iOS 18 developer beta 7 could be last before general rollout with iPhone 16

iOS 18 developer beta 7 and public beta 5 could be the last updates in the 18 beta cycle, reported Bloomberg's Mark Gurman

Apple has released iOS 18 developer beta 7 along with public beta 5 for eligible iPhone models as it approaches the launch of the iPhone 16 series. The new operating system for iPhones is reportedly nearing completion. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his post on X wrote that the new betas might be the final version, apart from minor changes that Apple may introduce for the upcoming iPhone series.

In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Gurman stated: “The latest iOS 18 seed, I’m told, is final other than features tied to the new hardware.”

While Apple has not specified what’s new with iOS 18 developer beta 7, the public beta 5 mainly focuses on bug fixes and performance improvements. This is typical as an operating system nears the end of its beta cycle and approaches its stable public release. Apple is expected to host the launch event for the new iPhone 16 series around the second week of September, and the company will likely announce the public rollout schedule for iOS 18 there.

The last iOS 18 beta to bring notable changes was developer beta 5, while the sixth version also focused on performance improvements. The iOS 18 developer beta 5, released earlier this month, introduced new features such as:

Distraction Control in Safari: This feature allows users to selectively block content on web pages, such as sign-in pop-ups and overlays.

Photos App Changes: Apple removed the carousel view introduced with the new operating system. The carousel view allowed users to swipe and view picture highlights updated daily. The “All Photos” section was also improved to accommodate more pictures on the grid at once.

Redesigned Icons: New dark mode icons were introduced for the Maps and Find My apps. Several Control Center icons, including those for cellular data and screen mirroring, were also tweaked.

Stolen Device Protection: Developer beta 5 made Stolen Device Protection accessible from both “Privacy and Security” and “Face ID and Passcode” menus in the Settings app.