2nd Beta of macOS Tahoe 26.5 & iOS 26.5 Available for Testing
Apple has released the second beta versions iOS 26.5, MacOS Tahoe 26.5, and iPadOS 26.5, to those who are participating in the beta testing programs of Apple system software.
The latest betas continue to work on RCS messaging support for encrypted text messages (this is a separate feature from iMessage, which is already encrypted), and support for placing ads into Apple Maps which you might imagine is not considered a feature for end users who almost certainly do not want to see advertising in the Maps app.
The latest stable builds of system software from Apple are currently iOS 26.4.1, iPadOS 26.4.1, and MacOS Tahoe 26.4.1.
How to Download iOS 26.5 Beta 2 / iPadOS 26.5 Beta 2
For iPhone and iPad devices that are enrolled in the beta releases:
- Open the “Settings” app
- Go to “General” then to to “Software Update”
- Choose to download and install the iOS 26.5 beta / iPadOS 26.5 beta
How to Download MacOS Tahoe 26.5 Beta 2
For Mac hardware enrolled in the beta tests:
- From the Apple menu, go to “System Settings”
- Go to “General” and then to “Software Update”
- Update to the latest MacOS Tahoe 26.5 beta
Apple usually goes through multiple iterations of beta builds before issuing a final version to the broader public. This suggests that a final release of iOS 26.5 and MacOS 26.5 is a ways out, perhaps next month.
Given that Apple has already announced WWDC 2026 for the week of June 8, it’s likely that the majority of Apple system software development efforts are already focused on those new upcoming releases. Therefore users should not expect any major changes or features to the OS 26 line moving forward, since most likely those efforts are being placed into the upcoming OS 27 suite.
