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

Tinder Users Must Start Logging In With Their Faces, Starting Nationwide

The social app now has new US requirements including face identification to help quell longstanding problems with catfishing and more.

US Tinder users will find a new feature when they open up the dating app starting Wednesday: A mandatory Face Check on their phones will be required before they can log into their profiles.

The Face Check step will begin with a new request to record a video of your face, a more casual version of setting up Apple’s Face ID login. Tinder will then run checks comparing your face data to your current profile pics and automatically create a small face badge for your profile. We already know how it works, because Tinder has already launched the feature in Canada and California before the full US rollout.

The technology, powered by FaceTec, will keep biometric data of the user’s face in encrypted form but discard the scanning video for privacy. Tinder will be able to use the face data to detect duplicate accounts, in an effort to cut down on fake profiles and identity theft.

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

Tinder’s facial recognition rollout is also made to prevent catfishing, or people pretending to be someone else on Tinder to scam or blackmail them. But that also points to a deeper problem on the rise in dating apps — a growing number of bots, many controlled by AI, are designed to glean personal information or fool users into scammy subscriptions, among other problems.

Tinder’s working against these bots on several fronts, including this Face Check push as well as ID Check, which requires a government-issued ID and other types of photo verification.

The dating app also recently released a feature in June to enable double-dating with your friends, which Tinder reports is especially popular with Gen Z users. If you’re worried about the latest hazards on Tinder, we have guide to safety practices.

A representative for Tinder did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Oct. 23

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 23.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Like some weather, memories and I.P.A.s
Answer: HAZY

5A clue: Statement that’s self-evidently true
Answer: AXIOM

7A clue: Civic automaker
Answer: HONDA

8A clue: What fear leads to, as Yoda told a young Anakin
Answer: ANGER

9A clue: Foxlike
Answer: SLY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Verbal «lol»
Answer: HAHA

2D clue: Brain signal transmitter
Answer: AXON

3D clue: Hits with a witty comeback
Answer: ZINGS

4D clue: Sing at the top of a mountain, maybe
Answer: YODEL

6D clue: Name of the famous «Queen of Scots»
Answer: MARY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Please don’t eat me!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: