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It's September and the Apple iPhone keynote is just around the corner. That means that the first beta cycle for iOS 15 is just about wrapped up. What does this week's iOS 15 Public Beta 8 bring to the party? Let's find out. 

But first, you'll find this week's update under Settings > General > Software Update.

What's New?

After weeks of added, tweaked, or dropped features, iOS 15 Public Beta 8 is unique in that it has nothing new to bring to the party. The expectation, then, is that this will be the feature set we see when iOS 15 launches later this month. 

What's Broken? 

The official release notes haven't changed much from last week. In fact, a side-by-side comparison shows them to be pretty much the same. But as a reminder, here's the bugs that Apple is still working on and will hopefully have ironed out by the time the final release candidate drops. 

  • When using Guided Access with VoiceOver, you might be unable to enter the Guided Access passcode to end Guided Access
  • Text indicating the Find My network is active when your iOS device needs to be charged will only display if the device language is set to English. 
  • Matter issues continue to plague iOS 15, but there are workarounds for most of the known issues. Apple TV can't reach them when on WiFi (only ethernet), you can't connect to a third-party hub, accessories may give a No Response message after pairing, pairing might take a long time and fail anyway, you can only pair five accessories, and only the owner of the home account can pair them. 
  • After cancelling a widget gallery search, the cancel button remains visible.
  • Rounded corners on buildings are vanishing in the Maps app
  • No new reality for you! You might not be able to create new projects in Reality Composer
  • In Safari, the extension UI might not make room for the keyboard.
  • On-device (i.e. offline) Siri speech recognition is available for only these languages at this time:  Chinese (Mandarin - China mainland), English (Australia), English (Canada), English (United Kingdom), and English (US)
  • In Siri, VoiceOver and Spoken Content users might not initially see all available voice options. Voice options should populate after some time.

Just remember, as a beta tester, it's up to you to report bugs that you find in iOS 15 Public Beta 8, especially third-party bugs. Make sure that the Feedback app is always handy!

What's Fixed?

There aren't actually any bugs that were resolved this week but I did miss moving the one below out of last week's list. It was fixed in iOS 15 Public Beta 7.

  • Files no longer quit unexpectedly if you choose Open in New Window for a file

What's Next

September is upon us and we've seen tons of rumors about the new iPhone 13 that'll be announced on the 14th (we think). With that deadline only two weeks away, the pressure is on for Cupertino devs to wrap up the bug list and get iOS 15 ready for public release.

Most likely, what will happen is that beta testers will get the release candidate sometime next week or the week of the keynote. Then it'll be released to the public a few days to a week after that. Then it'll be on to iOS 15.1 which will most likely have a short development cycle so that it can support the new iPhones shipping at the end of September. 

Or maybe we'll just get one of Apple's last-minute patches to include the new hardware just before it hits Apple Stores. 

Either way, time is short for this first iOS 15 public beta. One thing you can count on is that I'll be back here next week with the latest beta news. 

How to Get iOS 15 Public Beta 8

If you're new to Apple betas, click here to check out my Apple Beta Program guide for everything you need to get started.

Once you've enrolled your device, you'll see the new profile in the Settings app of your device. There, you'll have to make your first big decision as a public beta tester. While iOS 14 introduced the ability to install a stable public build or the current beta build, they have to be from the same base. Meaning that, in order to participate in the iOS 15 beta, you'll need to delete the iOS 14 beta profile from your phone. 

This is beta software. Things will go wrong. Features won't work. Apps won't work. Things might just break without reason. If you install this on your main device, be ready with a reliable backup in case things fall apart during testing.

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Anthony Karcz

I’ve been writing about technology, gadgets, and pop culture back before Apple had even thought of the iPhone. I’ve seen the rise and fall (and rise again) of Apple. I've watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate… As a technical writer, I specialize in deciphering the undecipherable, untangling the kraken-like documentation tangles that software companies find themselves in, and teaching users how to successfully navigate their products on the other side. I also enjoy playing in superheroic worlds of my own creation (you can find out more about my fiction endeavors at AnthonyKarcz.com). If there’s something you want to see me tackle, drop me an email at: anthonyATanthonykarczDOTcom.


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