4 Pesky Bugs Apple Squashed With the Launch of the Public iOS 12 Beta 4

Hot on the heels of the fifth developers beta, Apple has released the fourth version of the iOS 12 public beta. This update is free for anyone that signs up their iPhone or iPad for the Apple Beta Software Program and it has fixed many of the bugs that were present in the previous beta.

Spotting glitches, fixing them, and repeat: That’s all part of the development process and no one can do it better than the Apple aficionados across the internet. This is precisely why Apple lets four million users test drive potentially buggy software.

So if you ever encounter a hiccup while browsing your Apple device of choice, be sure to flag it in the Bug Reporter. This way iOS 12 will be as polished as possible come this fall.

1. iOS 12 Bug Fixes: Reducing Transparency Finally Reduces Transparency

Back in the third public beta, redditor quiChuck noticed that trying to make their phone’s Control Center less transparent would actually make it more transparent. This previously broken feature, which can be accessed by tapping Settings > General > Accessibility, now performs as advertised.

Not only does it do what it was meant to, but it also adopts the dominant color of the device’s wallpaper and uses it to darken the background of folders and notifications. That’s a nice aesthetic touch for the users who don’t want any background distractions.

2. iOS 12 Bug Fixes: HomeKit Sliders No Longer Self-Adjust

The HomeKit app serves as a control hub for users to adjust their IoT lights, thermostats, and outlets with the simple touch of a slider. It worked great until early versions of iOS 12 came along and broke the sliders.

Attempting to set a room’s temperature to 72 degrees Fahrenheit would result in the app sliding up or down a few notches, not ideal when you want to keep your room cool in the middle of summer. Those days are over with the fourth public beta, the HomeKit app no longer has a mind of its own.

3. iOS 12 Bug Fixes: Cloud Messages Are Fully Functional

Apple’s Messages in iCloud feature debuted with iOS 11.4 in May, but the iOS 12 public beta made it temporarily non-compatible with Watch OS. The feature is supposed to allow users to clear their texts across all of their devices with a single swipe, but that failed to happen on the Apple Watch.

Now, instead of having to go through your messages again on your Apple Watch, you can just swipe them away on your iPhone and watch them disappear from both devices at once. It’s never been easier to ghost someone.

4. iOS 12 Bug Fixes: And Speed To Boot

Finally, if you’ve been waiting for ages for your iPhone or iPad to boot up after a restart or upgrade you’re not alone. Reddit-user josh_posey took the iOS Beta subreddit to announce that those days are over. Before this update, the user wrote, it would take up to a minute for their iPhone 6S to power on again. Now, it only takes a snappy 30 seconds or so.

So long pesky bugs, you won’t be missed.