Month: July 2019

The final versions of Apple’s iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 software for your iPhones ($1,000 at Amazon) and iPads ($249 at Walmart) are coming your way this fall, but you can get a jump start now on everything the OSes offer. The public beta is open to anyone who wants to help test early builds of the operating system that will run on iPhones ($1,000 at Amazon) and iPads ($249 at Walmart) later this year. That’s right, this year we have two different versions of iOS. One, iOS 13, is for the iPhone and iPod Touch, the other, iPadOS 13, is dedicated to the iPad and brings with it new multitasking features and a desktop-class version of Safari.

Both software updates include a long list of new features, such as an official systemwide dark mode, new privacy features and improved Apple Maps. Apple also announced WatchOS 6, MacOS 10.15 Catalina, and TVOS 13 during its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote.

While the public betas are, as we said, open to anyone who wants to give them a spin, there are some things to be aware of.

Remember, it’s beta

Over the years, the beta program for an upcoming iOS release has gotten more stable. However, it’s called a beta version for a reason — it’s not finished. Apps are going to break, battery life is going to be horrible and frequent random restarts aren’t unheard of.

If you want to test iOS 13, go into it knowing that you’re testing beta software and do yourself — and Apple — a favor by providing feedback through the Feedback app.

You can’t (easily) go back

In addition to a willingness to deal with bugs and random issues, you need to know that you can go back to the current official version of iOS, but you can’t restore from a backup made with your device on iOS 13.

So, with that in mind, it’s a good idea to create a backup of your device as it is right before switching to the beta. The best way to do that is to use iTunes (RIP) and create an encrypted backup.

Ready? Here’s how to install iOS 13

Visit Apple’s Beta Software Program on your computer. You’ll need to sign in using your Apple ID, then pick iOS or iPadOS. The program will walk you through creating a back up of your iPhone or iPad — don’t just glance over this and move on, create a backup right now — and then you’ll need to download and install the beta profile. You can visit this link on your iPhone or iPad to download the profile.

After the profile is downloaded open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad. The profile will show up, just below your name. Tap the profile, then approve the installation. Your device will reboot after the profile is added, after which you can go to Settings > General > Software Update to download and install iOS 13.

Of course, if you have a paid developer account you can still find the appropriate installation profiles on the developer site.

Apple’s rough month continues. In June hackers blew the security off 1.4BN iPhones and iPads, Apple was fined due to missed iPhone estimatesand the company’s stunning 2020 iPhone gave users doubts about upgrading to the ugly 2019 model. And now those fears have been realised.

In a new exclusive, hugely popular YouTuber Filip Koroy (aka EverythingApplePro) has managed to attain retail iPhone 11 cases and they serve only to confirm users’ worst fears about the shock departure of Apple’s head designer Jonathan Ive.

Attained via a Chinese supply chain source, Koroy admits “I had to buy about 100” to get access to them. But what the cases reveal are the cases fit perfectly inside molds from leaked schematics. So yes, the leaks were right, Apple is indeed going to give the iPhone 11 its most controversial redesignin a decade. That means the large notch stays in a notch-less, bezel-less eraand the phones will still have the largest camera bulge in iPhone history – despite losing their cutting edge tech at the last minute.

In addition to this, the retrograde mute switch redesign is happening and the new iPhones are going to be thicker (and presumably) heavier despite the 208 g (7.34 oz) iPhone XS Max already being the heaviest flagship smartphone in the world. In fact, the only positive is the cases don’t close the door completely on Apple’s seemingly accidental iOS 13 leak showing a move to USB-C.

Predictably, the response to these changes has not been positive. In fact, the top rated comment on Koroy’s video is “Maybe Johnny Ive left because of the iPhone 11 camera design.” (source).

And there’s actually some truth to this. Bloomberg claims Ive has not been heavily involved in Apple product design since the Apple Watch launched in 2015. The fact Ive is leaving ahead of the iPhone 11 launch also says a lot about his involvement in the project.

The flip side to all of this, however, is Apple looks set to come out all guns blazing in 2020 thanks to the leak of its stunning next iPhone flagship, which will also be the company’s first 5G iPhone.

As such, the message remains clear: if you can even hold your phone together with tape, do so. 2019 is not the year to upgrade your iPhone.