iPadOS 17 devbeta - Bet big, won big

[floral]

Okay, so the iPadOS 17 Developer Beta came out a few days ago. It's free, and you can just sign into developer.apple.com to have the update path appear in your Settings on any iPads that support it.

I was going to test this update on my iPad mini first to see if it was stable enough for my main device, but that was totally out of juice, since it sits in a corner powered off all the time, so it slowly discharged to 0.

So then I decided to make a backup so that I could rollback to iPadOS 16 in case anything went sour. Unfortunately, the backup would just be too big for the paltry 5GB of storage iCloud offers for the free price.

I could've just backed up locally to my laptop, but me being impatient and wanting those lock screen widgets NOW, I installed the update on my main device, no precautions. An $800 iPad Pro. Not my smartest move.

But... it worked. And it's actually really stable. Of course, a few bugs, but it's pretty close to what I would expect from a Public Beta coming out a month later. If you do decide to install this update, DO NOT DO WHAT I DID, AND MAKE A BACKUP. Also, here are the most noticeable bugs to expect if you do take the month-early dive (results may differ):

- Lock Screen customization has a tendency to kick you out of it if you edit the lockscreen more than 10-20 times (placing and removing a widget counts as 2 edits)

- The widgets themselves on the Lock Screen can sometimes spawn negative space, as in widgets that don't exist. This seems to only happen with 1x1s, deleting surrounding widgets fixes the issue

- One time, device got a little warm and Device Monitor(2) said the first couple of M2 cores were seeing 50% usage for some reason. So, expect a little battery drain, but likely not enough to permanently lower the battery capacity in a noticeable way.

Probably my favorite feature of this update, besides the Lock Screen customization, is the new Stage Manager sizes. It's barely mentioned in the preview page, but each app has about 1.5x as many window sizes available, allowing for a better multitasking experience. If only they didn't snap to corners...

 

[addamas]

Same here I have only one iPad which after some life changes now I use only as an entertainment device and no longer as an audio and video editor.
I agree - looks very stable.

I only seen:
1) autocorrect working on its own - suggesting corrections to already removed parts of typed strings adding corrections after finished sentence o_0 This iPad has folio keyboard attached

2) mentioned by you and also Release Notes in Feedback App - the LockScreen Widgets 1x1 madness - had lots of fun playing with it and reporting it via Feedback app.
Reported as: FB12285736

3) Also Lockscreen widget - Battery Device widget 1x1 or 2x1 is not customizable - it’s showing only last connected device, so user could not edit it like location in Weather Widget. On iPhone it‘s possible to choose: which of currently connected devices status has to be shown on this widget (Later it’s greyed out if it’s not connected anymore).
It looks like “press” and touch actions on all battery widgets seems to not execute something - in other words when pressing them or touching nothing happen, even edit order menu is not opened in LockScreen Editing Mode (whatever its called)
Reported as: FB12287166

4) Health app is synchronizing of its own in between iOS 16.5 on iPhone 11 Pro and this iPadOS 17 test device - iPad 11 Pro 2018 11”. Mostly is working only one side - from iphone to this iPad but overall I am surprised it‘s working at all

5) Shortcuts app is having problems with both read and write access to Health data - somehow in some cases when you add read rights - rights granting popup window is not asking for write rights when used in same Shortcut already and when leaved this window write rights are set to be blocked (when never told to do that). Workaround is resetting rights, starting with write rights and most of times it‘s asking on this stage for read rights decision as well.

6) Animated weather wallpaper on lockscreen seems to be not working - part “animated” is not working as its correct but just one slide

7) Fresh one - iPad stopped charging when was on charger (30W Apple charger usbc-usbc Apple cable) probably when creating report in Feedback app when also sent from iPhone to this iPad screen recording… Had little heart attack - only force restart ( volume up, down, power until Apple logo) bring back charging.
Reported as: FB12287395

 

[sintra1]

Some issues seen today in settings Music crashes out - cant access equaliser or special controls

Control centre froze - Needed a double button reset.

Some apps are crashing - old games app nothing to worry about

 

[NJRonbo]

Hey guys, is this first beta stable enough to use as a main driver?

I already installed the beta of iOS 17 on my iPhone and it works surprisingly great with no major bugs.

I was going to hold off on upgrading the iPad simply because I am taking it on a cruise next week and it will be my main computer. However, as long as email and WiFi connections are working well, then I think I'll be safe updating.

Are you guys feeling secure about this beta?

(and yes, I am aware of all the risks associated with using betas. I have installed many)

 

[floral]

Hey guys, is this first beta stable enough to use as a main driver?

I already installed the beta of iOS 17 on my iPhone and it works surprisingly great with no major bugs.

I was going to hold off on upgrading the iPad simply because I am taking it on a cruise next week and it will be my main computer. However, as long as email and WiFi connections are working well, then I think I'll be safe updating.

Are you guys feeling secure about this beta?

(and yes, I am aware of all the risks associated with using betas. I have installed many)

Yeah, it's very stable. Nearly no issues, though please make a backup to iCloud or your PC before updating.
It's about as stable as a Public Beta, a few bugs here and there but not sure why they didn't just release the Public Beta now.

 

[NJRonbo]

Yeah, it's very stable. Nearly no issues, though please make a backup to iCloud or your PC before updating.
It's about as stable as a Public Beta, a few bugs here and there but not sure why they didn't just release the Public Beta now.

Absolutely. Will make the backup.

Everything I have been hearing is that these first betas are the most stable Apple has ever released which may be a reason why Apple is letting everyone at it.

The only beta I have seen complaints about is Watch OS

 

[Ludatyk]

- Lock Screen customization has a tendency to kick you out of it if you edit the lockscreen more than 10-20 times (placing and removing a widget counts as 2 edits)

Yeah, its really buggy right now. Sometimes I have to restart the iPad because it often freezes up. And some apps don't support it for the iPad whereas those widgets are available for the iPhone. When I initially used it, I tried with my Magic Keyboard and it doesn't support mouse input.

- One time, device got a little warm and Device Monitor(2) said the first couple of M2 cores were seeing 50% usage for some reason. So, expect a little battery drain, but likely not enough to permanently lower the battery capacity in a noticeable way.

Plugging into a external monitor yields power drainage.. I'm able to use the Magic Keyboard port to charge the iPad, but unfortunately that doesn't output that much juice.

Probably my favorite feature of this update, besides the Lock Screen customization, is the new Stage Manager sizes. It's barely mentioned in the preview page, but each app has about 1.5x as many window sizes available, allowing for a better multitasking experience. If only they didn't snap to corners...

If I had to choose my favorite feature within iPadOS 17... I'd have to go with the LockScreen customization, mainly because I like how it was done. I was under the impression Apple would of made it identical to the iPhone and place widgets directly in the middle.

But they are off to the side and we can use it within the Notification Center as well.

 

[floral]

Plugging into a external monitor yields power drainage.. I'm able to use the Magic Keyboard port to charge the iPad, but unfortunately that doesn't output that much juice.

Oh. I don't use any accessories with the iPad besides a case. No external monitors. But, nice to know.

 

[Ludatyk]

Oh. I don't use any accessories with the iPad besides a case. No external monitors. But, nice to know.

Oh, when you mention Device Monitor(2)… i thought you were referring to an external monitor. My apologies.

 

[floral]

Oh, when you mention Device Monitor(2)… i thought you were referring to an external monitor. My apologies.

Yeah, Device Monitor (squared) is a device stats app that's very accurate. It only costs $1.99 for no ads forever.

 

[addamas]

Answering question about stability and recommendation- for me it’s good enough to be daily use, but would not do work on it without constant backups - 💩 happens

Shortcuts app also have promising changes but it’s overall for iOS / iPadOS.
My key new features supported in it are
- possibility to trigger an Fitness training end (Activity app) so for instance I guess I could set it up to stop activity when I connect to my home WiFi.

- Something can be done - when disconnected from Home WiFi Network it’s also now automation trigger (plus on demand - debounce to not trigger actions to WiFi Connect in case of reconnection within 3 mins of disconnection- I.e router reset).

- not sure if this was on iPadOS 16 but connecting / disconnecting External screen or turning on / off Stage Manager can be also an automation trigger (not using any of these)

Additionally I just found that iOS 17 fixed synchronize of SMS messages shared via Messages app in between devices - previously I had to remove them on IPad when removed already on iPhone.

Btw- were there always Feedback shortcut in Control Center on beta software? Always used shortcut for it 🤦‍♂️

Edit: nice thing is also - maybe due a bug but I hope it’s a feature - removal of VPN icon if using device VPN (upper one). In my case I don’t have pointless info about usage of AdGuard for Internal VPN for ads and Tracking removal

 

[FeliApple]

Funny how risk assessment differs in these cases: you’re installing the first dev beta on your main iPad with no realistic chance to downgrade (unless you want to start all over again), and I’m running iPadOS 15 on my iPad Air 5 for fear of Apple obliterating everything with no way back.

I’m glad it’s running (mostly) fine, and that 50% CPU spike with its associated battery drain will be fixed eventually. Hope it’s quick!

I was never one to care much about features, as I mostly use my iPads for content consumption. When Apple forced my 9.7-inch iPad Pro from iOS 9 to iOS 12, the only change I witnessed was a very slight performance dip (very occasional keyboard lag), and a fairly severe, almost 25% irreversible battery life drop, but my usage pattern never changed. I have an iPad Air 5, like I said, and I frankly haven’t noticed any of the features because my use case doesn’t need them.

I must admit I’m a little curious about Stage Manager, especially with iPadOS 17’s improvements, though I reckon I’d just try it once and afterwards I’d never use it again.

 

[addamas]

New Beta arrived, bugs with battery widgets are still present (they are not configurable)

Also I have noticed “new” icon for Health app 😅 Nice 🐛
Reported: FB12416397
Edit: Fixed in Beta 3


New things: they have improved Mood tracking
- same as in medication, user can now set time of mood track Log entry

- there is finally sort of areas leading to current mood

- and they added Questionnaire for Depression detection

Yet no new bugs I have found except mentioned icon 🥲

 

[symphony]

Okay, so the iPadOS 17 Developer Beta came out a few days ago. It's free, and you can just sign into developer.apple.com to have the update path appear in your Settings on any iPads that support it.

I was going to test this update on my iPad mini first to see if it was stable enough for my main device, but that was totally out of juice, since it sits in a corner powered off all the time, so it slowly discharged to 0.

So then I decided to make a backup so that I could rollback to iPadOS 16 in case anything went sour. Unfortunately, the backup would just be too big for the paltry 5GB of storage iCloud offers for the free price.

I could've just backed up locally to my laptop, but me being impatient and wanting those lock screen widgets NOW, I installed the update on my main device, no precautions. An $800 iPad Pro. Not my smartest move.

But... it worked. And it's actually really stable. Of course, a few bugs, but it's pretty close to what I would expect from a Public Beta coming out a month later. If you do decide to install this update, DO NOT DO WHAT I DID, AND MAKE A BACKUP. Also, here are the most noticeable bugs to expect if you do take the month-early dive (results may differ):

- Lock Screen customization has a tendency to kick you out of it if you edit the lockscreen more than 10-20 times (placing and removing a widget counts as 2 edits)

- The widgets themselves on the Lock Screen can sometimes spawn negative space, as in widgets that don't exist. This seems to only happen with 1x1s, deleting surrounding widgets fixes the issue

- One time, device got a little warm and Device Monitor(2) said the first couple of M2 cores were seeing 50% usage for some reason. So, expect a little battery drain, but likely not enough to permanently lower the battery capacity in a noticeable way.

Probably my favorite feature of this update, besides the Lock Screen customization, is the new Stage Manager sizes. It's barely mentioned in the preview page, but each app has about 1.5x as many window sizes available, allowing for a better multitasking experience. If only they didn't snap to corners...

Some apps I’ve noticed as infinite resizability compared to others

 

[addamas]

In case someone is doubting why to report bugs, following were reported by many people (me included) and had this info on Feedback app Inside reports without notification

Actually I will use this thread as bug sharing as there is total mess in this subforum of iPadOS17
From new things - I see there is new bubble of apple pencil after connecting it to iPad magnetically - sadly could not take it on screenshot in any way. White background with rounded rectangular shape.

Still could not change which device battery level has to be shown - only last connected one is available, submenu not working as well as selecting battery widget to get [x] or widget moving option -.-