The iOS 18 beta 2 and iPadOS 18 beta 2 updates come two weeks after Apple unveiled iOS 18 at WWDC 2024. Apple will be refining ‌iOS 18‌ over the next few months, with a variety of changes and improvements.

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Apple has just released iOS 18 beta 2 for developers. Photo: Macrumors

Here are the highlights from the second iOS 18 beta.

iPhone Mirroring feature

When connected to a Mac running macOS Sequoia beta 2, ‌iOS 18‌ beta 2 supports iPhone mirroring on the Mac. With ‌iPhone‌ Mirroring, users can control their ‌iPhone‌ with their Mac.

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Users can control their ‌iPhone‌ with their Mac even when the iPhone is locked. Photo: Macrumors

The feature is enabled by clicking the new ‌iPhone‌ Mirroring icon on your Mac and following the instructions. It allows you to open and use apps, manage notifications, and more even when your ‌iPhone‌ is locked.

RCS Messaging

‌iOS 18‌ beta 2 adds a toggle for the new RCS messaging protocol that replaces SMS and MMS, but ‌RCS‌ isn't working yet.

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RCS‌ is currently only available to ‌iPhone‌ users in the US. Photo: Macrumors

Currently, the ‌RCS‌ toggle is only available to ‌iPhone‌ users in the US with supporting carriers, including T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T.

‌RCS‌ will improve messaging conversations for Android users, allowing for higher-quality images and videos, typing notifications, Tapback support, and more.

Home screen

The App Store icon on the home screen adds a dark mode, which changes the background color of the app. There's also an automatic wallpaper tint option, which makes the selected wallpaper darker in Dark Mode.

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Photo: Macrumors

For some icons, iOS beta 2 improves the contrast of Dark Mode for app icons by adding more dark areas.

Note some color display errors may occur in beta 2.

Widget

There is a new widget app called Connected Card Wallet, but it is not yet live. Connected Card integrates with the Wallet app to display card balances and transaction history.

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Connected Card Wallet is currently not working. Photo: Macrumors

Password Application

The "+" button appears in the main interface of the Passwords app, allowing users to add new entries without having to tap the "All" icon.

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Photo: Macrumors

Control Center

The power button in Control Center has a more pronounced vibration when pressed, and it only activates when pressed, not just touched.

This change helps prevent the power button from being accidentally activated when using Control Center .

Changing the EU app ecosystem

In the European Union, the iPadOS 18 beta adds support for alternative app markets and downloading apps from websites. These are similar changes that Apple made to the ‌iPhone‌ in iOS 17.4, with the updates now extending to iPads at the request of the European Commission.

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Apple is forced to comply with the European Commission's request. Photo: Macrumors

Apple will continue to improve iOS 18 over the next few months, before its official release in September.

iPhone users can now download iOS 18 beta 2 to experience the new features. However, Apple recommends backing up data in case the version is not stable.

iPhone 15 Pro Max gets 'amazing' performance boost after upgrading to iOS 18 iPhone 15 Pro Max running iOS 18 beta has a significant speed increase in machine learning tasks compared to iOS 17.