Apple Releases First iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5 and macOS Tahoe 26.5 Public Betas

Friday April 3, 2026 1:07 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Apple's 'Surprise and Shine' iPhone Event: Follow along with our live blog.

Apple today provided public beta testers with the first releases of upcoming iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, watchOS 26.5, and tvOS 26.5 updates for testing purposes. The public betas come four days after Apple provided the betas to developers, though Apple seeded updated iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 betas to developers earlier today.

After signing up for beta testing on Apple's beta site, public beta testers can download the updates using the Software Update section of the Settings app on each device.

iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, and ‌macOS Tahoe‌ 26.5 include a new Suggested Places feature for recommending nearby locations to visit, and Apple is also gearing up to start showing ads in Maps.

Apple is testing end-to-end encryption for RCS messages between iPhone and Android users again, and there are proximity pairing, notification forwarding, and Live Activities for third-party wearables in the EU.

Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe

Related Forums: iOS 26, macOS Tahoe

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Top Rated Comments

biffuz

23 weeks ago

I just want flat design back 😭

Liquid glass is so ugly, distracting, and wasteful... I can't take it anymore!

Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Siliconguy

23 weeks ago

Doesn't change the fact that 26.4 and 26.5 updates are boring asf

X.4 and X.5 releases are supposed to be boring bug fix and security updates. Apple has gotten in the bad habit of shipping "features" in the middle of the release cycle because the "features" are not ready for the main release even by Apple's declining standards.

Their devotion to a yearly release cycle is not a good thing. Note that some Linux distributions are running into the same problem. Mint is debating dropping their every six month point release cycle.

The operating systems are stable. The panic is driven by Marketing who fears being "stale" or "dated." That's always the complaint about Debian. There is admittedly a certain amount of updating needed for new hardware, but that is device drivers, not the whole operating system.

The standard needs to paraphrase Orson Wells, "We will release no operating system before its time." Marketing needs to be second in line behind Sirius Cybernetics for a place at the wall.

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Wizec

23 weeks ago

I don't feel duped. What am I waiting for?

The Siri features excerpted below from Apple’s Oct 2024 press release below have still not shipped:

“In the months to come, Priority Notifications will surface what’s most important, and Siri will become even more capable, with the ability to draw on a user’s personal context to deliver intelligence that’s tailored to them. Siri will also gain onscreen awareness, as well as be able to take hundreds of new actions in and across Apple and third-party apps.”

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/10/apple-intelligence-is-available-today-on-iphone-ipad-and-mac/

As noted below, onscreen awareness is now being teased for iOS 27, instead of 18.x:

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/03/13/10-new-features-coming-in-ios-27/

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)