As is tradition, Apple has released the first developer betas of its next-generation operating systems. We've been testing Screens and Screens Connect with the new releases and wanted to share some initial observations.
As always, these operating systems are pre-release software. Things will change throughout the summer, bugs will be fixed, new bugs will appear, and behavior may differ significantly between beta releases.
The Short Version
Screens 5.8.x generally works on iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, and visionOS 27.
If you're considering installing a beta operating system on a device you rely on for remote access, proceed with caution.
Known Issues
Connection Prompt Crashes
We've received a report from a user running iPadOS 27 where Screens crashes when presenting the user name and password prompt while connecting to a computer.
Since receiving that report, we've been able to reproduce a similar crash on iPadOS 27 under a very specific set of conditions:
- Stage Manager is enabled
- The Screens window is in full screen
- A hardware keyboard is connected to the iPad
The crash report we've received appears to occur inside Apple's UI and Auto Layout frameworks rather than in Screens code itself. This suggests the issue may be caused by the beta operating system.
A workaround is saving the user name and password directly in the connection settings. This prevents the connection prompt from appearing and may avoid the crash entirely.
If disabling Stage Manager or slightly resizing the Screens window is an option for you, that may also help avoid the issue.
June 14, 2026 Update: We identified the root cause of the issue and have reported it to Apple. We’re hopeful that it will be addressed in an upcoming iOS/iPadOS 27 beta release. We also found a workaround that will be applied in Screens 5.8.9, coming shortly.
If you're experiencing this or any other issue, please send us any crash reports generated by your device.
Miscellaneous UI Issues
Like many apps, Screens will see various UI oddities on the first developer betas.
Most are cosmetic. Some are annoying. A few are amusing.
That's beta season.
Before Reporting a Bug
If you encounter an issue while running a beta operating system, please include:
- A description of the steps needed to reproduce the issue
- A Screens diagnostics report
- Most importantly, any crash reports generated by the system
- Videos or screen recordings are also helpful
Crash reports are invaluable
Without crash reports, we're often left guessing whether a problem originates in Screens, in a system framework, or elsewhere in the operating system.
Should You Install The Betas?
Our usual advice remains unchanged:
Do not install beta operating systems on devices you depend on for work, remote access, travel, or supporting family members.
If you enjoy testing betas and understand the risks, we welcome your feedback. Just remember that some bugs may ultimately require fixes from Apple rather than from us.
We'll Keep Updating This Post
We'll update this article as we discover new issues and as Apple releases additional beta versions throughout the summer.
In the meantime, happy testing — and don't forget to make backups.