Apple just released the public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, tvOS 26, HomePod software 26, watchOS 26 and AirPods firmware.
These public beta versions correspond with the latest developer betas in terms of the features and stability. Apple released the first developer beta of iOS 26 following the conclusion of its WWDC25 keynote in June. Downloading developer betas requires a paid membership with the Apple Developer Program, but public betas are available to the general public for free.
To download and install the iOS 26 public beta on your iPhone, visit beta.apple.com and sign in with your Apple account. Then, you’ll need to go to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates and choose the iOS 27 beta.
Apple launches the public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26 and more
Doing so will let you download and install an over-the-air iOS 26 update on your iPhone using the standard Software Update mechanism. Your iPhone must use the same Apple account you used to enroll in the Apple Beta Software Program in order to access prerelease software.
The Enroll Your Devices section of the Apple Beta Software Program website provides instructions for installing other betas, including the AirPods beta firmware to test the new audio features coming this fall to AirPods owners.
All of Apple’s “26” operating systems bring a glassy design overhaul of the user interfaces across the iPhone, iPad, Mac and other Apple devices, dubbed Liquid Glass. Aside from the redesigned interface, these updates bring a bunch of other features and quality-of-life changes including a Phone app on the Mac, a new Apple Watch gesture, a proper windowing system for the iPad and much more.
Is the iOS 26 public beta worth installing?
The current state of the iOS 26 beta is pretty great, as Apple has dialed back some of the more controversial design changes. There aren’t too many bugs, at least in my personal experience, and even battery life is pretty solid. If you’d like to test-drive the new features before they launch for everyone, you can confidently install the public betas on your devices, as doing so won’t erase your data or settings.
Just remember to make a full device backup on a computer prior to updating to iOS 26, and then archive it so you can restore your device from it in case you want to downgrade from iOS 26.