Apple has released the first beta version of iOS 12 to users who are enrolled in the Apple developer program.
The all new iOS 12 for iPhone and iPad debuted earlier at WWDC 2018, and the initial beta builds are limited to registered developers.
A variety of new features are included in iOS 12, including major performance improvements, improvements to Siri, a new Shortcuts app to automate activity in iOS, new features for Photos app, new features aimed at mitigating notifications overload, and tools to control and better understand device usage, amongst other features and refinements.
Developers who have enrolled in the developer beta testing program for iOS on their compatible iPhone or iPad devices can download the software update now from the Over The Air mechanism within Settings app of iOS. Of course you will also need one of the devices which supports iOS 12 too.
- Go to developer.apple.com and login with a developer account
- Go to the iOS section of the website and download the iOS 12 developer beta profile
- Find the iOS 12 developer beta 1 download available in the Settings Software Update section on the device
Anyone can technically purchase an Apple developer account from Apple to gain access to developer beta versions of system software, but that is strongly discouraged unless you’re actually a developer.
If you do not currently have a developer beta profile installed on your iOS device, you can download one from the iOS Developer Center directly from Apple.
Developer beta system software is notoriously unreliable and thus is not recommended for most users to download or install onto their devices, even if they can technically gain access to download iOS 12 beta 1 through a friend that is a developer.
Always backup a device before installing any system software, but particularly before installing beta system software. Failure to do so may result in permanent data loss.
Currently only developers have access to the iOS 12 beta, and a public beta build of iOS 12 is expected to arrive in the coming months.
Separately, Apple has also released beta versions of macOS Mojave beta 1, and tvOS 12 and watchOS 5, each of which can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center to users enrolled in the developer programs.
The final version of iOS 12 is expected to launch this fall, alongside the final version of macOS Mojave.