Beta testers will likely wait until July to get their hands on iOS 16

Iphone 13 Pro Ios 15 Hero (Image credit: Christine Romero-Chan / iMore)

What you need to know

Apple is set to release iOS 16 developer beta 1 at WWDC on June 10.
Mark Gurman believes that the public beta program won't get in on the act until developer beta 3 in July.
It's thought the current iOS 16 builds are "a bit buggy."

If all goes according to previous years we can expect Apple to release the first developer beta of iOS 16 on June 6, the same day that it will be announced. That's the date of the WWDC22 opening keynote but those who are part of the public beta program look set to be waiting a little while longer.

While Apple always releases the first developer beta on the big announcement date, it keeps the public beta program out of the loop until the second or third betas have been tested thoroughly. That's to ensure no big problems hit when the public test updates out, and this year looks likely to be no different. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple will not make the public beta version of iOS 16 available until the third developer beta is released — that's likely to be in July.

iOS 16’s first public beta is scheduled alongside iOS 16 developer beta 3 in July. First iOS public betas are typically released alongside beta 2. That means the public beta may be running behind. Current internal seeds are a bit buggy. Things are still fluid and could shift.iOS 16’s first public beta is scheduled alongside iOS 16 developer beta 3 in July. First iOS public betas are typically released alongside beta 2. That means the public beta may be running behind. Current internal seeds are a bit buggy. Things are still fluid and could shift.— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) May 16, 2022 May 16, 2022

It is important to remember that Apple's plans could change, however. Gurman says that the "internal seeds are a bit buggy" right now but we are still a good few weeks away from beta 1 being made available to developers. Things could improve considerably between now and the second developer beta.

Regardless, all that really matters is that iOS 16 is in a good state in time for the iPhone 14 launch later this year. That's likely to happen in or around September, so there is still plenty of time on that front.

Assuming iOS 16 is ready to go we can expect iPhone 14 to be the best iPhone the company has ever put out into the world. Four new devices are expected; 6.1-inch iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models alongside 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max varients.

Apple isn't only working on iOS 16, of course. The watchOS 9 update is expected to be a significant one and all eyes will be on those betas, too.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.