Announced during the WWDC 2025 Keynote, the iOS 26 software update has been beta for almost three months now. Should be published roughly at the same time as the iPhone 17, the beta cycle is almost finished. IOS 26 provides a whole new design language with a liquid glass user interface, offering a revamped locking screen, a home screen, a control center, application icons, ringtones, etc. Apple says it is the biggest change for iOS since iOS 7 in 2013.
Another important change that you will notice right away is that Apple does not call this iOS 19 update, as planned. Indeed, the company wanted to add the same suffix to all its versions, ensuring that they represent the new design language which affects all new systems.
With this next update, Apple also improves Apple’s intelligence features with live translation, Genmoji and upgraded writing tools, chatgpt integration with screen awareness and new image playing styles. If you can’t wait to get your hands on iOS 26 but you don’t want to risk installing the developer’s beta or public beta version, here you can expect according to previous years.
Here is when Apple published the iOS iOS updates
In the past four years, Apple has been quite consistent with regard to the synchronization of candidate versions (RC) of its software updates as well as the final version:
- iOS 18: The version of the candidates at the exit was made available on Monday September 9, 2024, followed by the full release on Monday September 16.
- iOS 17: The version of the candidates at the exit was made available on Monday September 12, 2023, followed by the release on Tuesday, September 18.
- iOS 16: The version of the candidates for the exit was made available on Wednesday September 7, 2022, followed by the release on Monday September 12.
- iOS 15: The version of the candidates for the exit was made available on Tuesday September 14, 2021, followed by the release on Monday September 20.
If the Apple event actually takes place on Tuesday September 9 (as rumors have suggested), we expect Apple to make the candidate version of the iOS 26 version later, followed by the official launch on Monday September 15. If the Apple event is September 8 or 10, we are still expecting the official version of iOS 26 to September 15, 2025.
Will my iPhone be compatible with iOS 26?
Even if iOS 26 is a large update, Apple will offer it for a large majority of the same iPhone models which have supported iOS 18. In fact, the company only removes the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and maximum iPhone XS from the list of supported devices. These are all the models that will be compatible with the update:
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 pro and 11 pro max
- iPhone SE (2nd generation)
- iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone SE (3rd generation)
- iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus
- iPhone 15 pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus
- iPhone 16 pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max
- iPhone 16th
In addition, it is not because the iPhone 11 can run iOS 26 that all features will be available on the aging iPhone. 8 key features will not go to this device due to the age of the equipment.
