iOS 26 is probably complete

Running the latest iOS 26 developer beta or public beta? You’re probably looking at the version of iOS 26 that will be released in September.

No more betas

For starters, iOS 26 beta 7 and beta 8 have virtually no differences. The current public beta is based on dev beta 7, but that will likely change today.

Will there be an iOS 26 developer beta 9? Probably not. Apple shipped eight developer beta versions of iOS 13 through iOS 18. That could obviously change with iOS 26 if something needs to change between now and the first release candidate, but the way iOS 26 looks and behaves is most likely finalized.

Without more betas lined up, we can expect Apple to release iOS 26 RC to beta testers following the iPhone event. The current rumor for that date is September 9. Hopefully we’ll see an official announcement from Apple tomorrow around 9 am PT/12 pm ET.

Forecasting further, iOS 26 could officially launch a week later on September 16. Again, look to the iPhone event date for RC release timing and add a week for the official launch.

iOS beta count history

Personally, I’ve run each beta on my primary (and usually only) iPhone since iOS 5 beta 1. Having iMessage before it was publicly released was fun. I had to check 9to5Mac’s iOS 6 beta coverage to verify that there were, in fact, only four developer beta versions. Turns out it’s true. I arrived at 9to5Mac two months before iOS 7 beta, making running every beta pretty much required.

iOS 12 was particularly fun. This is from my iOS 12 beta 12 story seven years ago:

You may have heard there’s a new iOS update out and you should update from the beta … every time you unlock your iPhone or iPad. While iOS 12 is technically still in beta, Apple has issued the twelfth developer beta version (and tenth public beta version) to address the pesky alert that started spamming users last night.

That’s the sort of issue that gets you a dozen beta builds. A year later, Apple managed to land on eight developer beta releases before the release candidate.

Does iOS 26 feel ready?

Does iOS 26 beta feel like it’s ready to go? Any changes you still want to see? Apple will inevitably have iOS 26.0.1 ready to go soon after iOS 26 arrives, and we may see iOS 26.1 developer beta follow soon after.

Let us know your thoughts about the current version of iOS 26 beta likely being the finalized version to reach iPhones. Of course, one change between the current version and what ships is any feature that hasn’t yet been shown. That could mean features exclusive to the iPhone 17 line.

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