Apple released the first public beta of iOS 11 on Monday, following through on its promise to give users a taste of the next major iPhone and iPad operating system. Company CEO Tim Cook introduced iOS 11 at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month.
iOS 11 introduces new features like a redesigned Control Center, system-wide drag-and-drop, improved multitasking, a Mac-like app dock, the Files app for managing documents, and more.
As enticing as the public beta may be, it’s important to remember this really is a not-ready-for-prime-time version of the operating system. There are bugs, broken features, app incompatibilities, and most likely higher than usual battery drain.
We don’t recommend installing the public beta on mission critical devices—like your only iPhone—because there’s always the chance something could go horribly wrong and you lose all your data.
With that warning out of the way, it’s easy to sign up for the public beta at Apple’s website. It’s free and all you need is a compatible iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.