Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 Release Candidates to Developers - MacRumors
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Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 Release Candidates to Developers

Apple today seeded new release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming five days after the first RC. It's not clear what's changed in the second RC, but Apple typically sends out another candidate if there are bugs that need to be addressed.

iOS 26
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.

There is a new Pride wallpaper to go along with the Pride Apple Watch band for this year.

More detail on what's new in iOS 26.5 can be found in our iOS 26.5 beta features guide. iOS 26.5 is likely to see a launch next week.

Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26, iOS 27
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Top Rated Comments

43 minutes ago at 10:32 am
Public beta is also out
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
18 minutes ago at 10:57 am
build number is 23F77
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Octavius8 Avatar
19 minutes ago at 10:57 am
How about a keyboard that doesn't lag?
Even physical keyboards lag like crazy in IOS!, nobody at Apple notices??
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
48 minutes ago at 10:28 am
26.5 final will be released ready or not the day the pride band is released.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)