Apple’s iOS 18.5 beta update is pretty barebones, but more important than it seems

Apple has just started rolling out the iOS 18.5 beta to developers, and while it’s not a game-changing update, it brings a handful of small yet welcome refinements to the iPhone experience. If you’ve been expecting a big mid-cycle feature drop, this isn’t it — but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

With iOS 18 already well into its lifecycle and iOS 19 expected to debut at WWDC this June, this update feels like a final round of polish rather than a major release. Internally known as the “F” build (following the recent “E” cycle that delivered iOS 18.4), iOS 18.5 is about clearing the deck before Apple reveals what’s next.

That said, it does include a couple of small user-facing changes worth knowing about. The most noticeable updates come to the Mail app, where Apple is making it easier to customize how your inbox looks by allowing you to disable contact photos directly from the Mail interface, instead of digging through the Settings app. Another user-facing change is a small tweak to the AppleCare & Warranty section in Settings, where it now displays a cleaner banner showing whether your current device is covered and letting you manage your plan more easily.

Aside from that, this beta seems focused mostly on performance and stability tweaks — no flashy features or new apps this time around. Even the Vision Pro and Apple Watch updates that accompany iOS 18.5 in beta form haven’t introduced anything particularly notable.

Why is the update so barebones?

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, that’s no accident. Apple is currently holding back most of its big moves for WWDC, which kicks off on June 9. That’s when we’re likely to see iOS 19 alongside major updates to macOS, watchOS, and possibly new announcements around Apple Intelligence — the company’s on-device AI system.

For users in China, Apple is working to integrate Apple Intelligence with a region-specific censorship layer and local services like Baidu, instead of relying on OpenAI or Google. Gurman suggests this rollout might happen with the public version of iOS 18.5 or slightly later, in iOS 18.6.

So, while the 18.5 beta might feel quiet, it’s more of a calm before the storm. If you’re waiting for the next big leap — smarter AI features, deeper Siri upgrades, or a redesigned app experience — your eyes should be on WWDC. For now, this beta is more like tidying up the room before the party starts.