Apple just released a nice treat for anyone on the public beta channel of iOS: the latest version, iOS 11 public beta 5. We’re still looking at the release notes to work out what’s changed from public beta 4, but you can bet that there’s a little bit of new features, and a whole load of bug changes waiting.
iOS 11 is one of the biggest changes to Apple’s mobile OS in years. Among the changes that everyone will see are a new notifications system, revamped Control Center, tweaks to the Settings, and a long list of UI tweaks. For iPad users, there’s also a completely changed multitasking system that makes the tablet legitimately more useful for work, or some very dedicated play.
In addition to the time-honored developer beta system, Apple is also seeding iOS 11 betas to regular users through the public beta channel. New features generally come a day behind the developers, but the tradeoff is a build that’s noticeably more stable and usable for everyday devices.
Still, even though the public beta isn’t as buggy as the developer preview, it’s not software designed for day-to-day use. You can expect to see app freezes, device crashes, and battery rundowns that are much faster than iOS 10.
If that isn’t enough to scare you off, you can download by making sure you have the public beta profile installed on your iPhone or iPad. Here’s the full list of devices that are compatible with the iOS 11 beta, so you know whether or not you can get in on the action:
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPhone SE
- iPhone 5s
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2nd generation
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro 1st generation
- 10.5-inch iPad Pro
- 9.7-inch iPad Pro
- iPad Air 2
- iPad Air
- iPad 5th generation
- iPad mini 4
- iPad mini 3
- iPad mini 2
- iPod touch 6th generation
