Every year without fail, Apple releases a new major version of its iOS platform. Typically there will be a bunch of changes made to the design of the user interface, new features, and improvements on existing ones. A lot of times this can be rather exciting, although the time between announcement and release can be a while.
However, if you can’t wait for the final release of the update and want to see what all the fuss is about, you’ll be pleased to learn that Apple actually releases a public beta that anyone can take part in. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, read on to find out how you can get the public beta of iOS 14 on your iPhone.
How To Install iOS 14 Public Beta On iPhone
Before you download the beta, you’ll want to make sure to backup your phone to your computer. This is because if you decide to uninstall the iOS 14 beta and downgrade back to iOS 13, you’ll need to wipe your phone. If you don’t have a backup, you’re essentially starting from scratch and will need to redownload all your apps again.
- Go to Apple’s Beta page and sign up using your Apple ID
- Log into the Beta Software Program
- Click Enroll Your iOS Device
- On your iPhone, open Safari and go to beta.apple.com/profile
- Download and install the configuration profile
- Go to Settings > General > Software Update to download and install the public beta of iOS 14
How To Uninstall iOS 14 Beta And Restore Your iPhone
- Go to Settings > General > Profile and remove the beta profile
- Connect your iPhone to your computer
- Place your iPhone in Recovery Mode
- For iPhone 6s or older, press and hold the sleep/wake button and home button until the screen turns black and wait until it shows a cable pointing towards a MacBook
- For iPhone 7, 7 Plus, iPod Touch seventh gen, press and hold the sleep/wake button and volume-up button until you see the recovery mode screen
- For iPhone 8 or later, quickly press and release the volume up button followed by the volume down button and then press and hold the sleep/wake button until your device enters recovery mode
- With iTunes open, you should be greeted by a prompt that says, “There is a problem with the iPhone that requires it to be updated or restored.”
- Click Restore
Difference Between Public Beta And Developer Beta
Note that there are two betas that Apple typically releases. One is the public beta that is intended for pretty much anyone with an iOS device. The second is the developer beta. The latter is usually released first and is only available to users with a developer account that will cost $99 a year.
The main difference is that the public beta is generally viewed as a more “stable” release, whereas the developer beta tends to get the newer features first. This is in order for developers to create and test their apps to check for compatibility or to take advantage of the newer features. Unless you’re a developer or are willing to shell out $99 a year, the public beta is probably a better option.
Risks And Precautions
Given that this is a beta, it means that the features you are using and are seeing might not necessarily be 100% finalized. We’ve seen many instances in the past where features found in a software’s beta does not make the final cut. There are many reasons for this, but that’s pretty much why betas exist.
Downloading and using the beta also means that you should keep in mind that it could result in certain features of your phone not working. You could also run into app compatibility issues where the majority of publicly available apps have yet to be updated to support iOS 14. Some might still continue to work without any issue, but there might also be some that run into problems, so that’s something to take note of.
This is why it is generally not recommended that you use the public beta as your daily driver due to the variety of issues that you could potentially run into on a day-to-day basis. If you have a spare iPhone lying around, then that’s fine, but you might want to reconsider installing it on your primary device.
Also, if you are done with the iOS 14 beta and want to restore it to iOS 13, you essentially will have to wipe your phone. The process is a lot more complicated compared to installing the beta, so you’ll want to make sure you have a backup of your phone before proceeding.
iOS 14 Compatible Devices
Apple has stated that the iOS 14 update will be available on iPhones dating back to the iPhone 6s, which is pretty much any device that was also eligible for the iOS 13 update. This includes:
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone SE (1st generation)
- iPhone SE (2nd generation)
- iPod touch (7th generation)
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