Now that Apple has finally released the first iOS 18 public beta, many people are eager to get their hands on it as soon as possible. While this is a great opportunity to try some of the best features Apple announced during its 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), it’s important to think twice before jumping in and installing a beta as soon as it’s available.

What You Should Do Before Installing the iOS 18 Public Beta

As the iOS 18 beta continues, Apple's still investing time into fixing up iOS 17. Compared to iOS 17.4 and iOS 17.5, which both had over 30 new features and changes, iOS 17.6 is a relatively small software update for iPhone. But there are still some important things to know about.

iOS 17.6 Has 12 New Features and Changes for iPhone You Need to Know About

Apple has been putting a lot of effort into helping iPhone users prevent premature battery wear -- an issue that's plagued the iPhone for years. One of the main ways that Apple has addressed this is with overcharging prevention. Lithium-ion batteries can suffer from overcharging, which can lead to the production of metallic lithium inside the cell, posing a fire hazard. Limiting the charge to 80% significantly reduces the risk of battery damage through overcharging.

How iOS 18 changes the way you charge your iPhone

BGR.com

In a rare movement, Apple is simultaneously testing iOS 18 and iOS 18.1. The latter is only available for iPhone 15 Pro users and offers Apple Intelligence features. That said, the company has finally seeded iOS 18.1 beta 2 with features first available with iOS 18 beta 5.
The first one made the news as the Thanos snap feature. Actually called “Distraction Control,” it’s available in the Reader toggle in Safari and lets you hide distracting items, such as cookie pop-ups and other parts of the website. Apple says this doesn’t work as an ad blocker, but it helps hide distractful items from...

iOS 18.1 beta 2 now available with Apple Intelligence and two other features

Community Voices represent independent, third-party users who have joined our contributor program but not yet verified their accounts. Community Voices are expected, like all users, to adhere to our Community Standards.

community_voice

NewsNinja

"They accidentally gave us 2 washers and a dryer when we only ordered 1 of each". Last month, Lowe’s experienced a glitch that lowered the price of its $2,300 Midea jumbo capacity refrigerator to just $169.

‘Lowe’s messed up’: Shopper says they got $2,300 fridge at Lowe’s for just $169

Colorado State

Contributors represent independent, third-party users who have joined our contributor program and self-verified their accounts. They have also demonstrated their experience writing hard news for other outlets. Contributors are expected, like all users, to adhere to our Community Standards.

contributor

David Heitz

A bill quietly introduced this spring in the Colorado legislature to decriminalize the possession of drug paraphernalia obtained by harm reductionists has become law. As low-key as the legislation was introduced, the bill was signed into law without fanfare June 6. It garnered little to no media attention.

Colorado legalizes needles, pipes for meth and crack if obtained by harm reduction group

Users of Cash App have interesting news today as the company has completed a class-action lawsuit that could see Cash App users eligible for up to $2,500. According to CNET, the lawsuit claims that Block and Cash App were negligent when a “former Cash App Investing employee accessed account data without permission in 2022 and when an unauthorized user accessed certain Cash App accounts in 2023, using recycled phone numbers that were linked to the accounts.”

Cash App Settles Lawsuit and Integrates With Google Play

WhatsApp recently rolled out a sticker-related update, bringing the GIPHY sticker library, custom sticker creator, and other sticker-related features to the stable version of the Android app. Now, in the latest Android beta, WhatsApp is testing a new chat theme feature. In the latest WhatsApp Android beta version 2.2.4.17.19, the...

WhatsApp spotted working on custom chat themes for Android

Apple released iOS 17.6 on July 29, the same day it released the second public beta for iOS 18 and the first developer beta of iOS 18.1. The tech giant wrote in the update's release notes that it's recommended for everyone, since it provides 30 important bug fixes and security updates.

You Should Update Your iPhone to iOS 17.6 Now Before iOS 18's Release

Today just hours after releasing iOS 18 developer beta 6, the companion public beta update is now available as public beta 4. New public betas for macOS Sequoia, iPadOS 18, and more have dropped too. Here’s what’s new in public beta 4. Quick release for the new public...

iOS 18 public beta 4 and more now available, here’s what’s new

Apple released the second public beta for iOS 18 on July 29, more than a month after the tech giant announced the software at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The update brings many new features to the iPhones of developers and beta testers, like the ability to lock and hide certain apps on your iPhone and more ways to customize your lock screen and Control Center. And one feature that lets you fully customize these features is a control called Open App.

This Hidden iOS 18 Beta Feature Is Key to Customizing Your iPhone's Controls

The one good thing about the ending of The Umbrella Academy? At least everyone was together!. The Hargreeves siblings (plus Lila, who has married into the family) didn’t spend all of the season together. But the few sprinklings of group scenes — from chaotic birthday parties in a children’s entertainment center to long, vomit-y road trips set to “Baby Shark” — cemented that the best parts of the show were always about family.

We’ll miss The Umbrella Academy’s sibling dynamics

Both Google Drive and Dropbox offer cross-platform availability and customizable user interfaces with dark mode options. Google Drive integrates seamlessly with Google apps & offers AI features, while Dropbox excels in PDF editing, screen recording, and productivity add-ons. Dropbox surpasses Google Drive in privacy features for sharing & collaboration, but...

Google Drive vs. Dropbox: Which cloud storage is right for you?

Trusted Reviews

According to a fresh analyst report, a lot of people will want to skip the iPhone 16 in favour of the iPhone 17. We’re about a month out from Apple’s big iPhone 16 announcement, but one analyst has put a bit of a dampener on things. In a new note for investors, Jeff Pu (via 9to5Mac) has repeated claims that there will be “limited spec upgrades” with this year’s models.

Analyst: Skip the iPhone 16 and wait for the iPhone 17

Apple released the fourth public beta for iOS 18 on Aug. 12, about two months after the tech giant announced the software at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The beta update brings many new features to the iPhones of developers and beta testers, like RCS messaging and a way to remove the flashlight control from your lock screen. One big change -- and one that's overdue in my opinion -- is the ability to customize your home screen.

iOS 18 Beta: How to Customize Your iPhone's Home Screen

Creative Bloq

Assistive Access could cure your smartphone addiction.

Why a simple iPhone setting is delighting the dumbphone community

shefinds

Keeping your iPhone data private may take some maintenance on your part. It needn’t be a full-time job to keep your phone secure and protected, but making some of your device’s settings work in your favor is one of the best ways you can ensure your d...

Your iPhone? Apple Experts Reveal 3 Settings You Should Turn Off Now: Ad Tracking & More

The US Sun

IPHONE fans have uncovered a hidden new button feature on the upcoming iOS 18 upgrade that's been described as "game-changing". Apple's highly-anticipated iPhone upgrade is available to test run for free - and every day users are discovering fresh secrets. The obvious changes Apple has already announced a couple of...

iPhone fans discover ‘game-changing’ new secret button for their lock screen – but Android users are mocking it

Do iPhones have NFC? Up until recently, the answer was "Kind of," or, possibly, "It depends." You could use an iPhone's near-field communication (NFC) hardware for Apple Pay transactions, tapping through a public transit gate, exchanging contacts with another iPhone user, reading basic NFC tags, and a few other things. But every option was brokered by Apple, and the only tap-to-pay option was through Apple Pay.

Apple will let other digital wallets into Apple Pay, and even be the default

EU-based iPhone users no longer need to pay €1.50 annually to access AltStore PAL. Epic Games has granted AltStore PAL a MegaGrant for innovating in app distribution. AltStore PAL will use this grant to cover Apple’s Core Technology Fee and let EU users access its digital storefront for free.

AltStore PAL drops its paywall, lets users sideload iOS apps for free

NewsBreak

Apple to add 30% fee on all Patreon subscriptions made through iOS

Creators on Patreon are alarmed and outraged over a new policy from Apple that would subject all Patreon memberships sold on iOS to Apple’s 30% commission....

Apple to add 30% fee on all Patreon subscriptions made through iOS

Comments / 0