Apple has released the next beta of iOS 18 to developers ahead of its release to public beta users. Beta 5 adds exciting new features, including major changes to the two most used iOS apps, Safari and Photos.

This release comes just two weeks after Apple released Beta 4, and the company continues its steady pace of bringing new features to those who dare to install the developer beta on their devices (something that is not recommended for the average iPhone user).

Starting with the Safari update for iOS 18, Apple revealed a new feature called "Distraction Control." This new feature aims to hide distracting items such as sign-in banners and content overlays in website windows, addressing some of the more distracting design elements seen on web pages in recent years.

To use the Distraction Prevention feature, go to the Smart Search Field page menu, tap Hide Distracting Items, and select the elements of the website you do not want to see. Click the Hide Search Field icon and tap Show Hidden Items to restore the hidden items.

While this sounds like a great feature if a website has particularly annoying elements, it seems like a lot of work to enable this feature all the time. That said, you'll have to get Safari updated with iOS 18 beta 5 to see how Distraction Control works.

Apple has made significant changes to the way the Photos app works in iOS 18. It introduces a new Home view, enhanced collections, and plenty of customization options to organize photos the way you want.

Apple seems to have listened to user feedback (which is the whole point of a beta) and has pulled back on some changes in Photos. First, the carousel view has been removed to simplify the overall look and feel of the app. Apple's "All Photos" area has also been updated to show the bulk of the grid; Apple has added "Recently Saved Photos" content to the "Recent Days" collection. Finally, the photo album placement has been elevated for users with multiple albums.

Overall, these changes appear to address many of the early criticisms of the photo redesign. We will know for sure once Apple introduces these changes to the iOS 18 public beta.

If the beta software scares you (and we can't blame you), Apple has reaffirmed that iOS 18 will be released in the fall. (MacOS Sequoia and iPadOS 18 are also in the works for the Mac and iPad, respectively.)

Changes to the developer beta will usually be reflected in the iOS 18 public beta within a week or so, so that a more stable version of the software update can be tested.