News: Apple Just Released iOS 12 Beta 12 for iPhone to Developers, Fixes Software Update Bug

Right before the Labor Day weekend, Apple issued iOS 12 developer beta 12, which comes four days after dev beta 11 and public beta 9, and just one day after announcing the Sept. 12 event. This update primarily fixes a bug where you would be continuously prompted to install a new iOS update even when none existed.

Dev beta 12 does not appear to introduce any revolutionary fixes or changes at this time except the dreaded alert that said the following:

A new iOS update is now available. Please update from the iOS 12 beta.

Beyond that, developers can expect minor bug fixes and security patches when updating from beta 11. Still, we'll know more about the software as we dive in, and will update this post with any significant features we might find.

To download and update your iPhone to iOS 12 dev beta 12, you first need to be a registered developer with a valid configuration profile. If you have iOS 12's new "Automatic Updates" enabled, you can let the software update overnight. To download the beta right now, however, launch the Settings app, select "General," then "Software Update." Tap "Download and Install," then follow the on-screen prompts to download and install dev beta 12.

Resolved Issues

According to Apple's release notes, iOS 12 dev beta 12 does not resolve any issues from dev beta 11. However, this update does indeed fix the bug that caused an update available prompt over and over again.

Known Issues

All issues carried over to dev beta 12 are listed below. No new issues have been added.

App Store:

• While signed in with a production account and testing with a sandbox account, attempting to fetch a new valid receipt displays a sign-in prompt for the production account with no option for switching to the sandbox account. (42862150) — Workaround: For testing purposes, StoreKit calls such as making a purchase and restoring transactions will fetch a new receipt. Alternatively, sign out of the production account.

CoreGraphics:

• Various CoreGraphics calls have been hardened against continuing with invalid parameters. In iOS 12 beta, these calls may now return NULL or return early. (38344690)

HomeKit:

• Inviting iOS 11 users who have multiple email addresses associated with their Apple ID to a home might not succeed. (41033550) — Workaround: Send the invitation to a different email address or phone number associated with the Apple ID of the iOS 11 user.

Maps:

• Traffic data might not be displayed. (43254370) — Workaround: Tap the 'i' button to reveal Maps Settings and toggle the Traffic switch on.

MediaPlayer Framework:

• When a queueTransaction is performed on applicationQueuePlayer to modify the position of a song, the queue returns unchanged. (39401344)

Phone and FaceTime:

• Group FaceTime has been removed from the initial release of iOS 12 and will ship in a future software update later this fall.
• In iOS 12 beta, Camera Effects in Messages is available only on iPhone SE and iPhone 6s or later and is unavailable on iPad. Camera Effects in FaceTime is available only on iPhone 7 or later and is unavailable on iPad.
• Wi-Fi calls might end unexpectedly when transitioning from Wi-Fi to cellular while on the T-Mobile network. (39251828)

Screen Time:

• The start and stop times for Downtime might change unexpectedly if they were configured prior to installing iOS 12 beta 9. (43393555) — Workaround: Update all devices associated with the iCloud account to iOS 12 beta 9 or later and reset the start and stop times for Downtime.
• After updating to iOS 12 beta 7 or later, parents should change the Screen Time passcode to prevent children from signing out of iCloud or changing the system time. (42879250)
• "Picked Up Phone" statistics might be inflated due to data syncing from other devices signed into the same iCloud account. (39917173)

Siri:

• When using INUIAddVoiceShortcutButton, the "Add to Siri" and "Added to Siri" button text isn't localized. (43251696) — Workaround: To localize "Add to Siri" and "Added to Siri" button text, include localizations for this text in the strings files of your app bundle.
• While multiple ride-sharing apps are installed, Siri might open the app instead of providing an ETA or location when asked. (42324032) — Workaround: Ask Siri for the ETA or location again.
• Siri Suggestions for Shortcuts are enabled on iPhone 6s or later, iPad Pro, iPad (5th generation or later), iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 4. (40669231)

UIKit:

• You might encounter issues with systemLayoutSizeFitting(_:) when using a UICollectionViewCell subclass that requires updateConstraints(). (42138227) — Workaround: Don't call the cell's setNeedsUpdateConstraints() method unless you need to support live constraint changes. If you need to support live constraint changes, call updateConstraintsIfNeeded() before calling systemLayoutSizeFitting(_:).

Xcode:

• When using Messages in the iOS Simulator, a message might not be delivered from User A to User B. (40916530) — Workaround: Send a message from User B to User A.

While Apple has yet to offer users an official release date, it will be announced at Apple's Sept. 12 event when the 2018 iPhone lineup will be revealed. Apple won't release iOS 12 before this date, but the "Golden Master" or "GM" build will be released to developers shortly after the keynote that day. The public will get the final version a week later, traditionally.

In the meantime, the iOS 12 beta offers users quite the upgrade over iOS 11. In addition to improved stability and performance, the beta gives testers an excellent notification system, new Animoji and Memoji, updates to Do Not Disturb, among many other exciting new features.

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