Apple today pushed the iOS 16 Developer Preview Beta 8 update (internal version number: 20A5358a) to iPhone users. (Update: Public Beta has also been released)
This update comes six days after the last release, with Apple releasing Beta 7 on August 23 and Beta 6 on August 15, nearly three months after the first release since WWDC on June 6, and is expected to bring the final iOS 16 release at the upcoming fall event.
The new version is basically the same as iOS 16 Beta 7, with only a few minor changes and tweaks – after all, Apple’s development team is definitely still focused on fixing bugs and ensuring stability before the last hurrah.
There are few functional changes in iOS 16, with the most significant upgrades being a highly free-form lock screen interface and improvements to features like the new Focus mode, Photos, Messages and SharePlay, as well as grip support, Apple Pay Later and more.
In Beta 5, Apple re-enabled the battery percentage display.
In this release, Apple has only fixed a few bugs and performance issues. But developers have shifted their main focus to the next iOS 16.1, which is expected to be released possibly later this fall.
Apple will hold a special event next week (September 7) that will, not surprisingly, unveil iPhone 14, Apple Watch Pro, Apple Watch Series 8, and more, and it’s expected that Apple will also announce the date of iOS 16’s arrival at this event.
However, we can look forward to the release of iOS 16 RC after next week’s event.
