Apple has issued iOS 16 beta 6 and iPadOS 16 beta 6 for users who are actively enrolled in the developer beta testing programs for iPhone and iPad.
The 6th beta arrives just a week after the 5th beta, perhaps signifying an acceleration of the development cycle as the fall public release date for the final version nears.
Both the developer beta build and public beta builds are available right now.
Anyone currently participating in the beta testing programs can download iOS 16 beta 6 and iPadOS 16 beta 6 from an iPhone or iPad by going to Settings app > General > Software Update.
iOS 16 for iPhone includes an all new customizable lock screen with widgets for quickly seeing things like weather or Apple Watch activity, email scheduling and unsending abilities in Mail app, Messages app has gained an ability to edit messages, new Focus mode features that also correlate to different lock screens, new iCloud Photo Library features, and various other small changes and various features.
iPadOS 16 for iPad has many of the same features as iOS 16 for iPhone but without the ability to customize the lock screen, and M1 iPad models or better have access to Stage Manager which is a new multitasking interface for iPad.
Beta system software is generally only appropriate for advanced users to run, due to the buggy nature and operating system being under active development. Nonetheless if you are curious about running beta releases, you can backup your iPhone or iPad and install the iOS 16 public beta on iPhone or install the iPadOS 16 public beta on iPad.
Apple has said that iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 will be finalized and released this fall.
If you’re curious whether or not your iPhone or iPan can run the latest system software when it’s available (or as a beta release), you can look at the list of iOS 16 supported iPhones and the list of iPadOS 16 supported iPads.