4 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Install the iOS 16 Beta on Your iPhone

It’s tempting to install the iOS beta and start enjoying Apple’s newest features early. But here’s why you should hold off.

Apple rolled out the first beta of iOS 16 shortly after announcing it at WWDC22, and you might be wondering if it’s safe to install it on your iPhone or not. Well, not everyone can access it at the moment, but if even you can, you should probably wait a little longer.

There are multiple reasons why Apple doesn’t make early beta builds available to the general public, instead restricting them to developers and beta testers. So, let’s take a look at why you shouldn’t install the iOS 16 beta on your iPhone right now.

What Does Developer Beta Mean?

The developer beta of an iOS update is an early experimental build of the software, primarily intended for developer use. The main goal of a developer build is to make sure app developers can access the latest software and optimize their apps before the final public release.

It also serves as a way for Apple to iron out the notorious bugs and glitches to ensure a smooth and stable rollout.

Here’s how Apple rolls out its software:

1. The first release of any iOS version is exclusively made available for developers to test out.
2. After one or more developer beta builds, Apple releases a new public beta build to users participating in the Apple Beta Software program.
3. Then, after weeks of public testing, Apple will begin rolling out the final stable build of iOS.

Apple released the developer beta for iOS 16 on June 2, 2022, at WWDC22, announcing a public beta scheduled to release in July, with the launch of the software expected in fall. So here are all the reasons you should skip the beta entirely and wait until fall.

1. Performance and Stability Issues

If you’re interested in trying out iOS 16 as early as possible, you need to understand that the current iOS 16 beta is not suitable for use on your main device. Sure, it may function fine for the most part, but that doesn’t mean you won’t notice performance and stability issues on a device that you use every single day.

The issues that you may face can range from battery drain to slowdowns as you switch between apps, among many other things. Unfortunately, battery drain is one of the most common problems with beta builds. Hence, it’s highly not recommended to install an early beta build on your primary iPhone.

Some users may report that they haven’t faced any performance or battery-related problems, but do note that these stability issues heavily depend on the iPhone model that you have. If previous years are any indicator, older iPhones often tend to run into more issues.

2. Unsupported Apps

When you update your iPhone to the latest beta software that has been available for just a few days, you’re likely to run into compatibility issues with certain apps.

While most apps may work just fine, some apps that haven’t been regularly updated may crash on launch or face stability-related problems. Of course, you wouldn’t want any of the apps you regularly use to be affected by this. This is exactly the purpose of developer beta builds, as we mentioned earlier.

App developers can hop on the latest software and check if their apps are functioning as intended. If not, they can take their time and fix the bugs without worrying about the App Store ratings. This helps them avoid similar issues once Apple makes the software available to the general public.

3. You May Lose Your Data

While this problem isn’t specific to beta builds, it’s more common during beta updates. When you’re updating your iPhone to a major new software version, especially beta software, there’s always a tiny risk that you’ll brick your device and lose all your data in the process.

Every year, a handful of users report that their iPhones are stuck on the Apple logo screen for hours during an update. Sad to say, the only way to get out of this sticky situation is to put your iPhone in recovery mode and restore it using your computer. This means you will lose all the data stored on your device.

On the bright side, this potential data loss can be avoided by simply backing up your iPhone before an update. You can restore your erased iPhone from a local or iCloud backup to recover your data within minutes.

4. The Developer Beta Is Not Even for Beta Testers

Apple only wants developers to install this iOS 16 build. This is why you’re required to have a paid Apple developer account, which costs $99 annually, to access it. Unfortunately, this doesn’t stop regular users from paying this fee and enrolling in the Apple Developer Program to access the beta profile needed to download iOS 16.

But any people who do so are likely to experience an even less stable version of iOS than what they’ll get with the public beta further down the line. Really, the developer beta is intended for developers to update their apps, not for beta testers to see how it’s all working.

When Is It Safe to Install the iOS 16 Beta?

Beta software of any kind is never completely safe, and this applies to iOS 16 too. The safest time to install iOS 16 would be when Apple rolls out the final stable build to everyone in fall, or even a couple of weeks after that. By that time, Apple would have completed extensive testing of the software with developers and beta testers.

Having said that, if you don’t have the patience to wait months for the final release this fall, the next safest option would be to wait for the iOS 16 public beta that’s set to arrive in July. Apple should be able to iron out any major issues affecting the current developer builds before public beta testers can get their hands on the software.

Better Safe Than Sorry

It’s always wise to take a calculated approach rather than rushing in to try out the latest piece of software, no matter what it is. You’ll be avoiding a lot of potential problems by just waiting a few weeks, if not months, especially if you use one of the older iPhones that support iOS 16.

You wouldn’t want your first impressions of iOS 16 to be negative, would you?