iOS 26

A new beta 6 build for iOS 26 was released today, bringing a variety of changes, including one update that is especially hard to miss: iPhone apps launch much faster than before.

Apple has delighted many iOS 26 beta users while also potentially frustrating a few others by introducing a modification to the revamped Camera app.

iOS 26 beta 6 is out now for iPhones on the developer beta release cycle. Below we’re collecting all of the iOS 26 beta 6 changes compared to the previous version.

iOS 26 looks set to greatly expand the ringtone options for the iPhone. A previous beta included one remixed version of the default Reflection sound, but now iOS 26 beta 6 has added another five more Reflection alternatives, plus a brand new Little Bird ringtone.

Apple has released the sixth developer beta version of iOS 26. We expect the redesigned version of the iPhone software to officially launch next month.

iOS 26 will be here soon, packing a new Liquid Glass design, big updates to CarPlay, Wallet, and more. iOS 26 also adds a variety of new battery-related features, and with the iPhone 17 launch hitting at the same time, they seem a perfect match for what’s coming.

iOS 26 is giving us a glass-like UI, but Apple’s long-term vision for the iPhone hardware is what former design chief Jony Ive referred to as a “single slab of glass.”

A new Apple patent application appears to refer to work on this, describing a “six-sided glass enclosure” …

Apple Maps has some compelling new features in iOS 26, but it seems there’s even more coming, as the beta now supports a powerful new feature that Apple never announced: natural language search with Apple Intelligence.

Apple kicked off the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 public beta just in the nick of time last month. The company met its self-imposed July deadline after shipping four developer betas instead of the usual three. With Apple’s redesign direction back on track, we’re now seeing the second iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 public beta release become available.

Political fundraisers recently went into a panic over an upcoming feature improvement coming to the iPhone. Apple has since clarified how the feature works, making the pearl-clutching much ado about nothing.

It’s become common for AirPods to get new features with each major version of iOS. That’s true with iOS 26, especially for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4. But it seems iOS 26 also introduces a rarity: an update to how the AirPods charging case works.

After years of minimal changes, CarPlay is getting a huge update this fall. Among the variety of big and small new features in iOS 26, CarPlay has a much improved solution for how incoming phone calls are handled.

iOS 26 will bring big feature updates to apps like Wallet, Music, Messages, and more. But there are also several new features coming to the App Store, here’s what’s new in iOS 26.

We yesterday highlighted what is quite possibly the smallest user-facing change in the latest iOS 26 beta: the ability to revert the camera app slider to its previous direction.

While this is in itself a very tiny change, I do think it ought to be a guiding principle for Apple’s approach to user interfaces …

iOS 26 is a feature-packed update, but the biggest change is easily the new Liquid Glass design. And the latest iOS 26 beta shows that despite criticism, Apple isn’t backing down from its original Liquid Glass vision.

A small but annoying change in iOS 26 beta has been driving Mail app users bananas since June. As of beta 5, however, Apple has reverted that change and avoided making even more people complain.

iOS 26 includes a redesigned Camera app that changes how you switch between shooting modes. As of iOS 26 beta 5, the redesign comes with a new toggle in Settings as well.

iOS 26 beta 5 is out now for iPhones on the developer beta release cycle. Below we’re collecting all of the iOS 26 beta 5 changes compared to the previous version.

Apple has released the fifth developer beta version of iOS 26. We expect the redesigned version of the iPhone software to officially launch next month. Apple also launched the first public beta version of iOS 26 last week. The latest build is 23A5308g.