iOS 16 Public Beta Could Be Delayed This Year: Gurman

BY Chandraveer Mathur

Published 16 May 2022

iOS 16 hero

Today, Apple finally released the stable builds of iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5, packing over 30 security fixes and minor feature improvements. While we eagerly anticipate the arrival of the first iOS 16 beta builds in the coming weeks, the rumor mill has some disappointing news.

It is no secret that Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2022 is right around the corner. The company has even sent out invites to some developers who will be allowed to attend the event in person at Apple Park. Usually, the iPhone maker discusses upcoming software changes at this developer-centric event, and the forthcoming build of iOS hogs a significant amount of time during the presentation.

The first beta build of iOS 16 should be released at the event in July. Typically, the first public beta build is released alongside the second developer beta. However, reputed journalist Mark Gurman believes the beta build release schedule could be slightly different this year. He says the first iOS 16 public beta will debut alongside the third developer beta because internal builds are “a bit buggy.” So, Apple engineers could require additional time to iron out issues and ensure basic stability before rolling out the first public beta build.

Previous rumors suggest iOS 16 will be a substantial upgrade over its predecessor. Gurman previously said iOS 16 could bring additional settings to the Focus modes and iCloud Private Relay introduced in iOS 15.

Without undermining the credibility of Gurman’s sources, it is essential to note that we don’t recommend installing beta software on your everyday workhorse iPhone, iPad, or Mac unless you are a developer. Beta builds are usually fraught with stability issues and bugs. All will be revealed when Apple announces iOS 16 at WWDC 2022 in a few weeks.