iOS 12 public beta 7 update to your iPhone, you need to be a registered developer with a valid configuration profile. If you have iOS 12's new "Automatic Updates" enabled, you can let the software update overnight. To download the beta right now, however, launch the Settings app, select "General," then "Software Update." Tap "Download and Install," then follow the on-screen prompts to download and install public beta 7.

Resolved Issues

The following are the only two issues fixed in iOS 12 public beta 7:

Localization:

• Certain languages may exhibit clipped or misaligned layout. (40420329)
• Certain languages may display unlocalized text. (40420422)

Known Issues

All the issues you may encounter in public beta 7 — at least the ones designated by Apple — are listed here. Issues new to public beta 7 are presented in bold:

App Store:

• While signed in with a production account and testing with a sandbox account, attempting to fetch a new valid receipt displays a sign-in prompt for the production account with no option for switching to the sandbox account. (42862150) — Workaround: For testing purposes, StoreKit calls such as making a purchase and restoring transactions will fetch a new receipt. Alternatively, sign out of the production account.

CoreGraphics:

• Various CoreGraphics calls have been hardened against continuing with invalid parameters. In iOS 12 beta, these calls may now return NULL or return early. (38344690)

HomeKit:

• Inviting iOS 11 users who have multiple email addresses associated with their Apple ID to a home might not succeed. (41033550) — Workaround: Send the invitation to a different email address or phone number associated with the Apple ID of the iOS 11 user.

Maps:

• Traffic data might not be displayed. (43254370) — Workaround: Tap the 'i' button to reveal Maps Settings and toggle the Traffic switch on.

MediaPlayer Framework:

• When a queueTransaction is performed on applicationQueuePlayer to modify the position of a song, the queue returns unchanged. (39401344)

Phone and FaceTime:

• Group FaceTime has been removed from the initial release of iOS 12 and will ship in a future software update later this fall.
• In iOS 12 beta, Camera Effects in Messages is available only on iPhone SE and iPhone 6s or later and is unavailable on iPad. Camera Effects in FaceTime is available only on iPhone 7 or later and is unavailable on iPad.
• Wi-Fi calls might end unexpectedly when transitioning from Wi-Fi to cellular while on the T-Mobile network. (39251828)

Screen Time:

• The start and stop times for Downtime might change unexpectedly if they were configured prior to installing iOS 12 beta 9. (43393555) — Workaround: Update all devices associated with the iCloud account to iOS 12 beta 9 and reset the start and stop times for Downtime.
• After updating to iOS 12 beta 7 or later, parents should change the Screen Time passcode to prevent children from signing out of iCloud or changing the system time. (42879250)
• "Picked Up Phone" statistics might be inflated due to data syncing from other devices signed into the same iCloud account. (39917173)

Siri:

• While multiple ride-sharing apps are installed, Siri might open the app instead of providing an ETA or location when asked. (42324032) — Workaround: Ask Siri for the ETA or location again.
• Siri Shortcuts might not work if a device is locked. (41307405)
• Siri Suggestions for Shortcuts are enabled on iPhone 6s or later, iPad Pro, iPad (5th generation or later), iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 4. (40669231)

UIKit:

• You might encounter issues with systemLayoutSizeFitting(_:) when using a UICollectionViewCell subclass that requires updateConstraints(). (42138227) — Workaround: Don't call the cell's setNeedsUpdateConstraints() method unless you need to support live constraint changes. If you need to support live constraint changes, call updateConstraintsIfNeeded() before calling systemLayoutSizeFitting(_:).

Wallet & Apple Pay:

• Users might encounter a situation where Apple Pay becomes unavailable. (31989675) — Workaround: Try opening Wallet and using the card again. If the issue persists, restart the device and try again.

Xcode:

• When using Messages in the iOS Simulator, a message might not be delivered from User A to User B. (40916530) — Workaround: Send a message from User B to User A.

While public beta 7 might not present the instability brought by the short-lived dev beta 7, that doesn't mean the beta will be perfect, either. While public beta 7 fixes some issues, there are plenty still left for testers to experience.

That's the nature of betas for you. Still, you might want to know exactly what you'd be getting into by downloading iOS 12 early. After reading through our guide, you might just want to wait until the official build releases next month.

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Cover image by Jake Peterson/Gadget Hacks