Apple Says iOS 18.5 Coming Soon, Here is What's New - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Says iOS 18.5 Coming Soon, Here is What's New

In its press release for the new Pride Band today, Apple said that iOS 18.5 is "upcoming," following more than a month of beta testing.

iOS 18
We expect the iOS 18.5 Release Candidate to be released this week, and this should be the final beta version, barring any last-minute bugs or changes. The software update should then be released to the general public next week.

iOS 18.5 is a relatively minor update for the iPhone, with only a few additions discovered so far. Below, we recap all of the known changes.

Specifically, there are a few changes in the Mail and Settings apps. The update will also include a new Pride wallpaper for the iPhone and iPad.

Mail

In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner.

mail categories ios 18 5
This was already an option on earlier iOS versions, but it was buried in the Settings app.

Settings

In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more prominent.

applecare logo ios 18 5

Pride

Apple today announced its 2025 Pride Collection, including a new Apple Watch band, watch face, and a matching wallpaper for the iPhone and iPad.

The new Pride Edition Sport Band has rainbow stripes that vary in shape and size, and it is available to order on Apple.com starting today.

Apple Watch 2025 Pride Feature
Apple said a matching iPhone and iPad wallpaper will be available when iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 are released to the public. The wallpaper features colorful stripes that change position as users move, lock, or unlock their devices.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18

Popular Stories

iOS 27 Next to iPhone

Here's When iOS 27 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: It's Out]

Sunday September 13, 2026 3:00 am PDT by
Update 10:04 a.m.: iOS 27 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Apple is about to release iOS 27, which will finally deliver more advanced Siri AI capabilities as well as a variety of other refinements, improvements, and new features to iPhones. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at Wednesday's iPhone event...
deep black iphone 18 pro

Apple Says iPhone 18 Pro Max Sold in U.S. Differs in One Way

Saturday September 12, 2026 3:27 pm PDT by
As noted by Nicolas Lellouche, who writes for the French tech website Numerama, Apple has updated its tech specs pages for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max to clarify which models are equipped with its new C2 cellular modem and where. Apple now says the iPhone 18 Pro has a C2 modem worldwide, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max uses the chip in every country except for the U.S. According...
iOS 27 Icon iPhone

iOS 27 Available Today With These 8 New Features

Monday September 14, 2026 12:00 am PDT by
Update: Apple has released iOS 27. During its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo event last week, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released widely on Monday, September 14. iOS 27 should be available around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time today via the Settings app, under General → Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight new features and changes coming with iOS...

Top Rated Comments

UpsetTheAppleCart Avatar
18 months ago
Hey Apple, can we have a Humility wallpaper, pretty please?
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macmyworld Avatar
18 months ago
iOS release to get new wallpaper. Insane.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WarmWinterHat Avatar
18 months ago

Hey Apple, Entire 18 has been a boring waiting game for us foreigners. Push 19 now!
iOS 18 has been a snoozefest for everyone. The only interesting addition was being was being to place icons anywhere.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
18 months ago
Here is hoping iOS 19 will deliver all the promises that 18 was supposed to have. Was thinking 18.5 was gonna be a major release.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Black Belt Avatar
18 months ago
Instead of Pride designs how about fixing Apple Intelligence and Siri this century
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FasterQuieter Avatar
18 months ago
Hmm, don't use Mail, don't need AppleCare to be more prominent and I've seen enough of that increasingly insane pride flag to last me a lifetime. Other than that, I'm pretty excited!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)