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Apple Seeds First Public Betas of iOS 26.6, macOS Tahoe 26.6 and More

Apple today provided public beta testers with the first betas of iOS 26.6, iPadOS 26.6, macOS Tahoe 26.6, watchOS 26.6, and tvOS 26.6, with the software coming two days after Apple seeded the betas to developers.

iOS 26
After signing up to beta test the software updates on Apple's beta site, public beta testers can download the new software using the Software Update section in the Settings app on each device.

iOS 26.6 has a feature that will let you know when you have blocked too many contacts, but the limit is in the thousands so most users may not ever see the messaging.

No other major new features have been found in any of the software updates, with Apple likely focusing on bug fixes and security improvements. We're nearing the end of the "26" software cycle, with Apple planning to unveil iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, and more in 11 days.

Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe
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Top Rated Comments

switz Avatar
1 week ago
Why trade a problematic operating system for one that is not even released? There is no way to verify if the beta cures or makes worse those behind the scenes issues.

I gave up on being on the bleeding edge testing the newest beta. More than once doing that caused me significant down time and was not worth it. I think after WWDC this June I will wait until iOS 27 gets to at least release 5 before installing. A careful review then might preclude installing even then.

iOS 26 will be fully supported with patches and updates during that time frame because all of the iPhone models purchased up to the September 2026 time frame will be iPhone 17 variants. We know that there will be an iOS 26 dot 6 update, but there is always a chance more things may need help before iOS 27 stumbles out the door on the iPhone 18 variants.

Not sure I like the so called new features being talked up for iOS 27, so delaying as long as possible to upgrade is to my advantage.

The funds expended on the failed car and questionable goggles sure could have hired lots of de-bugging programmers to make the operating systems solid. Instead we get flaky software and the bugs continue from one generation to the next, to the next, to the next etc.

Darn shame actually. Apple is loosing the quality control issue at an ever increasing speed. Rushing incomplete software out the door certainly does make for a happy customer base.

Sure would not be interested in a flaky fold.....
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GtrDude Avatar
1 week ago
I got blocked spam phone calls that are in the thousands.

Edit: 3097 to be exact
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
1 week ago

Hopefully Apple focuses these last "tweaks" to macOS (26.6) so that the remainder of us who run the soon to be abandoned Intel machines (2020 iMac for me) will have an OS that runs a little bit smoother. I know it aint happening, but one can dream...
I would just find which macOS version my various Macs seem to like best and leave them there
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
1 week ago

On IPhone 16 Pro Max i have battery drain on 26.5. Can I update to beta to try resolve this? Beta is safe to install and do not break my system?
I’ll recommend to wait for the RC or general release.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
1 week ago
So far, battery life is reasonably typical. Have only had one odd bug in which the screen seemed to "freeze" at a blur... but, this hasn't come back. Teams, Outlook, FF, and such all working well.

On the dev beta so been working through this version since that was dropped.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)