Apple is rolling out a third round of public betas for iOS 17.6 and iPadOS 17.6, allowing non-developers to try and test the upcoming software. It comes about a week after Apple debuted the second round of iOS 17.6 and iPadOS 17.6 public betas and released the third developer betas of the same.
It’s not uncommon for Apple to have several beta cycles going on simultaneously. In fact, it’s more common during mid-season as iOS 18 is just a few weeks away from its official debut. Likewise, its developer betas are rolling out to registered developers and testers.
While public betas are generally safer than developer betas, which are solely for testing purposes, I would advise against installing even public betas on your primary device(s). These are pre-release software that may break your device or cause malfunctions. So, it’s better to wait for the official rollout.
Since iOS 18 is Apple’s current main focus, these iOS 17.x updates will not include any new features but will mainly focus on bug fixes and improvements.
Meanwhile, have you checked which iPhones will support the upcoming iOS 18? iOS 18 is expected to debut this fall, right when Apple announces the iPhone 16 series.