Today, Apple has seen fit to release the fourth developer beta of its upcoming iOS 26.5 update for testing purposes. If you are a registered developer, you can download and install the latest build on your iPhone through the Settings app.
iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, macOS 26.5 And More Beta 4 Updates On Available To Developers
Apart from iOS 26.5 beta 4, Apple has also released iPadOS 26.5, macOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5, tvOS 26.5, and visionOS 26.5 to developers. The fourth beta build of iOS 26.5 will be a major update as it will bring a handful of new front-facing features to the table, something that users have been looking forward to for the past few weeks.
As mentioned, developers enrolled in the Developer Program can simply head over to the Settings app and navigate to General > Software Update > and install the latest iOS 26.5 beta on their device. The process is the same for iPadOS 26.5 beta 4, so do not get alarmed. However, you are required to link your Apple ID to your Developer Account to receive the latest beta update over the air, otherwise it will fail to show up in the Settings app.
As for what is new, iOS 26.5 will continue Apple’s push to test end-to-end encryption for RCS messages between iPhone and Android users. In the EU, Apple is also testing proximity pairing, notification forwarding, and Live Activities for third-party wearables, including smartwatches and different kinds of earbuds. This will allow third-party wearables to get most of the features of the Apple Watch and the AirPods.
Take note that iOS 26.5 will not bring any front-facing Siri improvements of any kind, including the ones that have been delayed over the past year or so. In recent reports, it was mentioned that Siri will be getting a dedicated chatbot-like app similar to ChatGPT. Additionally, Siri will be powered by Google’s Gemini platform for better context understanding and more.
Apple will release iOS 26.5 to the general public in the next couple of weeks, so be sure to stick around. The company is also internally testing iOS 27 currently, which will be unveiled in June at Apple’s WWDC event.
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