iOS 26 Public Beta is now rolling out: New features, eligible iPhones and more

iOS 16 Public Beta

Apple has officially released the public beta of iOS 26, allowing iPhone users around the world to preview the next major software update ahead of its stable rollout this fall. Unveiled at WWDC 2025, iOS 26 brings a major design overhaul and several AI-powered features. It marks the most significant redesign since iOS 7 in 2013.

The standout feature in iOS 26 is Apple’s new design language called Liquid Glass. This replaces static elements with dynamic, translucent animations that flow as users interact with the system. Buttons, menus, and panels now mimic the look of molten glass, giving the interface a more fluid and modern appearance. This redesign extends beyond the iPhone, as Apple is also rolling it out to iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS.

Apple has merged the Phone app’s call logs and voicemails into a unified screen. Spam detection tools have also been improved, helping filter both unwanted calls and texts more effectively.

iMessage gains real-time translation, letting users communicate across languages instantly, while FaceTime also benefits from this live translation feature. In addition, iOS 26 includes a new visual search capability — users can now select objects in screenshots, like a piece of furniture, and find similar items online.

One highly anticipated upgrade, however, is still absent. Apple had promised a major generative AI update for Siri in 2024, but it has been delayed. The new Siri experience is not expected until 2026, leaving the assistant unchanged in this beta.

To install iOS 26 Public Beta, users need to visit Apple’s Beta Software Program website, enrol their Apple ID, then go to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates and enable iOS 26.

The beta is available for iPhones with A15 chipsets and above. This includes models from iPhone 13 to iPhone 16 series, as well as the iPhone SE (3rd generation).