Whilst there’s still some work to be done in the bug squashing department at Apple, their unusual point releases such as iOS 15.0.2 released today may point to a full iOS 15.1 public release over an iOS 15.1 Beta 4 build.
iOS 15.1 Beta 4 Might Not Happen – But Why?
Apple isn’t sticking to their usual Beta testing schedule seen in iOS 14 and iOS 15, but opting for sporadic updates with no real pattern. This is probably due to addressing security holes in iOS and fixing more serious bugs in hotfix updates. Also, they’ve pulled and re-introduced features such as SharePlay out of iOS 15 Betas, skipped the public release, and re-appeared in iOS 15.1 betas. Spoiler alert, it works perfectly fine. Looking at the iOS 15.0.2 public update, it seems Apple is ironing out the majority of iOS 15 bugs.
Apple has recently stopped signing iOS 15 updates, which means iOS 15 and iOS 15.0.2 will no longer be able to downgrade to iOS 14.8 after upgrading. Normally when this happens, it means Apple is preparing for their next big public iOS update, which in this case will be avoiding iOS 15.1 Beta 4 and releasing a final build of iOS 15.1 to the public.
iOS 15.1 Beta 4 – Speculation
It’s also worth noting that the current iOS 15.1 Beta 3 has updated Apple Watch faces, some of which are meant for the Apple Watch Series 7. The Apple Watch Series 7 releases on 15th October, which is an odd move for Apple unless they are prepping a final build update to iOS instead of releasing iOS 15.1 Beta 4 on or around the Apple Watch release date.
Another hint at Apple dropping a major iOS 15.1 final build over iOS 15.1 Beta 4 is the rumored Apple Mac event or Apple Keynote. Rumored to be held on around October 26th, the event is supposed to reveal the new M1X Macbooks and iMacs, and possibly the AirPods 3 (Following the end date of an AirPods giveaway with other Apple products for students, naturally). Invites should be going out for the event sooner rather than later, we’ll bring you the latest on our iOS and News hubs as soon as we know.
iOS 15.1 Beta – Remaining Bugs
Although the majority of big bugs have been swatted thanks to point updates publicly, here are what’s currently left at the time of writing:
- Facebook Messenger videos flicker during playback.
- Notifications not working for many apps in iOS 15!
- iPhone touchscreen issues
- Widgets turn white or black on Home Screen and become unresponsive.
- MagSafe wallet still can’t be added to Find My without using a complicated workaround.
- iPhone storage calculation bug not fixed.
