Today Apple released the latest betas of each of its major operating systems. Beta 5 of iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS and macOS Ventura are all here. Details are still incoming but there is one major exception…
The return of the battery percentage on the iPhone
Since the introduction of the iPhone X, the iPhone has featured a cutout area at the top of the display. Lovingly referred to by many as the notch (and reviled by others), it contains the True Depth camera system enabling FaceID while providing as close as possible to an edge-to-edge display.
Unfortunately, the introduction of the notch resulted in less space in the status bar. It meant that Apple no longer had the space to display a precise battery percentage. At least in the way that it does on iPhone models without a notch. Instead, users have to swipe down to the control centre to see the precise percentage.
Now with iOS 16 beta 5, the battery percentage makes a glorious return with the % visible inside the battery icon. This was perhaps an obvious solution though Apple had until now resisted implementing it. *One notable exception is that this is not currently available on iPhone 12 mini or 13 mini.
The icon also changes colour depending on the status of the battery such as when it is charging. If you’d prefer to turn the feature off, you can toggle it off under the battery menu in settings.
Today’s other releases
Details are scarce at present regarding any further feature updates within the latest betas. However, all registered developers can now download:
- iOS 16 beta 5
- iPadOS 16 beta 5
- macOS Ventura beta 5
- watchOS 9 beta 5
- tvOS 16 beta 5
The public betas will likely follow tomorrow or Wednesday unless any major show-stopping bugs are discovered by early beta 5 testers.
Expect a final release of at least some of these new operating systems in September. Most likely iOS, watchOS and tvOS. iOS and watchOS are intrinsically linked with many features of each system being reliant on the other.
According to reports by Mark Gurman and others, iPadOS has apparently been delayed internally. Apple of course has not provided a release schedule, instead opting to share a release window of ‘this fall’. That means if iPadOS truly has been delayed, Apple has plenty of time to fix major outstanding bugs. It’s thought that the new Stage Manager feature is the primary culprit for the delay.
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