News: iOS 12 Beta 6 for iPhones Released to Apple Developers

For the second time in a row, Apple pushed out a new iOS 12 developer beta on a Monday, and for the first time this round, they've done it only one week after the last one. While the August 6 release of iOS 12 developer beta 6 doesn't contain a wealth of updates, there are still a few things you'll want to know about.

Overall, the iOS 12 dev beta 6 doesn't seem to include anything huge, just minor bug fixes and security patches. However, Apple did remove the iOS "waves" wallpaper from the mix, then added three new colored wallpapers to the Home app. The Music app has a new splash screen promoting music video features, and AirPlay has a tweaked icon on the lock screen.

Dev beta 6 also solves some Bluetooth issues, as well as some Siri-related ones. See the full release notes below to see exactly what those resolves are. But stay tuned for more, though, as we will update this article with any new information we find as we dive into the software ourselves.

To update your iPhone to iOS 12 dev beta 6, you 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 new beta right now, however, open the Settings app, tap "General," then "Software Update." Select "Download and Install," then follow the on-screen prompts to download and install iOS 12 dev beta 6.

• Don't Miss: All the Apps That Are Buggy or Broken on iOS 12 Beta for iPhone

While this update was for developers only, public beta testers received the same exact update as "iOS 12 public beta 5" later on the same day, which is quicker than in prior iOS 12 public beta releases; Public beta 4 came just one day after dev beta 5.

All the release notes below apply to both the iOS 12 dev beta 6 and public beta 5.

Resolved Issues

The following is a list of issue fixed in dev beta 6, according to Apple's release notes:

Bluetooth:

• After restarting your device, paired Bluetooth accessories might not function correctly or might be displayed using the device's address rather than its name. (42397527) — Workaround: In Bluetooth settings, select Forget This Device and pair the accessory to your device again.

Siri:

• Using Apple Pay Cash to send or request money might produce an error. (41015948) — Workaround: Include a dollar amount in the Siri request, for example: "Send 10 dollars to Johnny Appleseed with Apple Pay".
• While using CarPlay, Siri is unable to open an app by name. Additionally, Shortcuts which involve opening an app won't function. (41099393)
• Some Shortcuts requests might not succeed and display "Shortcuts will continue with your request". If your app sends a ContinueInApp response code, Siri does't launch the app. (41507171)
• Users might not see custom UI when using Siri Suggestions Shortcuts with built-in intents. (42406900) — Workaround: Add the shortcut to Siri in Settings > Siri & Search. Then use Siri to run the shortcut and verify the custom UI within Siri.

Known Issues

This list features all of the known issues present in dev beta 6. New issues are presented in bold:

Accessibility:

• Settings might unexpectedly quit when attempting to view or select a voice in Speech settings. (42859905)

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:

• Apple TV (3rd generation) might not function as a HomeKit hub in beta 6. Apple TV (4th generation) and Apple TV 4K might not appear as a HomeKit hub unless setup was completed using an iOS device. (42782193) — Workaround: Add Apple TV to the home via Settings > AirPlay > Room.
• 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.

Localization:

• Certain languages may exhibit clipped or misaligned layout. (40420329)
• Certain languages may display unlocalized text. (40420422)

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 calls cannot be initiated between iOS 12 beta 3 and the first iOS 12 beta release. (39873802) — Workaround: Users should update to iOS 12 beta 3 or later.
• iPod touch (6th generation), iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, and iPad Air support only audio (no video) during Group FaceTime calls in iOS 12 beta.
• 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)

ScreenTime:

• "Picked Up Phone" statistics might be inflated due to data syncing from other devices signed into the same iCloud account. (39917173)

Siri:

• When running an NSUserActivity-based shortcut, Siri might not automatically open the app and instead display an Open button which can be used to open the app. (42773201)
• Settings might unexpectedly quit when attempting to open Siri & Search settings if you have uninstalled FaceTime, Mail, Maps, or Voice Memos. (42789893) — Workaround: Install the missing apps.
• While using CarPlay, Shortcuts which require confirmation might not work. (42444240)
• 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 Shortcuts might not work if a device is locked. (41307405)
• In Swift, the shortcut property of INVoiceShortcut must be accessed as _shortcut. (40418400)
• 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.

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