Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 Betas to Developers
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming two weeks after Apple released updated first betas.
Registered developers can download the betas from the Settings app on the iPhone or iPad by going to the General section and selecting Software Update.
iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 do not include new Siri capabilities, suggesting any Siri updates are being held until iOS 27. The Maps app has a Suggested Places feature for recommending locations to visit nearby based on trends and recent searches, plus Apple is laying the groundwork for ads in the Apple Maps app.
Apple is continuing to test end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages between iPhone and Android users. Apple included the feature in the iOS 26.4 beta, but removed it before the update launched to the public.
In the European Union, Apple is testing proximity pairing, notification forwarding, and Live Activities for third-party wearables like earbuds and smartwatches. The functionality will allow third-party wearables to have many of the same features as the Apple Watch and AirPods.
More detail on what's new in iOS 26.5 can be found in our iOS 26.5 beta features guide.
Popular Stories
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 26.6 and iPadOS 26.6 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming two weeks after Apple released iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5.
Registered developers can download the betas from the Settings app on the iPhone or iPad by going to the General section and selecting Software Update.
With the debut of iOS 27 approaching in...
Apple's software engineers are testing iOS 26.5.1, according to the MacRumors visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions.
iOS 26.5.1 will almost certainly be a minor update that fixes bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, and it will likely be released by the end of next week.
The logs show that Apple has ramped up testing of iOS 26.6 as well, with a first ...
Apple today released iOS 26.5.1, a minor update to iOS 26. The software is available three weeks after iOS 26.5 came out, and appears to only be available for the iPhone Air and all models in the iPhone 17 lineup.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
According to Apple's release notes, the update fixes a previ...
