Apple Releases First iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5 and macOS Tahoe 26.5 Public Betas

I just want flat design back 😭

Liquid glass is so ugly, distracting, and wasteful... I can't take it anymore!

Doesn't change the fact that 26.4 and 26.5 updates are boring asf

X.4 and X.5 releases are supposed to be boring bug fix and security updates. Apple has gotten in the bad habit of shipping "features" in the middle of the release cycle because the "features" are not ready for the main release even by Apple's declining standards.

Their devotion to a yearly release cycle is not a good thing. Note that some Linux distributions are running into the same problem. Mint is debating dropping their every six month point release cycle.

The operating systems are stable. The panic is driven by Marketing who fears being "stale" or "dated." That's always the complaint about Debian. There is admittedly a certain amount of updating needed for new hardware, but that is device drivers, not the whole operating system.

The standard needs to paraphrase Orson Wells, "We will release no operating system before its time." Marketing needs to be second in line behind Sirius Cybernetics for a place at the wall.

I don't feel duped. What am I waiting for?

The Siri features excerpted below from Apple’s Oct 2024 press release below have still not shipped:

“In the months to come, Priority Notifications will surface what’s most important, and Siri will become even more capable, with the ability to draw on a user’s personal context to deliver intelligence that’s tailored to them. Siri will also gain onscreen awareness, as well as be able to take hundreds of new actions in and across Apple and third-party apps.”

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/10/apple-intelligence-is-available-today-on-iphone-ipad-and-mac/

As noted below, onscreen awareness is now being teased for iOS 27, instead of 18.x:

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/03/13/10-new-features-coming-in-ios-27/

I wish these articles would start the headline with BETA -

I see "Apple Releases..." then I see the word "Beta" at the end of the headline.

🤣

Doesn't change the fact that 26.4 and 26.5 updates are boring asf

I’ll take “boring” over what poor Windows users are going thru lately.

Shoutout to those downloading more ads willingly