By Ramsha Irfan modified Sep 01, 2025
~ 5 minutes to read
Apple is preparing to release the beta version of iOS 26/19, the upcoming major update for iPhones. The iOS 26/19 beta is expected to be released shortly after Apple’s WWDC event on June 9, 2025, if you want to see what’s new.
Ahead of the full release, developers and tech enthusiasts can test out the new features of iOS 26/19 beta with this early version. iOS 26/19 has a lot to offer, including new privacy options and an improved Siri. Let’s take a look at the features, release date, and other aspects of iOS 19.
Version 18.6.1 was released to restore the Apple Watch’s blood oxygen monitoring capability for some US users. The current iPhone operating system is iOS 18, and Apple is still actively updating it. Apple recently released 18.6.2 to fix an image processing issue.
According to MacRumors, Apple has officially stopped signing iOS 18.6, which means that a “server-side software verification check” prevents the app from installing on your iPhone. This is normal when more recent versions are available for download.
However, iOS 19 is unlikely to be released anytime soon. Instead, Apple is moving beyond numbers to release iOS 26 next month. Similar to automotive model years, the business has chosen to align its iOS version numbers with a year-based system. To commemorate the upcoming year, iOS and its sibling operating systems have been titled “26” even though they will be released in late 2025.
Apple offers two different types of betas: public and developer. Since WWDC in June, the developer beta has been available for software developers to install and test their apps on iOS 26. This way, they can report any OS-level issues to Apple and update their programs to work properly with the latest OS update. These betas are usually the most bug-ridden versions of iOS and are released first.
Next up is the public beta, which Apple released on July 24. The public who want to test new features and updates before its fall rollout is the target audience for this beta. The problem is that it appears after about a month of trying out the developer beta: The early preview for public testers is actually the fourth time Apple has tried a version of iOS 26 on beta, as iOS 26 Public Beta 1 is actually iOS 26 Developer Beta 4.
Naturally, your iPhone must be compatible with iOS 26 to install it. The iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR were sadly dropped from Apple’s upgrade this year. Thus, the iPhones listed below are compatible with iOS 26:
• iPhone 16e
• iPhone 16
• iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16 Pro
• iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 15
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone SE (2nd generation)
• iPhone SE (3rd generation)
Many users are eager to know when is iOS 26 coming out, the next major upgrade for iPhones, will be released as Apple prepares to deliver it. The update is expected to bring improved battery optimization, an improved camera app, and Siri features. The leak suggests that a number of exciting developments are imminent, although official details will be revealed at WWDC 2025.
The iOS 26/19 beta is expected to be made available to developers on June 9, 2025, shortly after the WWDC keynote. The official release is scheduled for mid-to-late September 2025, with a public beta expected in July 2025.
Since it enables early adopters and developers to test new features before the official release, beta versions are important. While tech enthusiasts research the latest upgrades in advance, developers use them to tailor their programs.
The most notable feature of the iOS 26 update is its completely new look, called Liquid Glass Design. It gives your iPhone a sleek, more contemporary look with:
• Smarter animations and translucent menus.
• Round app icons that look more attractive and vibrant.
• Updated Lock and Home screens with additional personalization options.
• App widgets are now clear and can match the look of your wallpaper.
Thanks to this design, your iPhone feels more vibrant and beautiful, which also makes it easier to use.
iOS 26 adds new privacy and customization features to the Messages app.
• Message screening: Messages from unknown senders are now sent to a different folder, similar to the Instagram app's Message Request folder. They remain silent until you accept them, but you can mark them as known, request more information, or remove them.
• Custom backdrops: You can now define specific chat backdrops in iMessage conversations using the Image Playground.
• Polls in Group Chats: To speed up decision-making, the Messages app in iOS 26 lets you create polls right in group chats. When Apple intelligence notices a discussion about making decisions, it can also recommend a poll.
• Group Chat Enhancements: Easy and interactive group discussions are enhanced with typing indicators and integrated Apple Cash.
Building on last year’s successes, iOS 26 adds new Apple intelligence capabilities that work intelligently in the background across the system to make your life easier. Highlights include:
• Live Translation: To facilitate easy multilingual communication, Apple intelligence can now translate text messages, FaceTime calls, and phone conversations in real time. You can be confident that all translations are done on the device, protecting the privacy of your conversations.
• On-Screen Visual Intelligence: The Visual Intelligence feature is now available on your iPhone screen. It allows you to search or query ChatGPT for what’s currently on your screen.
• AI-Powered Shortcuts: Writing Tools and Image Playground, two capabilities of Apple Intelligence, can now be used as specific actions in custom shortcuts.
• Enhancements for Genmoji and Image Playground: You can combine descriptions, Genmoji, and your preferred emoji to create entirely new content.
Since not all users will have access to CarPlay Ultra, Apple has made major improvements to the general CarPlay experience in iOS 26. Here’s what’s new:
• Sleek new interface: CarPlay now displays incoming calls in a more condensed layout, allowing you to see who’s calling without hiding important information like navigation directions.
• Message Enhancements: It makes it easier to stay in touch — securely — by enabling you to pin important conversations and respond to messages with tapbacks (like a heart or thumbs up).
• Live Activities: You can see real-time information (like the weather or music playing) without taking your eyes off the road, thanks to widgets and live activities.
With iOS 26, Apple has also updated some of its most popular apps. What’s new:
• Safari: Web pages now stretch from top to bottom, allowing you to see more content while maintaining easy access to search and refresh functions.
• Photos: Apple redesigned the Photos app with iOS 18, ditching the tab-based design and replacing it with a scrollable screen view. However, a majority of people were unhappy with the change and voiced their complaints. In response to user feedback, Apple redesigned the interface in iOS 26 to differentiate between the Library and Collections views, making it easier to organize and find your photos.
• Camera: To help you stay focused on the shot, the interface has been made cleaner and simpler.
• Apple Music & Podcast: With their floating tab bars that change as you scroll, Apple Music and Podcasts keep your content front and center.
iOS 26 introduces the all-new Apple Games app to your Apple devices, as previously mentioned. If you love playing games on your iPhone, you’ll love the new Apple Games app. Similar to PlayStation or Xbox consoles, the app serves as a one-stop shop for all your games, in-game achievements, events, updates, and more.
Think of it as your own library of games, where you can quickly access your favorites or discover new ones.
In iOS 26, the Phone app — the most important app on iPhone — has also been redesigned with thoughtful new functionality.
• Unified Layout: It’s now easier than ever to find what you need without switching tabs, with Favorites, Recents, and Voicemail all in one convenient view. Classic View and the new Unified View are interchangeable.
• Call Screening: This feature, which builds on Live Voicemail, silently answers calls from unknown numbers in the background. Before your iPhone rings, this feature collects information from unknown callers and displays their message or purpose. Based on the information displayed, you can then choose whether to answer.
• Hold Assist: Sick of being put on hold? Hold Assist lets you focus on other things while you’re on hold by automatically identifying hold music, waiting in line for you, and alerting you when a real person answer.
iOS 26 enhances the enjoyment and engagement of your music experience by:
• Lyrics Translation: iOS 26 provides live lyrics translation to help you understand the meaning of songs when you listen to them in a language other than your iPhone’s system language.
• Lyrics Pronunciation: Learn how to pronounce lyrics correctly so you can sing along with ease.
• Auto Mix: Take advantage of smart beat matching and time stretching to experience DJ-style song transitions.
If your iPhone has iOS 26 loaded, you can:
• When making in-store purchases, you can choose to pay in installments with Apple Pay or with points.
• See live activity and flight information in real time, right on the Lock screen.
To help you find terminals, track your luggage, and stay on schedule, iOS 26 also integrates the Wallet app with Maps, Find My, and other essential travel apps.
Apple Maps now has a Places Visited area to help you remember places you’ve been before. Allowing your iPhone to recognize your current location—like a restaurant or store—and securely saving it to Apple Maps lets you see all the places you’ve been to in that category before.
Plus, your iPhone’s on-device intelligence now gives you your favorite routes for frequent travel, including commutes, and alerts you to delays in other choices.
Don’t worry; end-to-end encryption protects your Places Visited and Preferred Route information, making it impossible for even Apple to read.
Ahead of the WWDC 2025 keynote, Apple announced a number of accessibility changes that will be included in iOS 26:
• Accessibility Nutrition Labels: This feature highlights accessible elements in apps and games by adding a new section to App Store product pages. This includes features such as VoiceOver, Voice Control, captions, reduced motion, large text, appropriate contrast, and more. Accessible nutrition labels will be accessible globally through the App Store.
• New Braille Experience: With iOS 26, iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro will all be fully functional braille note-takers that are part of the Apple ecosystem. Using braille screen input or a connected braille device, users can quickly launch any app by typing.
• Accessibility Reader: This new system-wide reading mode is intended to help people with a variety of disabilities understand content. Users can personalize the text and focus on the content they want to read.
• Background Sound: For better focus and relaxation, background sounds now have EQ options, auto-stop timers, and new shortcut actions.
• Personal Voice: With the addition of support for Spanish (Mexico), Personal Voice can now produce natural-sounding speech in less than a minute using just ten words.
• Eye Tracking: Eye Tracking adds Switch and Dual Selection options. With QuickPath support, fewer steps, and a new Dual Timer, typing is now easier on all devices.
• Head Tracking: Like Eye Tracking, Head Tracking makes it easier to control iPhone and iPad with head movements.
• Switch Control: By adding support for brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), Switch Control enables people with severe mobility impairments to operate devices without moving.
• Assistive Access: Assistive Access introduces a streamlined Apple TV app and new developer tools to customize experiences through the Assistive Access API.
• Music Haptics: With customizable strength levels, Music Haptics now allows users to personalize haptic input for singers or entire tracks.
• Sound Recognitions: Name recognition is enhanced with voice recognition, which notifies hearing-impaired or deaf users when their name is called.
You can now download the iOS 26 public beta through the Apple Beta Software Program. To test out all the latest features, you’ll need to sign up if you’re not already a member. Simply go to beta.apple.com and sign up using your email address or phone number. It’s free.
Once you’re logged in, select iOS 26 Public Beta under Settings > General > Software Update to install it.
A word of caution: Unless you’re comfortable with the risks associated with running an incomplete operating system, don’t join using your primary iPhone.
With a slew of new features, increased performance, and improved compatibility with the latest devices, iOS 26 is poised to be a major milestone in Apple’s software evolution. The update is expected to follow Apple’s previously announced schedule, with a September release following its debut at WWDC, though the exact release date and compatibility list have yet to be confirmed.
Keeping up with iOS 26 can help you prepare for the changes it brings, regardless of whether you have the latest iPhone or an older model. You can make the most of Apple’s ever-changing landscape and ensure your device is meeting your demands effectively by being aware of the update’s potential features and compatibility requirements.
This is something I’ve wondered about with my iPhone 12 as well. With powerful AI capabilities like Visual Intelligence, older models like the iPhone 11 or SE (2nd gen) can experience minor slowdowns. However, Apple usually tweaks upgrades to work well—iOS 18 runs smoothly on mine. To keep things moving quickly, clear out storage and avoid power-hungry apps.
This is because the public beta of iOS 26 is not yet available and is scheduled to be released next month. People who are on the developer beta are the ones who comment on iOS 26, however, you should not do this on a device that is not in use.
Yes, you can go back to iOS 18, but Apple is still signing iOS 18 and you only have two weeks until iOS 26 launches. Connect your iPhone to a computer or Mac, download the iOS 18 file from IPSW.me, and use iTunes or Finder to restore it. I learned that lesson the hard way, so trust me when I say to back up first!
Just go to beta.apple.com and sign up with your phone number or email address. It's free. Once you're in, you can install it by going to Settings > General > Software Update and selecting iOS 26 Public Beta.
Due to chip requirements, Apple intelligence, such as improved Siri or visual intelligence, may require an iPhone 15 Pro or later. iPhone 11 SE (2nd gen) or later should be able to use basic iOS 26 features.
You can try the public beta in July 2025, but don't use it on your primary iPhone as bugs may cause crashes or battery issues. Either wait for the September stable release or use a spare device, back up to iCloud, and test carefully.
Ramsha is a talented writer known for top-quality content on trending topics. Her excellence in research enables her to add value to businesses by driving online traffic with engaging and persuasive content.
