Apple today seeded the third betas of iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 to public beta testers, opening up the iOS 16 beta testing process to the general public. Today’s beta comes two weeks after the second public beta, and it corresponds 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 betas over the air after installing the proper certificate from the Public Beta website.
iOS 16 brings an overhauled Lock Screen with customizable wallpapers, time, and widgets, plus notifications have been updated to roll in from the bottom of the display. Multiple Lock Screens are supported and can be linked with Focus modes.
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 one another. FaceTime calls can be handed off from one device to another, and the Health app gains a new Medications feature for tracking the vitamins and medicine that you take.
Apple is replacing passwords with Passkeys, and Safari now supports Shared Tab Groups for collaborating. 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 offers a convenient way to share a 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 the battery percentage back to the status bar on iPhones that have a notch, plus it introduced new sounds for locating an iPhone via Find My or the Apple Watch, a mini visualizer for the Lock Screen Music player, and more, with full details on what’s in the update available in our guide.
