Exactly When Apple’s iPhone Software Will Go Live
Updated July 22 with further details of a leak that points to exactly when the new iPhone software will reach public beta.
Apple announced the next big iPhone software back in June, set to go on general release this fall. It’s called iOS 26 and its new design has made it highly anticipated. If you’re keen to try it out, it’s about to become available in the first public beta – and a new report, plus the fact that the fourth developer beta has just gone live, suggests that it’s now imminent. Here’s what’s happening.
Apple iOS 26 coming soon
Apple announced in June that the release of iOS 26 would first appear as developer betas as usual, with the first public beta set for July. When it reaches general release it will be on the 2025 releases, iPhone 17 series, as well the iPhone 16 series and plenty of much earlier models.
That’s the normal schedule, though the public beta routinely arrives around the middle of the month — so the week beginning Monday, July 14 seemed most likely.
In the latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman addressed the question. He had already posted on X that the public beta would land around Wednesday, July 23. Now, he has expanded on this reasoning.
“All indications are that iOS 26 should go into the public beta phase this coming week. This typically happens by the middle of July, so the software is a bit later than usual. Given that iOS 26 is such a significant design overhaul, it makes sense that Apple would want to take a little extra time to get things right,” Gurman said.
And there’s another reason things seem to be running a little late, which is that instead of using the third developer beta as the basis for the public beta, which is the usual one, “It seems likely that this public beta will match up with the fourth developer beta version,” this time, Gurman goes on.
This means that although it’s a little later, it’ll be based on a more stable release, assuming Apple is improving its beta software with each release.
Since this is for public use, better software will be welcome. There have been tweaks to the Liquid Glass design which is the marquee feature in iOS 26, so maybe developer beta 4/public beta 1, will have something closer to the final look. Now that the fourth developer beta is out, you can bet people are looking closely into this.
iOS 26 Public Beta Release Date
This week looks most likely: Apple said July and after this week, there are only three days in July left.
I believe it will be released the day after the fourth developer beta, so if that lands on Monday, July 21, the public beta will be Tuesday, July 22.
Gurman’s proposed date of July 23 is also possible.
I think that Tuesday will see the release of the fourth developer beta, which forms the basis for the first public beta.
Most likely is that the public beta will follow the next day, Wednesday, 23 July, exactly as Gurman predicted, or just possibly on Thursday, 24 July, depending on whether there are any last-minute hiccups.
Remember, this developer beta cycle began with an unprecedented re-release of the first beta, just days after the initial release.
The fourth developer beta has just gone live, around 10 a.m. Pacific on Tuesday, July 22. That makes me feel confident the public beta is just hours away, almost certainly due to land at 10 a.m. Pacific on Wednesday, July 2.
And there’s another reason to think this timetable is in place. Joe Rossignol from MacRumors revealed on Monday, July 21, that “an anonymous leaker with a proven track record today shared alleged build numbers for the fourth developer betas of iOS 26 and more,” as he put it. The leaker has form with revealing data like this before, it seems and routinely leaks the information the day before the release of the beta.
This led the publication to believe that the fourth dev beta would go live today, as it has. In turn, this definitely points to the public beta being a shoo-in for release on Wednesday, July 23. Alongside the iOS 26 public beta, we will likely see at the same time the iPadOS 26 public beta, plus the same for watchOS 26, macOS 26 and tvOS 26. Though the visionOS 26 developer beta 4 is now live, there’s no visionOS 26 public beta.
It seems that there was completely unexpected release this week: the macOS 26 public beta went live by accident, it seems, on Monday, July 21, until Apple removed it again after a few hours. The build number for that beta was identical to the developer beta build number the leaker came up with, also pointing to the important detail that the public beta details will correspond to the fourth dev betas, as expected.
What About The General Release?
The expectation of a September release remains in place. “Does that mean the final software will ultimately ship later than expected,” Gurman asks, adding, “Probably not, since the developer versions remain on track.”