Updated June 10 with confirmed details of the 26 series software release dates.
Apple’s next-generation of operating software is about to be has just been announced, on Monday, June 9 at the company’s World Wide Developers Conference. The 90-minute keynote revealed new versions of the software that powers the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro.
Well, like so much in life, it depends on who you are. The first people to gain access will be developers, who were watching the WWDC keynote keenly. And that’s when the new name was confirmed as iOS 26 instead of the iOS 19 that you’d expect to follow the current iOS 18.
The new name is going to be standardized across the range of software platforms, such as macOS 26, iPadOS 26 and watchOS 26. Full details of this here.
Developer Beta Release Date: Monday, June 9
Traditionally, developer beta releases come the same day as the keynote. Once, the new software was available during the keynote, but the sight of thousands of developers attempting to download files at the same time must have been enough to cause the most confident of wi-fi providers a case of the heebeejeebees.
Whatever the reason, it’s no longer available to download during the conference, but it’s now been confirmed that Monday, June 9 is indeed the day of release for the developer betas — at the time of writing the betas had not been released, and there is an expectation that uptake will be keen, not least because of the radical design overhaul coming to every platform.
As well as iOS 26, thanks to a new naming convention that also applies for other software, the first developer betas of iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26 and visionOS 26 have now been confirmed to appear at or around the same time, again, on the same day.
Public Beta Release Date: July
Next, the software will be available for anyone who’s not a developer. Apple announced this at the keynote. As is usual, the first public beta will be available in the month following WWDC, that is, July. This enables Apple to release a couple of betas to developers, maybe even three, before taking the latest one and making it the first public beta. This promises a greater level of stability for the public to use. Even so, it’s still recommended to install the beta on a secondary device as there are likely to be issues, especially early in the beta cycle.
Both developer and public beta releases will continue through the summer, usually with increasing frequency, until the final release to the general public is ready. Which is the moment that everybody can get involved.
General Release: September
Apple invariably releases iOS in September, coinciding with the latest iPhone series. Assuming there’s no change this year, the full general release is likely to come in about the third week of September.
The next iPhones will be released on a Friday (which Friday is to be confirmed), and the software is often released a couple of days beforehand, usually on a Wednesday.
Not everyone likes to jump aboard a new OS straight away, but Apple has you covered here: alongside the general release of iOS 26, there will be simultaneous releases of iOS 18 software that ensures users can enjoy the benefits of security updates while they decide when to plump for iOS 26.
Expect this to continue for at least the first two months, that is to late October or November. Eventually these extra iOS 18 updates will cease and the only way to stay up to date will be to take the leap to iOS 26. By that time, with luck, everybody will feel it’s stable enough to be a no-brainer.
The software will be compatible with the 2025 iPhone hardware releases, and plenty of iPhones that went on sale before that, though not all of the features which will be unveiled at WWDC will work on all iPhones — just as Apple Intelligence only features on the iPhone 16 series, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.