How to Install iPadOS 16 Beta on iPad Right now
iPadOS 16 will bring some significant changes to the iPad, particularly for users that have an iPad with M1 chip. If you’re interested in trying out iPadOS 16 beta right now, you can do so through the developer beta program.
Apple just recently released the first beta of iPadOS 16 to those enrolled in the Apple Developer program, so if you don’t mind running buggier than usual system software on your iPad, you may enjoy taking the plunge and trying out the new beta iPadOS.
iPadOS 16 Beta Requirements
First and foremost, you will need an Apple Developer account, so that you can access the iPadOS 16 beta profile right now. Yes you can technically find these on social media and the web, but you shouldn’t do that, because beta system software is buggy and not intended for average users. The public beta will be available next month, which is more appropriate for casual users to try out, and the final version will be released in the fall for everyone.
Before being able to install iPadOS 16 beta on your device, you also need to make sure your iPad is compatible with the new system software. All iPad Pro models, iPad Air 3rd generation and newer, iPad 5th generation and newer, and iPad Mini 5th generation and newer, can all run iPadOS 16. However, the best features like Stage Manager and full external display support for iPad, require an iPad with M1 chip or better, limiting the most notable features of the new iPadOS to only the newest devices. So if you were hoping to use those on another iPad, you’re out of luck.
Assuming you have a compatible device and the iPadOS beta profile, and can tolerate a buggy iPad, the rest is pretty straight forward.
How to Install iPadOS 16 Beta on iPad
Don’t forget to backup the iPad before installing any beta system software. A failure to complete a device backup could lead to total data loss. Ideally, you’ll install the iPadOS beta onto a non-primary device.
- From the iPad, open Safari and go to https://developer.apple.com/downloads/, logging in with your Apple developer ID
- Download the iPadOS 16 beta profile to the iPad
- Open the Settings app, then tap on the “Profile Downloaded” option at the the top of Settings
- Tap on ‘Install’ to install the beta profile onto your device, this allows the iPad to access the beta versions
- Agree to the terms, and then you’ll need to restart iPad to complete installation of the beta access profile
- After iPad restarts, open the Settings app again, then go to General > Software Update
- Choose to “Download & Install” the iPadOS 16 beta
iPadOS 16 beta takes a little while to install, depending on your device and internet connection speed. Your iPad will reboot a few times to complete installation, and when finished it’ll boot directly into iPadOS 16.
The early iPadOS 16 beta is quite buggy and things do not necessarily work as expected, or as you might want them to. It’s also likely that features will be refined and adjusted as the beta progresses, so don’t be surprised if how certain beta features behave changes as you install further beta updates.
For example, here’s a user attempting to use Stage Manager on iPadOS 16, which you can see is rather clunky or imprecise in the beta form:
First impression of Stage Manager on iPadOS 16 beta: not good pic.twitter.com/ZUvNOQqTbc
— Gaddafi Rusli ✦ (@gaddafirusli) June 7, 2022
You should also expect performance and battery life to not be as great on the beta versions of system software, but those will improve as the betas get more refined in the development process.
Are you running iPadOS 16 beta? What do you think of iPadOS 16 beta so far? Are you going to wait until the public beta or a later version to try it out on your device? Let us know your experiences and thoughts in the comments.
If you’re an iPhone user, you can also install iOS 16 beta onto the iPhone if you’re interested in that.
