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iOS 18 Speculation Thread

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There’s a rumor that it’s coming out on the same day the iPad mini releases. That would be Wednesday the 23rd.
 
bigjnyc said:
RC probably today but it won't make a difference for those of us that have been using 18.1.... The last couple of releases have been A builds so any RC released today won't have much of a performance difference.
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Just for educational purposes - what exactly is the significance of an A build? Google didn’t reveal much when I tried to research
 
kirbysmartsdawg said:
My prediction is that if Apple has identified the cause of the battery drain issues some users are having, they will release 18.0.2 today, followed by 18.1 RC tomorrow, which will include the battery drain fixes. If they have not resolved the issue yet, they will release 18.1 RC today.

My hunch is it's 18.1 RC today.
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Little to no chance of 18.0.2 with 18.1 being so close.
 
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Benz63amg said:
So we’re not getting 18.1 this week after all despite all the rumors. That sucks
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Not sure which rumors said it was coming this week. But if you are on the beta you’ll get it this week with the RC. Hoping the hearing aid thing comes with the RC.
 
So is there actually zero differences whatsoever between RCs and public releases? I thought I read somewhere that betas run in debug mode or something which can impact battery and performance. Any truth to that?
 
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MrRom92 said:
Just for educational purposes - what exactly is the significance of an A build? Google didn’t reveal much when I tried to research
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The last letter in the build information shows how many times it was compiled that day successfully without issues. So, an "a" build only means it was compiled and accepted. Doesn't mean quality is better.

IMO, something like a "D" build could be better because it means there could have been issues found and corrected...
 
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Pearsey said:
www.macrumors.com

Gurman: Apple Believes Its AI Technology Is Two Years Behind Rivals

Some Apple employees believe that the company's in-house generative AI technology powering Apple Intelligence is more than two years behind...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com

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But will it even matter? Are OpenAI’s grammar correction capabilities so much more by virtue of being “ahead”? What else besides image generation or from scratch text generation is the average user actually going to use this for?
 
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gank41 said:
The last letter in the build information shows how many times it was compiled that day successfully without issues. So, an "a" build only means it was compiled and accepted. Doesn't mean quality is better.

IMO, something like a "D" build could be better because it means there could have been issues found and corrected...
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To elaborate: theoretically every released build should be of equal quality regardless of whether it’s an “a” or “z” build. Each was sufficiently good to pass the quality control tests.

In practice, however, a beta that took 26 tries to get there probably does have some underlying issues. But that’s why the number of builds decreases as we move through the betas: it takes fewer tries to get each beta to release-ready status.
 
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gank41 said:
The last letter in the build information shows how many times it was compiled that day successfully without issues. So, an "a" build only means it was compiled and accepted. Doesn't mean quality is better.

IMO, something like a "D" build could be better because it means there could have been issues found and corrected...
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Thank you, this explains a lot. I guess there are different ways it could be interpreted but it seems like for better or worse, an A build would be pretty close to finalized

Nathan576 said:
So is there actually zero differences whatsoever between RCs and public releases? I thought I read somewhere that betas run in debug mode or something which can impact battery and performance. Any truth to that?
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Also a great question, it’s not very clear to me either because I’ve commonly seen it stated both ways - that RC builds are “still a beta” and have those beta processes still enabled in the background. Or that RC builds are 100% identical to the actual release (assuming no further changes or bug fixes, which is rare but has happened in the past between RC and final release)

It’s a good example of two conflicting but commonly repeated myths only serving to muddy the waters

I guess something like an MD5 checksum between an RC IPSW and a final release IPSW would clear that one up once and for all.
 
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MrRom92 said:
Thank you, this explains a lot. I guess there are different ways it could be interpreted but it seems like for better or worse, an A build would be pretty close to finalized



Also a great question, it’s not very clear to me either because I’ve commonly seen it stated both ways - that RC builds are “still a beta” and have those beta processes still enabled in the background. Or that RC builds are 100% identical to the actual release (assuming no further changes or bug fixes, which is rare but has happened in the past between RC and final release)

It’s a good example of two conflicting but commonly repeated myths only serving to muddy the waters

I guess something like an MD5 checksum between an RC IPSW and a final release IPSW would clear that one up once and for all.
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My understanding is that an RC is identical to a public release in all respects. That’s borne out by the fact that if you are on an RC, more times than not you will stay on that even after the public release precisely because they are identical. Logging and other diagnostics present in the “true” betas are turned off.
 
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MrRom92 said:
Thank you, this explains a lot. I guess there are different ways it could be interpreted but it seems like for better or worse, an A build would be pretty close to finalized



Also a great question, it’s not very clear to me either because I’ve commonly seen it stated both ways - that RC builds are “still a beta” and have those beta processes still enabled in the background. Or that RC builds are 100% identical to the actual release (assuming no further changes or bug fixes, which is rare but has happened in the past between RC and final release)

It’s a good example of two conflicting but commonly repeated myths only serving to muddy the waters

I guess something like an MD5 checksum between an RC IPSW and a final release IPSW would clear that one up once and for all.
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Regarding RC (Release Candidate), a more fitting analogy would be the concept of "going gold."

In the past, when software was primarily distributed on physical discs—a practice still seen with console games today—once the final version of the software was ready, they would create the "gold disc." This was the master copy from which manufacturers produced all other copies for distribution. The same process applies to modern PlayStation games on discs.

RC is similar to that gold disc: it's essentially a version that's ready for release. However, in today's software development, there’s often a zero-day patch—an immediate update released alongside the game to address last-minute fixes or improvements.

As for the official release, it's comparable to launching an updated version of the software, separate from the RC, if any additional changes were made.
 
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Appreciate all the clarification everyone!
I am excited that 18.1 is almost here, in many ways it seems to signal the true arrival of iOS 18. I will be installing the RC a little more confidently now knowing that all the background telemetry stuff from a “typical” beta is gone

I have some time to get it installed tomorrow morning, so if the RC drops today then im in… but if we have to wait till 1PM tomorrow afternoon, all bets are off. May just have to wait for official release at that point.
 
Nathan576 said:
So is there actually zero differences whatsoever between RCs and public releases? I thought I read somewhere that betas run in debug mode or something which can impact battery and performance. Any truth to that?
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A release candidate is still a beta test and things can still go wrong, but it's less likely. If nothing goes wrong within the first couple days of deploying an RC, it is officially released the next week usually. There have been times where there is an RC2 because there were some "showstopper" issues with the first RC, but unless those are cellular/wifi/bluetooth bugs, the problem is usually just deferred to the next x.x.1 release.

Edit: I should add that Apple has had at least two public releases recalled the past couple months (a watch release and an iPad release), so nothing is guaranteed in terms of stability. Always best to wait a bit if you can. While an RC is very stable, it doesn't mean you aren't still a beta tester and shouldn't be doing it on your primary device unless you are comfortable fixing things when they go sideways.
 
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HouseLannister said:
A release candidate is still a beta test and things can still go wrong, but it's less likely.
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To add to this, a release can also still have issues despite all the beta testing, to not forget. Good advice is to wait to update, if you’re on a stable and not desperate for a fix that is. 👼
 
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Carlsberg69 said:
To add to this, a release can also still have issues despite all the beta testing, to not forget. Good advice is to wait to update, if you’re on a stable and not desperate for a fix that is.
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Or simply accept the fact that software will have bugs and, so long as the bugs don’t affect your usage, take the release and move on.

Obsessing over minor glitches is not a great way to live one’s life.
 
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The fact that installing an RC still includes the Feedback app always makes me think that it’s still operating on some sort of beta level, so my OCD usually forces me to wait for the official public release.
 
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