Apple has unusually issued one of its ninth-round developer betas earlier than the rest, with a new build of visionOS 2 now testable.
Apple’s beta-testing process typically involves a batch of updates being tested at the same time. However, this time Apple has made one beta available before the rest.
The ninth build of visionOS 2 was rolled out to developer beta testers on Tuesday. Apple’s last developer beta release involving visionOS 2 was on August 28, which also saw the eighth betas of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, tvOS 18, and macOS Sequoia.
It’s also somewhat earlier than expected for a beta build. Apple tends to keep the betas spaced at least a week apart, but in this case, it arrived six days after the last release.
Apple’s ninth visionOS 2 developer beta is build number 22N5319a, replacing the eighth, 22N5314a.
Among the inbound features of visionOS 2 are changes to navigating the UI, new environments, keyboard edge detection, improved Mac mirroring, changes to Photos, and other improvements.
AppleInsider and Apple strongly recommend that users avoid installing test operating systems or other beta or RC software on “mission-critical” or primary devices, as there is the small chance of issues that could result in the loss of data. Testers should instead use secondary or non-essential hardware and ensure they have sufficient backups of their critical data at all times.