Here's When to Expect the iOS 26 Public Beta

Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, and now a more specific timeframe has surfaced.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that Apple's public betas should be released on or around Wednesday, July 23. In other words, expect the public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and more to be available at some point next week.

Apple will be releasing public betas of the following updates:

• iOS 26
• iPadOS 26
• macOS 26
• tvOS 26
• watchOS 26
• HomePod Software 26
• AirPods Firmware

Apple does not plan to offer a visionOS 26 public beta, according to its website.

Anyone can sign up to be a member of the Apple Beta Software Program, for free, and gain access to the public betas for testing. As always, we highly recommend backing up your devices before installing beta software, in case of issues.

All of the updates are already available in developer beta. A few years ago, Apple dropped the requirement to pay $99 per year for an Apple Developer Program membership in order to access the developer betas, but you still need to have an Apple Developer account. Technically, though, the public should wait for the public betas.

Check out our iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and watchOS 26 roundups linked below to learn more about new features and changes in those updates.