It’s that point of the 12 months once more. After 4 developer betas, Apple has now determined that iOS 26 and the remainder of its important annual software program updates are actually prepared for at the least some extent of public consumption, and the general public beta cycle has begun.
Whereas it’s simpler than ever to get entry to developer betas — the period of paying annual developer program memberships or resorting to much less official means got here to an finish two years in the past — the early betas are known as developer betas for a motive. Apple intends these to be put in solely on separate units utilized by builders for testing their apps. They’re not designed to be used on on a regular basis iPhones, iPads, and Macs, and whereas a few of us are prepared to make the leap so we will share what’s new, we don’t suggest that you simply, our readers, take these sorts of dangers.
Nonetheless, public betas are a barely totally different matter. To be clear, these are nonetheless “betas” in each sense of the phrase, however by the point Apple begins its public beta cycle, it’s labored out all of the show-stopping bugs. A public beta is way much less prone to brick your machine, crash your apps, or significantly drain your battery than a developer beta. Nonetheless, “much less seemingly” doesn’t imply “inconceivable,” so you need to nonetheless train warning earlier than leaping in.
Even immediately, Apple noticed the necessity to re-release the fourth developer betas of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 for at the least some iPhones and iPads earlier than unleashing the general public betas. We don’t know what prompted these updates — they’re minor revisions to what are nonetheless labelled because the fourth betas — however it goes to indicate that issues are nonetheless very a lot in flux.
The present crop of public betas is broader than ever. Along with the standard suspects for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, there’s additionally a HomePod Software program 26 public beta and — for the primary time — a public beta for the AirPods Professional 2 and AirPods 4.
Nonetheless, along with the standard caveats about putting in beta software program on any units, the Apple Watch, Apple TV, HomePod, and AirPods have an additional catch. When you replace any of those units, there’s no going again. At the least if the iOS 26 beta breaks your iPhone in a roundabout way that you simply’re unwilling to cope with, you’ll be able to wipe your iPhone, reinstall iOS 18, and restore out of your final backup (which you’ll be making prior to installing the general public beta, proper?)
That’s not an choice for the Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple TV, or HomePod (though the HomePod mini may be restored from a Mac utilizing a USB-C cable). For those who don’t like what these software program updates do to your units, you’ll must dwell with them till the subsequent beta comes alongside and hopefully fixes issues. If the machine doesn’t have a USB-C or Lightning port, there’s no going again.
Easy methods to Set up the Public Betas
With these warnings out of the best way, should you do need to make the leap into the general public beta for a number of of your units, right here’s how you can get there.
First, you’ll should be utilizing a supported machine.
- iOS 26: An iPhone 11 or later mannequin.
- iPadOS 26: A 2020 or later iPad, 2019 or later iPad mini or iPad Air, or 2018 or later iPad Professional.
- macOS Tahoe 26: Any Apple silicon Mac; for Intel Macs, the 2019 Mac Professional, 2020 iMac, 2019 16-inch MacBook Professional, and 2020 13-inch MacBook Professional.
- watchOS 26: An Apple Watch Sequence 6 or later mannequin.
- tvOS 26: Any tvOS-capable Apple TV mannequin, from 2015 onward.
- HomePod Software program 26: Second-generation HomePod or HomePod mini.
- AirPods firmware: AirPods Professional 2 or AirPods 4.
When you’ve confirmed that your units qualify, right here’s how to enroll in and get the corresponding public betas:
- For those who’ve by no means put in a public beta earlier than, you’ll want to start out by visiting beta.apple.com and following the directions there to enroll with the identical Apple Account (Apple ID) as you employ on the units you need to set up the general public beta on. You are able to do this from any machine, together with a Home windows PC, because it merely registers your Apple Account for the beta program, permitting your units to obtain the betas.
- When you’ve achieved that, open the Settings app in your iPhone, iPad, or Mac and go to Basic > Software program Updates such as you would to obtain a daily public launch.
- A brand new Beta Updates part ought to seem on the high. Choose this and select the Public Beta.
- Faucet Again to return to the earlier display screen. The general public beta ought to seem right here after a number of seconds.
- Faucet Replace Now to start downloading and putting in it.
The general public beta replace will set up similar to a traditional software program replace. It is going to take a while to obtain, put together, and set up, after which your machine will reboot.
Putting in the watchOS 26 public beta is barely barely totally different, requiring you to open the Watch app out of your iPhone and undergo the Software program Replace part to pick out the general public beta from there.
For HomePod Software program 26, you’ll must allow beta updates by opening the Dwelling app out of your iPhone or iPad, going to Dwelling Settings from the three-dot menu within the top-right nook, and selecting Software program Replace > HomePod Beta Updates.
For AirPods Professional 2 and AirPods 4, the procedures for putting in beta firmware are actually easier than they was once. They’ll now be discovered by connecting your AirPods, choosing them from the iPhone Settings app, and navigating to AirPods Beta Updates on the backside.