Hot on the heels of iOS 9 beta 3 for developers, Apple on Thursday released the highly-anticipated iOS 9 public beta. This means scores of people can now install Apple’s new operating system and take it for a test drive before it goes mainstream in the fall.

Word of caution, while the public beta is bound to be more stable than the developer betas, it may still be buggy, unstable and you may find apps or features that simply don’t work.

If you think you can live with that, here’s how to install the iOS 9 public beta:

• If you haven’t already, sign up for Apple’s public beta software program using your Apple ID. If you have already signed up, simply sign in and proceed.
• Select iOS at the top of the page, scroll down and select “enroll your iOS device” under the Get Started section.
• Backup your device. This is the very first step Apple recommends and absolutely crucial. Connect your device to iTunes and back it up. Apple recommends archiving the backup using iTunes so that you have a local backup, instead of a backup sitting in iCloud. Here is how to backup your device using iTunes.
• With the backup completed, go to the Apple beta site from your iOS device and sign in using your Apple ID. Scroll down to step two under the iOS section and tap the Download Profile button.
• You’ll be redirected to the profile settings page; tap on Install. When prompted, enter your device PIN code and accept the terms and conditions.
• Now restart your iOS device.
• With your device restarted, launch the Settings app and tap General > Software > Update.
• Allow the update to complete.

Public software betas are designed to expand the pool of people who test the software before its general release. A larger test group means more feedback and more bugs ironed out by Apple’s developers.

While it may be great to merely get a sneak peek at iOS 9 through the public beta, you should also report any issues to Apple to help improve the operating system. Apple has included a new Feedback Assistant app to help you report issues easily. Look for it on your iOS device running the iOS 9 public beta.

Image via apple.com