Apple has provided developers with the first betas of iOS 26.6 and iPadOS 26.6 for testing.
The new software carries build number 23G5028e. It arrives exactly two weeks after the public release of iOS 26.5, an update that brought end-to-end encryption for cross-platform RCS messaging and a new Suggested Places feature to Apple Maps.
With the company preparing to unveil its next generation of software at WWDC26 starting June 8, active feature development on the iOS 26 branch is beginning to wind down. Late-stage updates in the release cycle typically prioritize under-the-hood bug fixes, security patches, and overall system stability rather than delivering major new user-facing capabilities.
Registered developers can download the new test build by navigating to the Software Update menu in Settings and choosing "iOS 26 Developer Beta" from the Beta Updates row.