Now that we are on the cusp of iOS 18 and a few months away from discovering the iPhone 16, it’s the perfect time to analyze all versions that Apple hasparallel to the iOS that we know publicly.
As you can imagine, we are talking, on the one hand, about the famous Apple betas, but also about many other operating systems that Apple keeps it a secret and this has rarely been seen.
It all starts with LLDiags, the most primitive version of iOS
LLDiags is the most basic version of iOS. In fact, it’s so simple that it doesn’t even have a user interface as such. LLDiags is used to perform low-level diagnostics and is mainly used in factories when a new iPhone is in development.
iPhone 6 with LLDiags
When LLDiags is not installed on iPhones, they boot directly into recovery mode to connect to the Mac, Apple engineers are also known to be able to interact with devices via command lines when LLDiags is installed.
With NonUI, the screen already works although its interface is very basic
The next step in these alternative iOS systems is NonUI. It is a version for hardware engineers and calibration machines. As you can see, it doesn’t have the standard iOS UI, but it does have several buttons to interact with.
iPhone 3G with NonUI
This version is mainly used in iPhone prototypes, like the iPhone 16. In this case, the iPhone needs a basic interface to test the cameras, sensors… but does not require a complete and adapted operating systemsince iOS 18 is also in development and there will be many parts that will be tested on the iPhone but ultimately not included.
VendorUI offers iOS news individually
VendorUI is an alternative version of iOS that It is distributed to relevant factories and suppliers. Similar in appearance to iOS but with more basic functionalities, it includes some new features that need to be tested.
An example of this could be portrait mode with the primitive iPhone 7 Plus. This version of VendorUI would be distributed to suppliers of components such as cameras to verify proper operation.
InternalUI is the version of iOS we would all like to check out
InternalUI is where they are iOS pre-production assets. This is the prelude to launching a beta version and its subsequent final release. Here you can see the operating system features that the next version of iOS will bringand also many others which are ultimately postponed or abandoned.
A good example is the multitasking that was leaked and that iOS 4 was going to have. As you can see, this doesn’t look at all like what was ultimately in said operating system.
Multitasking in iOS 4 has never been like this
Also in iOS 14 Internal UI Changes Seen on Lock Screen this finally only happened with iOS 16. So in the InternalUI of iOS 18 there will surely be features that cannot be seen or Let’s take a few more years to get to know them. Who could try these versions, right?
And finally comes the beta and final version of iOS
This cycle is already one that we all know. Apple presents in beta and, after many updates, the final version arrives. This will happen with iOS 18 at WWDC. The first beta version will be launched on June tenthwhile the final version will be released in mid-September.
Like the top secret project carried out in Cupertino, in which They didn’t even let the cleaning service pass, and it finally turned out to be the iPhone. We always like to know a little more about the history of iOS, and the development of a new version is full of steps that we were unaware of.
Pictures | Apple demo
In Applesfera | New iOS 18: release date, news, compatible iPhones and everything we think we know about the new version
In Applesfera | Apple’s WWDC 2024: event date, iOS 18, macOS 15, artificial intelligence and everything we know about the developers conference
Table of Contents
