Halfway there!
We've all been the victim of it. A local number comes up on your phone. It kind of looks like a number you know, but it's probably just a telemarketer. But still. What if someone is injured or needs help and this is the only phone they could get to? So you pick up.
"Hello?"
There's nothing for a second, then a click of connection and you hear the whisper of chatter in a crowded call center as the caller says "Hello? Am I speaking to-"
You groan and hang up. You've been suckered again.
The best thing so far about iOS 13 is that since I've installed the beta, I haven't had to deal with that. Not even once.
So how did I do it? In the Settings app, select Phone and then toggle Silence Unknown Callers. Now, when you get a call from a number that isn't in your contacts list, your recent calls, or your Messages, it will ring silently, then go to voicemail. In the month I've been using it, spam calls are down by about 99%.
It's just one of the great things about iOS 13. So what's Public Beta 6 (released last evening) have in store for us?
What's New
Not surprisingly, as get deeper into the beta cycle, less new things pop up. That doesn't mean there won't still be tweaks as we head towards next month's release, but you'll have to search harder for them.
The one thing we did learn this week, the date of the next iPhone event, comes from an asset found in the Developer's beta - a screenshot labeled "HoldforRelease" with 10 on the calendar app icon. It's safe to assume this references Tuesday, September 10. Given that there are rumors about iPhone pre-orders starting on September 22, that's in line with the timing of previous Apple events.
If it's anything like last year's iPhone event, we should see the public release of iOS 13 coming on or soon after the new iPhones are announced.
What's Fixed
As the bug list gets whittled down, there's less and less on the fixed list. The official beta release notes are still full of bugs, it's just that they're bugs that have been thwarting developers for the entire beta. As such, they'll take more time to resolve. Here's this week's batch of fixes.
- The Find My app is getting closer to final release! The “Notify when found” feature is back.
- Apple Pay cards will now work as expected after a device exits Lost Mode.
- In Mail, the buttons below the search bar meant to narrow your search results will now actually do something.
- Do Not Disturb settings now synchronize between your phone and watch.
- Siri will no longer quit Reminders or Messages when you're using a non-English language.
What's Broken
There's a lot of backend bugs still floating around in iOS 13 Public Beta 6 and less front-facing issues. That doesn't mean there aren't plenty to go around, or even that they're all reported! Keep reporting bugs in the Feedback app. Add it to the Control Center for easier access.
- If you're in the developer beta for watchOS 6, you must upgrade to version 2 or later or your iPhone running iOS 13 will no longer connect.
- Searching in Notes may still deliver unexpected results.
- The offline-finding capability of the Find My app is currently limited.
- You might see the message: “Couldn’t connect to iCloud” when creating a new Pages, Numbers, or Keynote document in a shared folder. Close and reopen the document to fix it.
- Localization bugs plague development as always - devices set to use certain languages might exhibit clipped or misaligned layout or display unlocalized text.
- If you enable Share Across Devices, Screen Time settings don’t sync with iCloud until your iOS device is restarted. And make sure that you do, because any edits you make to your Screen Time settings on that device before restarting are lost.
- Shortcuts automations are temporarily unavailable.
- Complications are still disappearing from your Apple Watch if it isn't running watchOS 6 beta. Your mileage may vary on this one.
- Chromecast streaming and the Google keyboard are still unpredictable (though the keyboard more than the Chomecast) - be prepared for bugs when using either.
You can find more in the official release notes here. Before you decide to upgrade, read those carefully. If you see anything that gives you pause, don't upgrade or, better yet, restore your device back to iOS 12. It's going to be a while before that list gets any shorter.
What's Next?
As evidenced by back to back release of Developer Beta 7 and Public Beta 6, Apple is gearing up to speed production of iOS 13 to finish line. With a date finally on the horizon for the announcement of the next generation of iPhones (that'd be September 10), you can expect the final release of iOS 13 in about four to five weeks.
With that in mind, there should be somewhere around four to six more beta releases, with at least one week of doubled-up releases towards the end.
Let me know how you're finding iOS 13 on Twitter and I'll see you back here next week!
