iOS 26 Public Beta Expected This Week as First iOS 27 Rumor Surfaces

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The first iOS 26 public beta should arrive this week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

iOS 26 on Three iPhones
"All indications are that iOS 26 should go into the public beta phase this coming week," said Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today.

In a social media post last week, Gurman said that the iOS 26 public beta would likely be released on or around Wednesday, July 23.

Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, but it did not provide a more specific timeframe.

The first public betas of iPadOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, watchOS 26, and HomePod software 26 should be released alongside the iOS 26 public beta, and Apple is also planning to offer a public beta of its next major AirPods firmware update for the first time. Apple does not plan to offer a visionOS 26 public beta, though, according to its beta website.

Anyone can sign up to be a member of the Apple Beta Software Program, for free, and gain access to the public betas for testing. As always, we highly recommend backing up your devices before installing beta software, in case of issues.

All of the updates are already available in developer beta. A few years ago, Apple dropped the requirement to pay $99 per year for an Apple Developer Program membership in order to access the developer betas, but you still need to have an Apple Developer account. Technically, though, the public should wait for the public betas.

Looking ahead, the first iOS 27 rumor has surfaced.

According to Gurman, Apple will formally kick off development of iOS 27 soon, and the company plans to prioritize software features that are tailored for the long-rumored foldable iPhone. That device is expected to launch in the second half of next year.

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Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26
Tags: iOS 27, Mark Gurman
Related Forum: iOS 26

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Top Rated Comments

Pudlo Avatar
Pudlo
7 months ago
Apple Intelligence was expected net week a year ago....just saying
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
goonie4life9 Avatar
goonie4life9
7 months ago
Yeahhh, OS 26 is OLD NEWS that nobody cares about anymore. It's time to get STOKED for the ALL NEW OS 27. The tiny little startup that constantly pushes the bleeding edge in being the best, not the first, skating to where the puck will be, is already building the BEST, MOST POWERFUL OSes ever released for Apple devices. The ALL NEW OS 27 will take things to a whole new level, with breakthrough, game-changing features that allow customers to do amazing things with their devices. Apple can't wait to see the incredible things customers are able to do with the ALL NEW OS 27, powered by the best-in-class Apple Intelligence. Apple thinks you're gonna love it.

One more thing... OS 27 was BUILT for the ALL NEW iPhone Ultra. This is the biggest leap forward in iPhone since iPhone X. The iPhone Ultra features is an ALL NEW, multi-screen iPhone, allowing for the portability of the iPhone and the beautiful, widescreen display of an iPad. This changes everything, all over again!
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lankylonky22 Avatar
lankylonky22
7 months ago
Im staying on 18.6 until iOS 27 comes out
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macdaddy43 Avatar
macdaddy43
7 months ago
I actually downgraded back to iOS 18 after running the iOS 26 betas for a few weeks. This is the first time I think I want to sit on the sidelines and wait until Apple figures out what the hell they want to do with liquid glass…
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
winxmac Avatar
winxmac
7 months ago
Once iOS 18.6 is finalized, I may upgrade to it from iOS 17.7 and wait at the sidelines while iOS 26 gets polished until next year.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Premium1 Avatar
Premium1
7 months ago

Since 27 is dropping Intel support we can expect iOS 27 to carry that thru and drop a majority of older iPhone devices, maybe all Lightning devices. o_O?
I doubt apple drops a device from software support based on the connector, especially seeing as the 12-14 line are still plenty capable in terms of chipset. Apple likes to hang on to support for devices so imagine how many ticked off people would be if the 13/14 line lost support that soon.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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