How to get iOS 12 on your iPhone now

published 27 June 2018

You can now download and install the first public beta of iOS 12 for your iPhone and iPad. That means you can try out the new features first. Here's how.

Apple released the iOS 12 beta on Monday and it's now available to everyone to download and install. All you need to do is sign up with Apple to enrol your device in the test program and you can have at the new OS early.

If you like the sound of that, then sign up here. In typical Apple fashion the rest is super easy and effortless. Once your device is registered you can download a simple configuration profile from Apple and then that device will be sent the updated beta software just like any usual update.

Some of the new features you can try out include an improved notifications tray with stacked alerts, smarter Siri with third-party app controls, Screen Time to control how much time you spend on the device, group FaceTime calls, enhanced Photos app, Memoji and more.

The downside is that this is still beta software so there is a chance it won't always work perfectly as you might expect from Apple. To be safe we'd recommend backing up your iPhone before going beta. That, or wait until September for the new full and final iOS 12 release.

If you're interested you need to have the right iPhone which includes – deep breath: iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone SE and iPhone 5s.

Luke is a former freelance writer for T3 with over two decades of experience covering tech, science and health. Among many others Luke wrote about health tech, software and apps, VPNs, TV, audio, smart home, antivirus, broadband, smartphones, cars and plenty more. In his free time, Luke used to climb mountains, swim outside and contort his body into silly positions while breathing as calmly as possible.