Apple's release candidate beta round arrived Tuesday for iOSiPadOS, watchOS and tvOS are release candidates, but macOS is noticeably absent so far.
Developers participating in Apple's beta program can get the latest builds of the Apple Developer Center or simply by their iPhone or iPad which the betas are already running, using the Settings app. Public beta versions usually appear not long after developer versions and you can sign up for them via the Apple Beta Software Program website.
The release candidates of the iOS and iPadOS 17.5 betas have build number 21F79, inheriting the fourth version, 21F5073b, while the RC builds of tvOS 17.5 and HomePod Software 17.5 have build number 21L569, replacing 21L5567a.
The RC of watchOS 10.5 has build number 21T575, replacing 21T5571a. Apple's macOS Sonoma remains at beta 4, with build number 21O5580a.
The third and fourth developer beta cycles didn't really offer any real public feature changes. However, they do include changes in bug fixes and performance improvements.
The second beta of iOS 17.5 included Apple's own Web distribution system, allowing authorized developers to distribute iOS apps directly to iPhones in the EU via a website rather than through a store. Apple provides access to APIs for online distribution, system functionality integration, backup and recovery, and other features.
All apps submitted via Web Distribution must also meet Apple's existing notarization requirements, just like other iOS apps in the App Store. The domain name from which the app is installed must also be registered in App Store Connect.
The betas fixed an unexpected bug in iOS 1.4.1 that caused the Palestinian flag to appear in the keyboard's autosuggestions when users typed “Jerusalem” in iMessage. After the betathe flag will no longer appear in the suggestion box.
The first beta for iOS 17.5 included a few code referencesto web distribution and other items to enable side-loading of apps in the European Union, following the introduction of the Digital Markets Act.
There were also entries in the code of the first beta of one expansion to anti-stalking measures for AirTags.
Outside of these, there were relatively few user-visible changes in the betas. What was found included tweaks to the Podcasts widget and changes to the charging information under Settings.
AppleInsider and Apple Strongly recommended users do not install test operating systems or other beta or RC software on 'mission critical' or primary devices because there is a small chance of problems that could lead to data loss. Testers should instead use secondary or non-essential hardware and ensure they have adequate backups of their critical data at all times.