First iOS 15 public beta with Focus mode, FaceTime improvements and more now rolling out – here’s how to install it on your iPhone

• The first public beta of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8 and tvOS 15 are rolling out now.
• iPhone 6s and later are all eligible for the iOS 15 update.
• The iOS 15 update includes FaceTime and Find My improvements, among several other features.

Apple has started rolling out the first iOS 15 public beta alongside the first betas of iPadOS 15, watchOS 8 and tvOS 15, allowing users with compatible devices to test the upcoming updates.

Apple announced iOS 15 along with updates to its other operating systems during the WWDC 2021 held in June. Some of the headline features of iOS 15 include FaceTime improvements, privacy enhancements and Focus, but there’s a lot more to the update than just these features.

The first public beta of iOS 15 is rolling out at the same time as the second developer preview, suggesting that both the updates are more or less the same.

Some of the new features included in the iOS 15 public beta include Focus mode and SharePlay, among others.

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How to download iOS 15 public beta

If you are interested in testing the upcoming iOS 15 update, you can enrol your eligible devices on Apple’s $4.

Once enrolled, you will be able to see the iOS 15 public beta update notification on your iPhone – likewise for iPad and Apple Watch. If you don’t receive the notification, you can manually check for updates and the new version should show up.

It’s worth noting that this is a public beta release, and as such, may contain bugs. It is recommended to do a complete backup of your data before you download the iOS 15 beta update.

What’s new in iOS 15

The iOS 15 update comes with several new features and will be available for iPhone 6s and later.

FaceTime and Find My improvements


For starters, iOS 15 includes FaceTime improvements and allows you to host a FaceTime call with your friends on Android and Windows devices.

The Find My app now works even when your device is offline or has been erased, making it easier to recover a lost iPhone.

Privacy enhancements

Apple has been talking up its privacy credentials for a while now. iOS 15 takes another step in that direction with some important new features like Siri’s on-device speech recognition, so what you tell Siri, stays with Siri on your device.

Another interesting addition is the Privacy Report, which basically keeps a track of all the apps collecting your personal data. This gives you the opportunity to remove any app that is collecting more data than you’re comfortable sharing.

Focus Mode


iPhones have had Do Not Disturb mode for a while, but not enough granularity. iOS 15 solves that by adding three new modes called Personal, Work, and Sleep.

Think of these modes like profiles. Specifically, the Personal and Work modes let you select a list of apps that you can access when they’re enabled, allowing you to focus on the task at hand.

Apart from these improvements, Apple has also revamped notifications, updated its Maps and Health apps, among other things.

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