Apple today seeded the third beta of iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 to public beta testers, starting the iOS 16 beta testing process for the general public. Today’s beta comes two weeks after the second public beta, and it coincides with the fifth developer beta.
Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple’s free beta testing program can download the second iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 beta over the air after installing the appropriate certificates from the public beta website.
iOS 16 brings an overhauled lock screen with customizable wallpaper, timing, and widgets, as well as updates to roll out notifications from the bottom of the display. Multiple lock screens are supported and can be combined with focus mode.
The Messages app supports editing and deleting messages as well as marking messages unread. SharePlay is no longer limited to FaceTime, so Messages can be used for communication between people sharing content with each other. FaceTime calls can be transferred from one device to another, and the Health app gains a new Medicines feature to track the vitamins and medication you take.
Apple is replacing passwords with passkeys, and Safari now supports shared tab groups for collaboration. In the Mail app, you can schedule emails, cancel sending, and receive follow-up reminders, and the Maps app supports multi-stop routing.
iCloud Shared Photo Library provides a convenient way to share photos with family members, and Apple Pay Later will let users pay for Apple Pay purchases in fee-free installments. For the iPad, iPadOS 16 brings a Weather app and a new multi-tasking system called Stage Manager, but it’s only for iPads with Apple silicon chips.
The fifth developer beta of iOS 16 added battery percentage back to the status bar on the iPhone, which has a notch, plus it added a mini visualizer for the lock screen music player, a new way to locate the iPhone via Find My or Apple Watch. Introduced voices. And much more, with full details of what’s in the update available in our guide.