Technologies

Installing the iOS 18.5 Public Beta? Honest Advice About Why You Should Wait

Make sure you’re going into any beta software with clear expectations.

Now that Apple has announced dates for WWDC 2025, you can bet that the company’s engineers are putting in long hours getting ready to unveil iOS 19 and whatever else is up their sleeves. But it’s also clear they’re hard at work on the next version of the current iPhone software with the release of the iOS 18.5 public beta.

But before you start that download, I’m here to remind you of the «beta» part of «public beta.» Prerelease software is unfinished, and even though a public beta means Apple is confident enough to seed it on several thousand iPhones, the goal is to see how the update fares before it’s deployed on millions of iPhones. Although the iOS 18.5 developer beta has been pretty stable, one never knows what bugs could slip through.

For more on what iOS 18 brings to the iPhone, make sure you check out everything Apple announced at its September «Glowtime» event and how Apple Intelligence affects the way we use Apple devices.

A positive word about installing the iOS 18.5 public beta

The public beta is more stable than the developer betas, which are intended for … developers.

But «more stable» isn’t the same as «rock solid.» Apple is still adding and changing features in the iOS 18.5 betas before the anticipated release of iOS 18.5 in April or May.

If you decide to install the iOS 18.5 public beta, I recommend doing it on a separate iPhone that isn’t used as your main personal phone. iOS 18.5 will work with models as old as the iPhone SE (second generation) and iPhone XR, so reach into the back of your tech drawer and put that forgotten iPhone into service.

Also, as always, make sure you have good backups of your data.

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Bugs are part of the iOS 18.5 public beta

Now, let’s discuss why upgrading to the iOS public beta might be a bad idea.

Software bugs at the development stage are to be expected — in fact, that’s kinda the point. Now is the time for bugs to skitter into the light so developers can catch them and Apple can fix them before the final release. Opening the public beta to more testers helps flush out odd interactions with a much larger pool of iPhones and third-party apps.

Bugs can vary across the spectrum. You could face connectivity issues with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, or end up with third-party applications crashing from time to time. Features that work perfectly on iOS 18 might not be up to par on iOS 18.5, even if they aren’t necessarily tied to new iOS 18.5 features. And runaway background processes could keep the system running hotter than normal, decreasing not just how long the phone operates on a battery charge, but potentially stressing the battery’s lifespan. To be fair, I’ve never dealt with any show-stopping, brick-your-phone bugs in a beta — usually, they’re a series of annoyances that can grate on you after a while. But all of this is perfectly normal in developer and public betas.

But if you don’t want to deal with bugs and other issues that could make your phone more difficult to use, you probably don’t want the iOS 18.5 public beta on your primary iPhone.

Your battery life may worsen

Did you recently buy a recommended portable charger for your iPhone? Expect to make more use of it while running beta software. Energy efficiency is usually the last thing Apple’s developers optimize, because the priority at this point is to make sure features work and bugs are stamped out.

An iOS update also triggers a host of internal indexing, which consumes a lot of energy for a few hours or days after installation. The Photos app, for example, updates its database of recognized people, scans images for new recognizable objects or scenes for search purposes and looks for duplicates.

Performance may take a hit

Partially because of the reindexing of gigabytes of data on your phone, the iOS 18.5 public beta will almost certainly not deliver the performance you might be expecting. Processor-intensive apps and games also need to be tuned to work with the new iOS, so stutters and glitches are normal.

For example, Game Mode is a new feature for iOS (it first appeared in MacOS Sonoma) that redirects resources to improve frame rates and Bluetooth latency, so the most demanding games might perform better than under iOS 17 or iOS 18. However, Game Mode works at a low level and could be interrupted by beta components.

Not all new iOS 18 features are there yet

We already know many of the razzle-dazzle Apple Intelligence features won’t be available right away, even though iOS 18.4 gave us a few more to play with. Such is the life cycle of development: Some features get put on the back burner so others can be completed.

I know it’s tough to be patient when future features are just a download away. But I also don’t want you to be burned (as I have in the past).

For more about iOS 18, see how the new Passwords app works across all your devices.

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Technologies

This Intriguing Ayaneo Device Could Be the Gaming Phone You’ve Been Waiting For

Ayaneo promises the device will be «a mobile phone truly made for gamers.»

Ayaneo, the Chinese company that manufactures handhelds and mini PCs for gaming, is entering the smartphone market.

The company teased across social media a new product, the Ayaneo Phone, that it said will be «a mobile phone truly made for gamers.»

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

A YouTube video showing only the back of the device revealed it to be a black smartphone with two cameras, an LED light and what appear as dual shoulder buttons that could be used when the phone is held horizontally. The video and the caption text didn’t include any details about the phone’s features, release date or pricing, only a QR code for the company’s Discord server.

A representative for Ayaneo did not immediately respond to a request for more information.

CNET’s review of Ayaneo’s Android-based Pocket S gaming portable was positive, but found the pricing, lack of a headphone jack and fan noise to be dealbreakers for a device starting at $559.

Commenters on YouTube said some of the features they’d like to see most on the Ayaneo phone include a 3.5mm headphone jack, an SD card slot and stereo speakers.

What to expect from the Ayaneo Phone

A mobile phone focused on gaming could be a natural progression for a company that’s been experimenting with a wide array of form factors — including some with full keyboards — for its handheld products.

«Ayaneo moving from the gaming handheld market into phones might actually make a lot of sense,» said CNET Senior Editor Mike Sorrentino. «The company already makes Android-based gaming devices and making one a true phone could make it a more natural companion.»

Sorrentino pointed out that to get into the mobile phone space, Ayaneo will need to do more than deliver games on good hardware.

«A common issue with the current gaming phone market is software and security support, which is especially critical for keeping your phone secure. So I hope that a new gaming phone hitting the market prioritizes that and not just its hardware specs,» he said.

CNET Senior Reporter David Lumb added that gaming phones have not traditionally sold well, with only a few companies, such as Asus and Red Magic, having achieved some modest success.

Lumb said that while Ayaneo is using higher-end Snapdragon processors in some of its Android devices, retro games in a smartphone may not need that much power.

«While this could and likely does mean better performance, a lot of older games on such handheld devices don’t need that muscle, only when emulating more relatively recent consoles,» he said.

Technologies

Nintendo Store App Is Like a Time Portal to Your Gaming History

Among the app’s features is a list of the Nintendo games you’ve played and how long you played them.

Nintendo has released a mobile app for its storefront, the on-the-nose-named NIntendo Store app, for iOS and Android. And while it does a good job of making it easier to browse and purchase games for the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, the most compelling feature may be one that lays out your Nintendo gaming history by year.

Buried at the very bottom of your Profile page (you can get to it by tapping the icon with your Mii at the bottom right) is an option called Play Activity. At the top, your Recent Activity will display games you played recently and for how long. But scroll down through All Activity and you’ll find games and console apps stretching back years and years.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

For me, it was a shock to see Wii U and NIntendo 3DS titles I’d forgotten all about, such as a game my daughters enjoyed — Art Academy: Home Studio — and Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash, which I played in 2015 for 10 days. I have no recollection of playing Steel Diver for Nintendo 3DS, but there’s evidence to prove that happened on March 28, 2011.

Why Play Activity matters

If the feature were just nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake, that would be one thing, but for anyone who has a long history across multiple Nintendo console generations, this is good information to have. In an era of remakes and re-releases, it’s helpful to know what games you actually have played before, what console you played them on and whether you spent much time on them. My Play Activity history is littered with games I only played for less than an hour, such as Ridge Racer 3D, and abandoned for others.

It reminds me that I played Nintendogs, the cute dog simulator, for a full four years, from 2011 to 2015. Why hasn’t Nintendo rebooted that franchise?

It’s useful that you can sort the play history by most recently played, date first played, total time played and by game system. I was surprised by how many titles I played on the Wii U, but it probably paled in comparison to the number of games I played on the GameCube or the original Wii. The Play Activity doesn’t appear to go back that far; for me, it stops at 2011 with the Wii U and 3DS. Games on the Switch appear to show more detail, showing you how much you played for each gaming session.

But most of all, it’s nice to have a document that charts your relationship with Nintendo’s systems and software, whether it’s to see how much time you spent watching Netflix on your Switch or to see how many hours you’ve logged in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

What else is in the Nintendo Store app?

If Play Activity were the only feature in the Nintendo Store app, it would still be worth a download for longtime gamers. However, that’s just a nice-to-have feature, not the main attraction.

The best reason to download the Nintendo Store app is the store itself, which becomes much easier to navigate and search through than the version on the Switch, which can be slow and cumbersome. You can make purchases for your Switch or Switch 2 directly in the app, use Nintendo Points, do GPS check-ins and view events, promotions and game news from the company.

There’s also merchandise available, including game soundtracks, clothing and toys. Being able to quickly navigate which games have demo versions and being able to send a digital download to your Switch from your phone is handy.

An Ask the Developer tab is a nice area to browse in the News section of the app; recent stories discuss the making of Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza.

Using the Nintendo Store app requires linking your Nintendo account.

Technologies

As Disney’s YouTube TV Outage Drags On, Viewers Have Few Options for Football

The contract dispute threatens another week of college football and the first big weekend of NCAA basketball.

An ongoing contract dispute between YouTube TV and Disney has led to the removal of ESPN, ABC and other top broadcasting channels from the live streaming service, with no indication when they’ll be restored.

As the NCAA football season heats up and college basketball begins, this weekend could be the second in a row that YouTube TV viewers are shut out of the biggest games.

The disagreement causing the ESPN and ABC outage stems from the «carriage fee» that YouTube TV pays Disney to broadcast its channels. Disney has faced similar negotiating standoffs with other broadcasters in recent years, including a 2021 outage on YouTube TV that was resolved in two days.

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Disney says YouTube TV is not paying enough to stream its channels. YouTube TV, owned by Google, has the most subscribers of all other internet TV providers, more than 9 million. Hulu, owned by Disney, is second with 4.3 million subscribers through its Hulu + Live TV offering.

In a blog post Monday, YouTube asked Disney to consider «immediately restoring the Disney channels that our customers watch: ABC and the ESPN networks, while we continue to negotiate,» with no public response from Disney.

Which Disney channels aren’t available on YouTube TV now?

Sports fans aren’t the only viewers left sidelined by the loss of Disney channels from YouTube TV. Here are all the channels that have been removed from the streaming service:

ABC
ABC News Live
ACC Network
Baby TV Español (Spanish Plan)
Disney Channel
Disney Junior
Disney XD
ESPN
ESPN Deportes (Spanish Plan)
ESPNews
ESPNU
ESPN2
Freeform
FX
FXM
FXX
Localish
Nat Geo
Nat Geo Mundo (Spanish Plan)
Nat Geo Wild
SEC Network

When could Disney channels be restored to YouTube TV?

As with previous Disney disputes, negotiations are under wraps. Judging by Disney’s contract conflicts from previous years — Sling TV in 2022, Spectrum/Charter in 2023 and DirecTV in 2024 — the outage may last only a few more days, but Google has considerably more bargaining power than those other platforms.

On Thursday, Oct. 30, YouTube TV posted on X, «Members, when we renew our contracts with network partners, we advocate for fair pricing to offer you the best TV experience.»

The service also said it would offer subscribers a $20 credit «if their content is unavailable for an extended period of time.» You can find updates on the dispute on this YouTube TV page. We haven’t seen any reports of YouTube TV subscribers receiving that $20 credit yet, although some people have reported receiving a $10 discount for six months which seems to be unrelated to the Disney dispute.

«Google’s YouTube TV has chosen to deny its subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC,» Disney said in a statement to CNBC.

In a memo to employees on Oct. 31 that was also reported by CNBC, Disney accused YouTube TV of deleting «previously recorded shows and events from their subscribers’ libraries.»

«YouTube TV and its owner, Google, are not interested in achieving a fair deal with us,» Disney Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in the memo. «Instead, they want to use their power and extraordinary resources to eliminate competition and devalue the very content that helped them build their service.»

Disney is also asking its viewers to ask YouTube TV to bring back its broadcasting via the keepmynetworks.com site.

How can YouTube TV subscribers watch football games during the Disney outage?

YouTube TV subscribers with an aerial TV antenna can still watch Monday Night Football and college football games on ABC if they live close enough to receive an over-the-air broadcast signal from a local ABC affiliate.

Other than that, the only real option for viewers who want to watch all of the college football and basketball games this weekend and Monday Night Football at home is to subscribe to another service that provides ABC and ESPN, including ESPN+, Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, or DirectTV Stream.

Sling TV offers a $5 Day Pass that could be a good option for viewers who want to watch one specific game, as well a $10 Weekend Pass that would give you college football and basketball games for both days.

For those looking to find football games at local establishments, this handy app can help you find places that are showing the games.

Correction, Nov. 5: An earlier version of this story failed to note that Sling TV day and weekend passes can be used to watch local ABC affiliates only in certain markets.