Apple has seeded the first public beta versions of iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS Ventura, watchOS 9, and tvOS 16

By Squirrel, 11 July, 2022

Forum
Apple Beta Releases

As the subject line says, the first public beta releases are now available.

A reminder to those considering taking the plunge... early beta releases can be a painful experience. Think long and hard before hitting the download button if you don't have a dedicated device for testing and you don't want to risk your device falling over at a critical time.

If you do install the beta, then make sure to file reports with Apple for each and every bug that you encounter and suggestions for anything that you think could be improved for VoiceOver, Braille, or low vision users.

The earlier a report is filed, the more likely the bug is to be fixed before the public releases later this year.

Have fun!

Options

Your Feedback is Important to Improving Accessibility on Apple platforms

Don't assume that Apple is aware of a bug or that your report won't make a difference - submitting bug reports directly to the company helps them reproduce and resolve the issue faster. Your report may provide crucial information. The more reports they receive, the higher the priority they give to fixing the bug.

If you're using a beta version, use the Feedback Assistant on your device to submit feedback and bug reports. If you're using a public release, follow the instructions on this page.

Comments

By Unregistered User (not verified) on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

I'm living dangerously. I downloaded and installed the Mac OS 13 public beta onto a secondary partition on my production machine. Why? Well because I'm fueled by distilled frustration and a violent urge to report every accessibility bug I can. Thank Puro for time machine and Dropbox.

I look forward to taking this through its paces and intentionally trying to break it. I could end this with something snarky, but instead I'll just say that I'm happy to be making Mac better. My emotions are simply a means to an end in this situation.

By Unregistered User (not verified) on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

I'm using the feedback assistant as has been reiterated here and I'm planning on jamming my inbox full of bug reports. I've already submitted one today about the force-quit system dialogue.

I would advise anybody without a secondary device against doing what I did unless you're very comfortable moving between system partitions and have a robust, multi-layered backup solution to quickly recover from any unwanted catastrophes. Beta software is not release software. Think of yourself as a sapient guinea pig rather than an end user.

By Daniel Angus M… on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

Hi all,

I am a member of the Apple Developer program, just to beta test really buggy software and of course report bugs I find. I cannot test Ventura , as my Mac is too old. I am running the iOS developer beta on my only iPhone. for me, I don't care if something really goes wrong, 'cause I know how to fix it if needed. these are my feelings, and everybody is different.

By JC on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

So am I. I'm also running the developer beta of iOS 16 on my primary device which is an iPhone 11, and so far, no issues. remember, the more feedback you report to Apple, the better it gets resolved in future betas.

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

Thinking to do so in my iPad 9 gen. Link please.

By Austin Grace on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

Hello. I have personally beta tested IOS public betas ever since we were allowed to do so. I have always done it on my main device, because I've never owned a back-up IOS device to mess with. I think it is well worth the risk. Just to see if I can find any bugs or issues that may have been overlooked. Plus I just love trying new software.

By ming on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

I think it is too early to try it.
I should wait untill it is more reliable and more better

By Mabbs92 on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

I've already submitted quite a handful of reports (iPhone 13 Mini with Eloquence). Yes, I am also seeing the bug with emojis presenting as numbers. Hoping they'll squash these bugs/actually pay attention to feedback. So far so good! Only thing I noticed that's truly problematic is that my phone wouldn't charge using the apple USBC cable and charger; I had to switch to a lower wat, 3rd party charger for it to charge last night. The percentage was consistently at 15%, would drop, move back up, drop further down, etc. Quite frustrating.

By Dennis Westphal on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

... I have to say: Be careful. The higher quality voices are always removed after locking the screen. And using the Eloquence voices at least the German one does not read ANY Emojis. The first thing I have noticed is that parts of the UI are not translated to German yet. Which is od, cause the parts that arn't translated are no different from the ones in iOS 15.5. Don't really get why certain objects are in english now.

Overall the UX with VO is rather lagy when using anything other than Eloquence. No dealbrekaers for me so far but lots to do until the final version. Thats for sure.

By KE8UPE on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

Hi,
Both of the devices mentioned in the subject line are perfectly running the developer beta of iOS 16. This update is really good. I also have the Alex voice on my Apple Watch series 7, running the watchOS 9 beta.

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

Using eloquence in my iPad 9 gen. The sound is not that great. Do not get all the happyness for it. Quality that comes from the speekers are bad. Will check Bruce.

By the grumpy apple on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

If you're interested in getting the beta because of eloquence, don't bother. For one, the quality is terrible. Not only that, I hear some popping when eloquence reads something for a while or says certain words. I'm going to leave feedback, but I'm not holding my breath!

By Siobhan on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

Dude you posted the comment twice, probably an accident. I'm not installing the beta of any OS yet, seeing as it's the first public beta, third dev beta. I'll never use eloquence anyway so whether or not it works, has no concern to me. I'd keep flooding the hell out of Apple with reported feedback, because then they will eventually get things at least translated in German for those who are seeking it.

By Brian Giles on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

Eloquence is everything I hoped it would be! It's interesting how much easier things are to understand reading them with Eloquence after going without it for so long. I used to think the old Macintalk Fred voice would be the closest we'd ever get to Eloquence because of its responsiveness, but I never liked how quiet those old Mac voices are. I'm blown away by how responsive Eloquence is writing with BSI or navigating by character or word.

Yes, I do notice how Eloquence crackles when reading in certain apps, but I don't know what causes it so don't know how I would report it to Apple. It does also make a weird clicking sound when it reads certain words, but Eloquence has always done that, I noticed it in JAWS years ago. I've also heard the Fred and Alex voices do it in iOS, though it's less noticeable with Alex. No idea what causes it, but it's never been a show stopper for me.

I also love the new interface for recording audio messages in iMessage, and the personalized spatial audio with AirPods Pro/Max is awesome! Although it took me a bit longer to set up than FaceID did.

Very impressed with this first public beta.

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

Change voice from eloquence to Nathan. Sound is bad on E. The beta is good on my iPad 9. Faster, easy to use with the Apple Smart keyboard. No crashes so far. Music is looking good.

By Unregistered User (not verified) on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

Local backups made, potatoes prepped. Time to install the iOS beta and do some science on my iPhone. I'm already sending in macOS bug reports. Let's add to the list

By the grumpy apple on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

Yes, my double post was a mistake. As for my last comment, I will most definitely submit feedback. Although not ideal, I can handle the low sample rate. It's the crackle that is a big showstopper. Also, I don't think the responsiveness has improved with eloquence.. My ipad is more sluggish overall. I'm not rolling back yet. I want to test other things first. If you want a good and responsive voice, I recommend ralph.

By JDawg on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

I ran the developer beta of iOS 16 and then I switch to the public beta profile, now I don’t even see eloquence as an option. What am I missing? I saw and was using it for two beta cycles of the developer preview.

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

Please share your bugs so I can check them and make a report. So far it is working well with iPad 9 gen and Apple smart keyboard. Check news is good, play song on music and is good. Close apps using keyboard and no issues.

By Jonathan Candler on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

Hello. I have reported this to apple feedback hub on IOS but anyone else noticed voiceover isn't reading out any emojis at all in messages? I haven't tried in other apps but whenever emojis are displayed in a message, voiceover don't see them at all. Also, when in the emoji keyboard, and even if I'm looking for an emoji by searching them or just browsing, voiceover don't read anything there either. Just wondering if anyone else is having this issue. I suspect this will be fixed soon.
edit: Seems like it may be a voice thing as when I use eloquence or one of the Siri voices, they don't read at all but Alex does just fine. Still not exactly sure though. Yet one more thing to add to my feedback message... Hehehe.

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

Same here. Sent a feedback. Voiceover just gives the number.

By Igna Triay on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

From what i've noticed, this happens with elequence voices, when I switched to alex in the messages app, the emojis where read again. It seems to only be elequence specific maybee? I haven't tested other voices besides alex and elequence as far as emojis.

By Indra on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

When I use Samantha voice, emoji will be read. Alex is okay, Nathan, Evan, can read all that emojis

By Mabbs92 on Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 19:05

Both samantha and Eloquence do not read emojis in any context and present them as numbers in the emoji keyboard. I've reported this as well.