Apple launches iOS 14.6 release candidate for developers

If you’re a developer looking to take a peek at iOS 14.6, here’s how to install the developer beta.

iOS 14.6 is coming later this year with new features that require third-party developer input. As such, the company is releasing developer betas so that software engineers can get a head start on making great software for you.

What’s new in iOS 14.6?

May 17, 2021: Apple launches iOS 14.6 Release Candidate to developers

Apple has seeded the release candidate of iOS 14.6 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.6 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

May 10, 2021: Apple launches iOS 14.6 beta 3 to developers

Apple has released the third beta of iOS 14.6 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.6 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

April 30, 2021: Apple launches iOS 14.6 beta 2 to developers

iOS 14.5 isn’t even publically available yet, but Apple has released the second beta of iOS 14.6 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.6 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

April 22, 2021: Apple launches iOS 14.6 beta 1 to developers

iOS 14.5 isn’t even publically available yet, but Apple has released the first beta of iOS 14.6 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.5 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

April 20, 2021: Apple launches iOS 14.5 Release Candidate for developers

Apple has rolled out the Release Candidate of iOS 14.5 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.5 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

April 13, 2021: Apple launches iOS 14.5 beta 8 for developers

Apple has rolled out the eighth beta of iOS 14.5 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.5 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

April 7, 2021: Apple launches iOS 14.5 beta 7 for developers

Apple has rolled out the seventh beta of iOS 14.5 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.5 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

March 31, 2021: Apple launches iOS 14.5 beta 6 for developers

Apple has rolled out the sixth beta of iOS 14.5 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.5 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

March 23, 2021: Apple launches iOS 14.5 beta 5 for developers

Apple has rolled out the fifth beta of iOS 14.5 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.5 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

March 15, 2021: Apple launches iOS 14.5 beta 4 for developers

Apple has rolled out the fourth beta of iOS 14.5 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.5 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

March 2, 2021: Apple launches iOS 14.5 beta 3 for developers

Apple has rolled out the third beta of iOS 14.5 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.5 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

February 16, 2021: Apple launches iOS 14.5 beta 2 for developers

Apple has rolled out the second beta of iOS 14.5 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.5 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

February 4, 2021: Apple releases updated version of iOS 14.5 beta 1 for developers

Apple has released an updated version of the first iOS 14.5 beta for developers. It’s unclear what’s different about this version, but it’s available even if you downloaded the previous version of this beta.

February 1, 2021: Apple launches iOS 14.5 beta 1 for developers

Apple has rolled out the first beta of iOS 14.5 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.5 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

January 21, 2021: Apple launches iOS 14.4 Release Candidate for developers

Apple has rolled out the release candidate of iOS 14.4 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.4 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

January 13, 2021: Apple launches iOS 14.4 beta 2 for developers

Apple has released the second beta of iOS 14.4 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.3 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

December 16, 2020: Apple launches iOS 14.4 beta 1 for developers

Apple has released the first beta of iOS 14.4 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.3 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

December 10, 2020: Apple launches iOS 14.3 Release Candidate 2 for developers

Apple is rolling out the second release candidate of iOS 14.3 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.3 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

December 8, 2020: Apple launches iOS 14.3 Release Candidate for developers

Apple is rolling out the release candidate of iOS 14.3 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.3 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

December 2, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14.3 beta 3 to developers

Apple is rolling out the third beta of iOS 14.3 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.3 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

November 17, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14.3 beta 2 to developers

Apple is rolling out the second beta of iOS 14.3 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.3 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

November 12, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14.3 beta 1 to developers

Apple is rolling out the first beta of iOS 14.3 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14.3 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

October 30, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14.2 release candidate to developers

Apple is rolling out the release candidate beta of iOS 14.2 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

October 20, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14.2 beta 4 to developers

Apple has just released beta 4 of iOS 14.2 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

October 13, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14.2 beta 3 to developers

Apple has just released beta 3 of iOS 14.2 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

September 29, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14.2 beta 2 to developers

Apple has just released beta 2 of iOS 14.2 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

September 17, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14.2 beta 1 to developers

Apple has just released beta 1 of iOS 14.2 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

September 15, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14 beta Golden Master to developers

Apple has just released the Golden Master of iOS 14 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

September 9, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14 beta 8 to developers

Apple has just released the eighth beta of iOS 14 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

September 3, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14 beta 7 to developers

Apple has just released the seventh beta of iOS 14 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

August 25, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14 beta 6 to developers

Apple has just released the sixth beta of iOS 14 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

August 18, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14 beta 5 to developers

Apple has just released the fifth beta of iOS 14 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

August 4, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14 beta 4 to developers

Apple has just released the fourth beta of iOS 14 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

July 22, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14 beta 3 to developers

Apple has just released the third beta of iOS 14 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

July 7, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14 beta 2 to developers

Apple has just released the second beta of iOS 14 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

June 22, 2020: Apple releases iOS 14 beta 1 to developers

Apple has just released the first beta of iOS 14 for developers. Follow the instructions below to install this beta. If you were waiting for iOS 14 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Everything you need to know about iOS 14

You can find out more about all the new features in iOS 14 here.

iOS 14 FAQ: Everything you need to know

• How to download the iOS Restore Image to your Mac
• How to make an archived backup of your iPhone
• How to install the iOS beta using iTunes
• How to install the iOS beta using a profile
• How to get started with the iOS beta

How to download the iOS Restore Image to your Mac

This first part is easy and works just like it does on any Mac operating system.

1. Navigate to developer.apple.com on your Mac.
2. Click on the Discover tab.
3. Click on iOS at the top of the screen.
4. Click Download in the upper right corner.
5. Log in with your developer account credentials when prompted.
6. Under iOS 14 beta, click on Download Restore Images.
7. Click on the iOS restore image for the device you’re installing the developer beta on.

How to make an archived backup of your iPhone

Before you begin, make sure you back up your iPhone. While the beta process is fairly straightforward, any time you make any significant change to your device you risk problems. And with your personal data, it’s always — always! — better to be safe than sorry. Even if you back up every night, you’ll want to make sure it’s absolutely up-to-date.

1. Connect your device to your Mac using the cable it came with.
2. Launch a Finder window.
3. Select your connected device under Locations in the sidebar of the Finder window.
4. Click Pair to pair the device to your Mac.
5. Tap Trust on the device to confirm that you want to pair it.
6. Enter your passcode on your device.
7. If you don’t already have a backup on your Mac, click Back Up Now to make a backup.
8. Click Manage Backups after you’ve made a recent backup.
9. Right or Control click on your device backup.
10. Click Archive.
11. Click OK.

Archiving will prevent your current backup from being overwritten by an iOS 14 backup in the future, should you want to revert for any reason.

How to install the iOS beta on your Mac

1. With your device still connected to your Mac, open a Finder window if you haven’t already.
2. Select your connected device under Locations in the sidebar of the Finder window.
3. Hold down the Option key and click on Check for Updates. This will launch another window with your recent files.
4. Click on the IPSW restore image.
5. Click Open.
6. Click Update when prompted.

Your mac will now install iOS 14 onto your iPhone. This process will take some time, and you shouldn’t unplug your iPhone from your Mac until the update is complete.

How to install the iOS beta using a profile

Before you do anything else, make sure you have a developer account with Apple — without a paid account, you won’t be able to download any non-Xcode betas.

Thanks to Apple’s configuration profile, you can download iOS betas directly on your iPhone, no Mac required! (You can still install the iOS beta on your iPhone by connecting your device to iTunes, but you’ll need to be running the Xcode beta first. The method listed below is generally a lot faster, with fewer wires.)

1. Go to developer.apple.com on your iPhone.
2. Click on the “Discover” tab.
3. Click on of the operating system buttons in the bar near the top of the screen.
4. Tap Download.
5. Log in with your developer account’s username and password.
6. Go to the iOS 14 beta section and tap the download. This will start the process of downloading the iOS beta software profile on your iPhone.
7. Tap Close.
8. Open Settings.
9. Tap Profile Downloaded.
10. Tap Install. You may need to enter your Passcode.
11. Agree to the Consent form and press Install once in the upper right corner, and once at the bottom of the screen.
12. Press Restart to apply the changes to your iPhone.

To install the beta itself, just visit system preferences.

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen, tap on General, then tap on Software Update.
2. Once the update appears, tap on Download and Install.
3. Enter your Passcode.
4. Tap Agree to the Terms and Conditions.
5. Tap Agree again to confirm.

Your iPhone will reboot to install iOS 14. There will be a couple of progress bars going across the screen. Sit tight, and let everything finish.

How to get started with iOS beta

Once your iPhone reboots, it’ll be running iOS the latest beta. There’s a brief bit of setup you’ll need to go through, however, as the system will have changed enough that it’ll need your login to complete the update.

1. Tap Continue.
2. Enter your Apple ID password. iCloud settings will update, so give it a minute.
3. Tap Get Started.

Once that’s done, you’ll be on the Home screen and ready to rock the latest iOS beta.