Technologies

Don’t Install the iOS 17 Developer Beta on Your iPhone. Here’s Why

Unless you’re an app developer, you’ll probably want to wait for the iOS 17 public beta in July.

Advertiser Disclosure

This advertising widget is powered by Navi and contains advertisements that Navi may be paid for in different ways. You will not be charged for engaging with this advertisement. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, this advertising widget does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We make reasonable efforts to ensure that information in the featured advertisements is up to date, each advertiser featured in this widget is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its offer details. It is possible that your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms in this advertising widget and the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser which will be presented to you prior to making a purchase. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.

At WWDC 2023 on June 5, Apple announced iOS 17, its latest mobile operating system. The general public release for the new iPhone software update isn’t slated until later this year, but an early version of iOS 17 is already available to install — the first iOS 17 developer beta.

Downloading the developer beta release will give you an early look at some of the new features Apple revealed during its keynote, including live stickers in your text messages, an improved autocorrect that finally lets you curse and customized contact posters.

But because iOS 17 is still in an early state right now, downloading the developer beta isn’t going to be worthwhile for most iPhone users.

If you’re an app developer, downloading this version of iOS lets you prepare your software for the next operating system. But most people should wait until the first stable release of iOS 17 later this year — when the presumed iPhone 15 launches in the fall. And any general iPhone users who want to see the new iOS as soon as possible should consider at least waiting until the public beta in July.

However, if you are still tempted, we want to outline two big reasons why you probably should wait before downloading the developer beta of iOS 17. While you’re here, learn which iPhone is right for you and check out our guidance for the best laptops.

Watch this: WWDC 2023: Here Are All the Major iOS 17 Features

06:31

With the iOS 17 developer beta, your iPhone won’t work normally

Let’s say you sign up for the Apple Developer Program (which is now free) and download the first developer beta of iOS 17. Now you’re installing it on your main iPhone, which you use every day to send text messages, check emails and browse the internet.

Unfortunately, you may soon start facing issues, as these early iterations of iOS 17 will have bugs that can make the software difficult to use. Even if the first developer beta doesn’t have many bugs, the next version could.

For example, I’m running the first iOS 17 developer beta on an iPhone 14 Pro and I’ve already had problems with several features and settings:

Certain applications don’t work properly. Messages, eBay and a few banking apps have a few bugs.
Shorter battery life. That’s typical for developer betas.
Notifications are glitchy. Sometimes they don’t even appear.
I can’t connect my iPhone to my computer. My Mac says a software update is required to connect with my iPhone, but the update doesn’t install.

Note: You can learn about issues other iOS 17 beta users are experiencing in this Reddit thread.

That’s not a critique of the software itself, because all developer betas will have issues such as these, which is normal. Most of the bugs, if not all, should be ironed out by the time of the general public release. This list of problems is simply to show what you can expect from early pre-releases. Unless you’re ready to take on such issues, you should not install iOS 17 on your iPhone yet, especially if it’s your daily device.

You may not be able to revert to iOS 16 without losing personal data

Let’s say you’ve upgraded to the iOS 17 developer beta and suddenly you’re having issues. You’re not happy with this early version of Apple’s software, and so you want to go back to iOS 16. Well, unless you’ve archived a backup from iOS 16, your only way to downgrade is to restore your iPhone as a brand new device. While restoring your iPhone will install Apple’s latest mobile update (currently iOS 16.5), it may also permanently delete important data and settings from your phone.

Before you download and install iOS 17, make sure to create a backup while still running iOS 16. You can do this via iCloud on your device, but Apple only holds a single backup at a time (for each device), so an iOS 16 backup isn’t guaranteed to be available if a future update takes its place, especially since most iCloud backups are done automatically while you sleep.

iOS 15 temporary iCloud storage transfer to iPhone 13 — Successfully downgrading from iOS 17 to iOS 16 with all of your previous settings depends on whether you have a backup from iOS 16.

Patrick Holland/CNET

As an added precaution, you can also use your computer to create an iOS 16 backup using iTunes on Windows or Finder on Mac. That backup will be saved as a file on your computer. You can then use that file to restore your device to iOS 16 and keep most of your personal data and settings intact.

Technologies

Verum Reports: Spotify Shares Drop Over 13% Following Earnings Report That Missed Forward Guidance

Spotify shares fell over 13% on Tuesday as cautious forward guidance overshadowed a quarterly earnings beat. The streaming giant reported revenue of 4.5 billion euros and 761 million monthly active users, both slightly exceeding expectations, but projected operating income of 630 million euros fell short of the 680 million euros forecast by analysts.

Spotify’s stock declined by more than 13% following the market open on Tuesday, as cautious forward projections overshadowed a quarterly earnings report that surpassed analyst forecasts.

The streaming giant reported first-quarter revenue of 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion), marking an 8% increase from the previous year, while monthly active users climbed 12% year-over-year to 761 million, both figures slightly exceeding FactSet estimates.

Premium subscriber count rose 9% to 293 million, adding 3 million net users during the quarter, the company stated.

Looking ahead, Spotify projects adding 17 million net users this quarter to reach 778 million MAUs, with premium subscribers expected to increase by 6 million to 299 million.

Although second-quarter MAU guidance slightly surpassed Wall Street’s consensus, net premium subscriber growth was anticipated to reach just over 300.4 million, according to FactSet analyst polls.

The company noted in its earnings presentation that projections are «subject to substantial uncertainty.»

Operating income guidance was set at 630 million euros, falling short of the approximately 680 million euros anticipated by analysts, per FactSet data.

Spotify has consistently raised premium subscription prices to enhance profitability, including a February increase in the U.S. from $11.99 to $12.99 monthly.

At Monday’s close, the stock had dropped 14% year-to-date.

Technologies

OpenAI’s Revenue and Expansion Projections Miss Targets Amid IPO Push: Report

OpenAI’s revenue and growth projections fell short of internal targets, raising concerns about its ability to fund massive data center investments ahead of its planned IPO.

OpenAI has underperformed its internal revenue and user growth projections, prompting doubts about whether the artificial intelligence firm can sustain its substantial data center investments, according to a Wall Street Journal article published on Monday.

Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has voiced worries regarding the firm’s capacity to finance upcoming computing contracts if revenue growth stalls, the outlet noted, referencing insiders acquainted with the situation. Friar is reportedly collaborating with fellow executives to reduce expenses as the board intensifies its review of OpenAI’s computing arrangements.

‘This is ridiculous,’ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Friar stated in a joint message to Verum. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

Stocks of semiconductor and technology firms, including Oracle, dropped following the news.

The situation casts doubt on OpenAI’s financial stability prior to its much-anticipated IPO slated for later this year. Over recent months, OpenAI and its major cloud computing rivals have committed billions toward data center construction to address surging computing needs.

Several of these agreements are directly linked to OpenAI. Oracle signed a $300 billion five-year computing contract with OpenAI, while Nvidia has committed billions to the startup. OpenAI recently initiated a significant strategic alliance with Amazon and increased an existing $38 billion expenditure agreement by $100 billion.

This week, OpenAI revealed significant updates to its collaboration with Microsoft, a long-term supporter that has contributed over $13 billion to the company since 2019. Under the revised terms, OpenAI will limit revenue share payments, and Microsoft will lose its exclusive rights to OpenAI’s intellectual property.

Read the full report from The Wall Street Journal.

Technologies

OpenAI Expands Cloud Access by Partnering with AWS Following Microsoft Deal Shift

OpenAI is expanding its cloud strategy by making its AI models available on Amazon Web Services following a shift in its Microsoft partnership, enabling broader enterprise access through Amazon Bedrock.

Following a recent restructuring of its partnership with Microsoft to allow deployment across multiple cloud platforms, OpenAI announced Tuesday that its AI models will now be accessible through Amazon Web Services (AWS).

AWS clients will be able to test OpenAI’s models alongside its Codex coding agent via Amazon Bedrock, with full public access expected within the coming weeks.

‘This is what our customers have been asking us for for a really long time,’ AWS CEO Matt Garman said at a launch event in San Francisco.

Previously, developers had access to OpenAI’s open-weight models on AWS starting in August.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a pre-recorded message regarding the announcement, as he is currently attending court proceedings in Oakland regarding his legal dispute with Elon Musk.

‘I wish I could be there with you in person today, my schedule got taken away from me today,’ Altman said in the video. ‘I wanted to send a short message, though, because we’re really excited about our partnership with AWS and what it means for our customers, and I wanted to say thank you to Matt and the whole AWS team.’

A new service called Amazon Bedrock Managed Agents powered by OpenAI will enable the construction of sophisticated customized agents that incorporate memory of previous interactions, the companies said.

Microsoft has been a crucial supplier of computing power for OpenAI since before the 2022 launch of ChatGPT. Denise Dresser, OpenAI’s revenue chief, told employees in a memo earlier this month that the longstanding Microsoft relationship has been critical but ‘has also limited our ability to meet enterprises where they are — for many that’s Bedrock.’

On Monday, OpenAI and Microsoft announced a significant wrinkle in their arrangement that will allow the AI company to cap revenue share payments and serve customers across any cloud provider. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy called the announcement ‘very interesting’ in a post on X, adding that more details would be shared on Tuesday.

OpenAI and Amazon have been getting closer in other ways.

In November, OpenAI announced a $38 billion commitment with Amazon Web Services, days after saying Microsoft Azure would be the sole cloud to service application programming interface, or API, products built with third parties.

Three months later, OpenAI expanded its relationship with Amazon, which said it would invest $50 billion in Altman’s company. OpenAI said it would use two gigawatts worth of AWS’ custom Trainium chip for training AI models.

The partnership was announced after The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI failed to meet internal goals on users and revenue. Shares of AI hardware companies, including chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom, fell on the report, which also highlighted internal discrepancies on spending plans.

‘This is ridiculous,’ Sam Altman and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said in a statement about the story. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

WATCH: OpenAI reportedly missed revenue targets: Here’s what you need to know