Apple today provided public beta testers with the first betas of iOS 26.6, iPadOS 26.6, macOS Tahoe 26.6, watchOS 26.6, and tvOS 26.6, with the software coming two days after Apple seeded the betas to developers.

Apple iOS 26.5.1 is on its way, it seems, and is likely to land in a matter of days, while iOS 26.6 may hit first beta soon.

If you own an iPhone 17 Pro Max, the performance improvements in iOS 26.5 are likely noticeable. Benchmarks reveal measurable gains in both single-core and multi-core processing speeds compared to the previous iOS 26.

Apple shipped iOS 26.5 to last week, and now in the last 24 hours, it has stopped signing iOS 26.4.2—blocking downgrades to the last update.

iOS 26.6 Public Beta Available, Adds Small Change to Blocked Contacts

The major refreshes that Apple gives its software each year get a lot of attention—you can read our round-up of new iOS 26 and macOS 26 features—but there are also plenty of m

In addition to new features, Apple’s latest software updates also include security improvements, with over 50 fixes in iOS 26.5 alone.

Apple's software engineers are testing iOS 26.5.1, according to the MacRumors visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.5.1 will almost certainly be a minor update that fixes bugs and/or security vulnerabilities,

Macworld reports that Apple has released the first iOS 26.6 beta, but users may struggle to identify any notable new features or changes. This minor update appears to focus primarily on behind-the-scenes improvements rather than user-facing enhancements that iPhone owners would immediately notice.

Apple’s iOS 26.5 update adds encrypted texting, eight emojis, accessibility updates and fresh Apple Music features for iPhone users. See what's new.

iOS 26.5 users are reporting significant battery drain and overheating issues after the update. Some users on social media have raises concerns about how the new update is leading to their phones heating up.