iOS 26 Public Beta Available Now

Apple has started the Public Beta testing programs for iOS 26 for iPhone, and iPadOS 26 for iPad, along with the public beta for MacOS Tahoe 26.

The public beta program is intended for curious advanced users who are more casual than developers, but who still want to test out and experience the beta operating systems as they’re being worked on.

You’ll have full access to all the new beta features, including the Liquid Glass interface and icon customization options, revisions and improvements to Phone app, the new Lock Screen look, Games app, Messages backgrounds, and much more.

The release of the first public betas typically means there will be renewed interest in running the beta system software for many curious users who typically shy away from the developer betas, and instead wait for the bit more refined public beta releases. Public betas typically have the same build number as the most recent developer beta, but because they’re released a little afterwards, there’s time for developers to first discover any major dealbreaker bugs before they land on public beta test devices.

A separate update to the 4th dev beta has been released as well to match the new build 23A5297m of the first public beta.

iOS 26 public beta 1 is available to download now onto an eligible iPhone, as well as iPadOS 26 public beta 1 for compatible iPad models. You can download and install the beta onto your compatible device through Software Update, be sure to backup your iPhone or iPad before beginning. We’ll cover the full installation process in a separate tutorial for those interested.

Beta system software is much less stable than final versions, so even though this is available to everyone now, the same advice applies as we mentioned for the dev beta; this is really aimed at advanced users, and is not appropriate for casual users or people who’d like to have a stable device experience.

Additionally, you’ll find the public beta has been made available for MacOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26.

Apple has said that final versions of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 will be released this fall.