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Apple Releases Second iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, tvOS 26.5 and watchOS 26.5 Public Betas

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Apple today provided public beta testers with the second releases of upcoming iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5, and tvOS 26.5 updates for testing purposes. The public betas come a day after Apple provided the betas to developers.

iOS 26
After signing up for beta testing on Apple's beta site, public beta testers can download the updates using the Software Update section of the Settings app on each device.

iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 include a new Suggested Places feature for recommending nearby locations to visit, and Apple is also gearing up to start showing ads in Maps.

Apple is testing end-to-end encryption for RCS messages between iPhone and Android users again, and there are proximity pairing, notification forwarding, and Live Activities for third-party wearables in the EU.

Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe
Related Forums: iOS 26, macOS Tahoe

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Top Rated Comments

N
NicosAccount
3 days ago at 02:49 pm

Apple is not marketing the 'feature' to users, but you can be sure they are marketing it to their real customers, advertisers.

The clear and increasing desperation of advertisers to scream "Buy, Buy, Buy!" at every opportunity is not a sign of a sound economy.
Idk about increasing, everything gets ads eventually, publicly traded companies only care about increasing profits as much as possible. Everything they claim to be about serves the only purpose of getting more money. When it stops making them money, theyll just drop whatever idea/value theyve been about. Disclaimer: I hate ads and been using adblockers since ive been on the internet.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
exodiusprime Avatar
exodiusprime
3 days ago at 11:18 am

does 26.5 add anything other than ads in Apple Maps?
What a time to be alive when "Ads" are a touted feature 🫠🫠🫠
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
X
xmarcuswildx
3 days ago at 10:25 am

does 26.5 add anything other than ads in Apple Maps?
Nope.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
What_Is_George Avatar
What_Is_George
3 days ago at 10:16 am
does 26.5 add anything other than ads in Apple Maps?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Powerbooky Avatar
Powerbooky
2 days ago at 10:22 pm

Not sure it adds anything significant, however, it may create some issues with using Mail clients. I am seeing issues with Mail and Outlook since updating some of my Macs, and it's consistent across all the ones I updated.
And those issues are? I mean the Outlook application in itself is already a mess and should be abandoned by any business.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
MistrSynistr
2 days ago at 01:55 pm
I wonder if the creator of WIPR can make something built in for all Apple Apps. Works excellent with YouTube ads (none ever) and everything else.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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