Apple releases iOS 18.1 developer beta 6, public beta 3 updates for iPhone: New features

Apple on Monday released new iOS 18.1 developer and public updates for iPhone. With the new update, the Cupertino-based tech giant has introduced new toggles in Control Centre, changes to the notification summary, support for sleep apnea detection, and the ability to share Apple Music songs directly on social media platforms. Notably, this development comes just days after Apple released iOS 18.0.1 – the first major stable update since the release of the operating system (OS) last month.

iOS 18.1 developer beta 6, public beta 3 updates
According to Apple, the iOS 18 developer beta 6 update introduces two new dedicated toggles for Control Centre: AirDrop and Satellite. Before the update, these options were only available in the Connectivity window, but now they can be placed as standalone toggles in the Control Center. There are also new Measure and Level options.

Apart from this, the update also brings a small change to the Notification Summary – a feature that is backed by Apple Intelligence. It now shows the number of notifications received next to the stack on the iPhone’s lock screen. Additionally, Apple Music users can now share songs to TikTok directly from within the app.

The most notable addition in the beta update is sleep apnea detection, which Apple previewed with the launch of its Watch Series 10 last month. It records and notifies the user of any breathing disturbances that can be considered moderate or severe sleep apnea and which may require further action. These alerts can be toggled within the Health app.

Apple has also introduced natural language search in the App Store and there is a new splash screen that tells users how it works. It now supports the use of descriptive app tags when searching to find apps more easily.

Both the iOS 18.1 Developer Beta 6 and Public Beta 3 updates are compatible with all models that received the iOS 18 update last month.