Apple Seeds Third Beta of iOS 18.6 to Developers

Apple today seeded the third betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the updates coming two weeks after Apple seeded the second betas.

iOS 18
iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update.

No notable new features were found in the first two iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 betas, so it's not clear what might be added in the update, though there are some changes to the App Store in the EU due to the DMA. Rumors suggest that Apple wanted to expand Apple Intelligence to China with iOS 18.6, but regulatory hurdles have delayed the launch.

iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 likely focus on smaller changes and bug fixes, and we'll update this article should anything new be found in the third beta.

Apple is winding down work on iOS 18 and is focusing on iOS 26. ‌iOS 26‌ is in beta testing right now and is set to launch in September alongside new iPhone 17 models.

Related Roundups: iOS 18, iPadOS 18
Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18

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Top Rated Comments

dchronus Avatar
7 weeks ago
This is not iOS 26 Public Beta ? lol
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cristim74 Avatar
7 weeks ago

He specifially said *public* beta.
What's the difference? It's not like the public betas will be different builds than the developer betas.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
theworker11223 Avatar
7 weeks ago
What a joke, they are not going to release the software to the public anytime soon?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wonderings Avatar
7 weeks ago

What a joke, they are not going to release the software to the public anytime soon?
what is a joke? This is how updates work, especially major OS ones. They are going to release it the same as they do every year.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sbailey4 Avatar
7 weeks ago

Then why don't they release the public beta already? If there are no changes to the developer betas, there's no reason to hold them back.
Maybe because its not ready for the public beta channel? And Apple releases it in their specific channels when they are ready not when folks want them to.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Martincool22 Avatar
7 weeks ago

You mean Beta 4.
No beta 3 was released today beta 2 was released last week.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)