Apple Inc., one of the leading companies in the mobile phone and software innovation market, recently shook the public by introducing its iOS 26 public beta. The software update is loaded with new features like new liquid design, Apple Intelligence, refreshed app icons, and many more. The release date will be July 23, 2025, for the users, but some sources suggest that the release date may slip a day or so. The beta version of this update will be available within this week; however, the stable version is targeted for the upcoming September during the launch of iPhone 17 this year.
Since the launch of iOS 18 last year, many problems beleaguered iPhone users, ranging from performance issue, overheating to network connectivity and app stability issues. Coming of iOS 26 public beta speculate hopes for better functionality, new design and fix reccuring issues. However, some iOS devices remain fully or partially incompatible with the update.
Release and Availability
WWDC 2025, or Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, took place from June 9-13 at Apple Park, Cupertino. At the WWDC, Apple hosted several online and in-person events introducing a new line of software updates, features, and developer tools.
Key highlights include the biggest UI (user interface) overhaul since iOS 7, featuring liquid design, Apple Intelligence, a range of operating systems, and developer tools. The most significant announcement was the release of iOS 26 developer beta, public beta, and stable version. The developer beta is now live, and people will have to wait 2-3 more days for the iOS 26 public beta.
Though the public beta was set to hit the phones on July 23, 2025 but some unexpected circumstances pushed the dates further and now according to some insider sources, the version will be released within this week. However, release of iOS 26 stable version has been scheduled with iPhone 17 series in September.
How to Access iOS 26 Public Beta
Installing beta on your iPhone is simple. Head to the Apple Beta Software Program and sign up for your device, and toggle the beta update option in settings. Beta updates are simple to install but risky to use due to bugs, so make sure you back up your data before you proceed.
Supported Devices: Where Some Lag Behind
The list of supported devices is quite exhaustive, as iPhones starting from iPhone 11, including SE 2nd and 3rd generation, till the new launches of iPhone 17 series scheduled in September 2025. While the OG unsupported devices include iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and many below their ranks. To be specific, here’s a table drop-down:
| Devices | Supported |
| iPhone 16 Pro / Pro Max | Yes |
| iPhone 16 / 16 Plus / 16e | Yes |
| iPhone 15 Pro / Pro Max | Yes |
| iPhone 15 / 15 Plus | Yes |
| iPhone 14 Pro / 14 / Plus | Yes |
| iPhone SE (2nd / 3rd gen) | Yes |
| iPhone 11 / 11 Pro / Max | Yes |
| iPhone XR / XS / XS Max | No |
| iPhone X, 8, 8 Plus, SE (1st) | No |
The scenario is different for Apple Intelligence as it is only available for devices after the iPhone 15 Pro / Pro Max. The list includes iPhone 16e, iPhone 16 / 16 Plus, and iPhone 16 Pro / 16 Pro Max as well.
Key Changes and Features
The latest WWDC 2025 marked the release of many new features and changes that people have been waiting for. Amongst all features, the most hyped and controversial became the liquid glass. Here’s how:
Apple UI Redesign Blunder?
As we mentioned earlier, iOS 26 marks the biggest UI overhaul since iOS 7, where developers tried to make the display elements transparent and elegant. The feature poses for smooth gradients, dynamic transparency, new updated icons, themes, animations, and customizable home and lock screens.
However, not all the gold is not glitter as when apple released beta 2 version people strike back raising readability issue and frequent application crashes. Taking the feedback, apple fixed this issue by diming the brightness behind the control panel and made elements little blurry to enhance readability.
Though Apple fixed the readability issue following the feedbacks and that’s a good thing but now liquid glass looks neither liquid nor glass but a forst piece of ice. Another issue was of overheating on the older iPhones.
Now you may wonder why a basic UI change leads to battery drain and overheating. Here’s a simple explanation, when you make the element opaque, you have to render only one thing at a time thus low battery usage but when the element is transparent then you have to render element as well as background at the same time leading to more power consumption which in turn led to overheating. This problem was quite serious in beta 2 and 3 versions and hoping Apple will fix it in iOS 26 public beta update.
Apple Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is not the correct word to use in Apple’s case because it is Apple Intelligence. After coming into the picture, Apple introduced many features as part of AI integration into its devices, such as the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro, and Watch. Many made headlines, but a number of them failed miserably when compared to rivals like Samsung and Google. Here are key Apple Intelligence features:
- It offers you to write, proofread, and express your thoughts effortlessly. Along with this, one can summarize emails, messages, and audio recordings with the help of Apple Intelligence.
- Intelligence also summarizes notifications, saving your precious time and filtering out important ones, reducing notification overload.
- People can create Genmoji (customized emojis) and images through texts, and not only this, the image playground lets users transform prompts into visual images.
- Samsung and Google outperformed Apple in the photo enhancement feature, where Apple considerably failed to remove background noise as requested by users. Enhanced search lets you find photos using natural language.
- Live translation enables real-time language translation in messages, FaceTime, and calls. In addition to this, Siri now has a better understanding and processing capability. One can communicate with Siri using voice or text.
There are more features and changes that we will review after the release of the iOS 26 stable version in September 2025.
Common Bugs and Glitches
Since it is only iOS 26 Public Beta version, bugs and glitches are imperative. There are many known issues and glitches in beta 3 and 4 versions released recently.
- Battery Drain: Many users reported heavy battery drain, especially in the first 24-48 hours after installation, due to double rendering of elements and background, OS reindexes, and apps running in the background.
- Poor Performance: Some older devices experienced lag in performance, slower animations, app crashes, and freezes. Though app crashes are mainly due to compatibility gaps, as many apps are not yet developed for iOS 26.
- Overheating: A number of devices have noticed overheating even during normal tasks like surfing the internet or using the messaging app, and while charging.
- Connectivity Issues: Device owners experience frequent Wi-Fi disconnects and random Bluetooth pairing to other devices.
There are more such issues and glitches, so make sure to back up your data before installing the software update.
Providing Feedback
For feedback purposes, you can use the default Feedback Assistant App in iOS 26 Public Beta. You don’t need to download it from anywhere, as it will be installed by default. Now, open the app and sign in with your Apple ID, then follow the prompts to report a bug or suggest a change. The app may ask you to reproduce the bug to capture the details.
For speedy and precise resolution, you must describe your problem in detail with the support of screenshots or logs and report the issue as soon as it occurs in your device.
Should We Try iOS 26 Public Beta?
Following the massive WWDC 2025 event, one must get their hands on the new iOS 26 Beta 3 and 4 versions, anyway, you will be using them in the future. It will be good to experience it now and provide valuable feedback to Apple for further improvements and UI changes. However, Apple Intelligence and other iconic features stole all the noise industry players and critics are making, and are the sole drivers to choose and lay hands on the new iOS 26 update.
