iOS 12 developer beta 8 is here to take beta 7's place

This close to the final launch, you'd think iOS 12's beta would have very little in the way of big changes, especially those that tend to break things. But such are the risks of beta version software, be it Beta 1 or Beta 7, as iOS developers found out the hard way this week. Apple immediately pulled out Beta 7 after numerous complaints but has now brought it back as Beta 8. But, no, it doesn't bring back Group FaceTime.

Bugs do slip through the cracks, even with Apple's usually meticulous screening process. That said, you certainly wouldn't expect an iOS beta just a month before going gold would be causing severe lags and freezes and prevent apps from even opening. But that was exactly what prompted Apple to quickly pull out the beta as well as the images that developers would have used to update their iOS device and potentially render it unusable.

Just a day later, the new beta is back, this time Build 16A5357b instead of 16A5354b, so Beta 8 it is. Nothing much has changed from Beta 7, except for the now hopefully fixed causes of those freezes and bugs. Some developers would probably be forgiven for waiting for their more adventurous peers to test the waters first.

Most of iOS 12's key features have already been revealed back at WWDC in June but Beta 7 will go down in history for actually removing one of those. Group FaceTime, which would have allowed 32 people to chat to their hearts' content, won't make it to next month's rollout. That said, Apple is still looking at a Fall launch for the feature.