Apple has just seeded the seventh beta of iOS 10 to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, just four days after releasing the sixth beta and more than two months after first unveiling the new operating system at its 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference. It is not clear what is included in beta 7, but given its unconventional release date, it may contain critical bug fixes.
Today’s release obviously comes as a surprise, given that Apple just issued beta 6 on Monday. The timing suggests that Apple has entered the fine-tuning stage, as it prepares to release iOS 10 to the public in the next few weeks.
This release for Apple’s mobile operating system, which will work on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch lineup, brings a whole host of new additions, from changes to the lock screen, to major tweaks to the way 3D Touch works, and even more sweeping changes to Messages.
iOS 10 is a major iOS update with a ton of new features and design tweaks, including a new Lock screen experience with 3D Touch-enabled notifications, a more easily accessible camera, a redesigned Control Center, and a new widgets screen. According to Apple, iOS 10 is the company’s biggest iOS update ever released.
The Messages app in iOS 10 has been overhauled with features that include background animations, bubble effects, Digital Touch, handwritten notes, Tapback replies, predictive emoji, and a dedicated App Store, and Photos has gained new facial and object recognition capabilities along with a Memories feature for rediscovering forgotten moments.
In addition to developer beta 7, Apple has also released iOS 10 beta 6 to public testers. The sixth developer beta is available either through Apple’s dedicated site for developers, right here, or as an over-the-air (OTA) update on iOS devices that are running the previous beta.