iOS 26 Public Beta is Out

Apple's new operating system for iPhone is now available for public beta

The iOS 26 public beta is now available, the next major update for iPhone software. iOS 26 brings an all-new Liquid Glass design, updates to your favorite iPhone apps and features, and much more.Table of contentsToggle table of contents

Yes, iOS 26

If you haven’t been paying attention, you might be a little confused when you see “iOS 26” pop up on your iPhone. After all, the last major software update for iPhone was iOS 18. What happened to the other numbers? Well, the gist is that Apple is unifying all of its software platforms with the “26” version number to align with the calendar year.

iOS 26 will be used primarily throughout 2026, hence the new “26” naming scheme. I’m personally a huge fan of this rebrand, as someone who has made countless typos over the years trying to keep track of the varying version numbers across each of Apple’s platforms.