Apple lets anyone register to take part in the beta testing. This allows the company to test the operating system on a wide-range of devices worldwide as people try to use iOS 14 with accessories, Wi-Fi networks, and pairing with vehicles and headphones. In theory, this should allow Apple to identify bugs and glitches that might not crop-up if all the testing had been done in a secretive laboratory in California.
Beta versions can be pretty unreliable, so it’s never advisable to install an early version of iOS 14 on your main device. The last thing you want is for the Phone or Messages app to unexpectedly crash when you desperately need to contact someone, for example.
But there is another reason to avoid installing the iOS 14 Public Beta right now.
The current beta version of iOS 14 does not work with contract-tracing apps to map-out the spread of coronavirus and keep people safe in Europe. A number of countries have pledged to use a system developed by Apple and Google to trace users’ movements and allow them to notify anyone who has recently been in close contact if they receive a positive test result for the potentially-fatal virus.
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If you live in the country with a contract-tracing app up-and-running – the UK Government attempted to create its own version of the system without the free technology provided by Apple and Google at a cost of £11.8million, although this has now been scrapped in favour of a new app that leverages the smartphone manufacturers’ APIs – the iOS 14 beta will not currently let you be notified if you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
Once you’ve have installed the iOS 14 beta, heading into Settings > Privacy > Health will show that COVID-19 Exposure Logging is Off. If you try to turn it back On, a message will state that the feature is Not Available In Your Region.
Obviously, this isn’t an issue for developer testing iOS 14 with their apps and accessories in the office, but if you were thinking about taking the risk when it comes to instability with the software in order to get your hands on the latest features …you might want to hold off. As you might be risking more than a few simple app crashes or pairing issues with your Bluetooth headphones.
Apple already lists the contract tracing glitch as a “known issue” with the beta, so expect to see a fix soon.