Apple Releases iOS 26.5 Developer Beta Across Ecosystem

Apple on Monday released the first developer beta of iOS 26.5, along with equivalent beta versions for iPadOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, and macOS 26.5. The update arrives one week after the public rollout of iOS 26.4 on March 24, marking the start of testing for the next incremental software generation across Apple's ecosystem.

Registered developers can access the betas through the Apple Developer Program by navigating to the Settings app on compatible devices, selecting General, and then Software Update. Build numbers include iOS 26.5 beta 23F5043g and iPadOS 26.5 beta 23F5043g, with similar identifiers for the other platforms. Early installations on devices like the iPhone 17 Pro show the update requiring just over 8GB of space, while total storage usage reaches about 24.43GB when including components for Apple Intelligence.

Initial testing reveals no major new features in iOS 26.5 beta 1. The interface for Siri and Apple Intelligence shows no visible changes from iOS 26.4, despite ongoing anticipation for enhancements powered by Google's Gemini AI models, which Apple integrated in early 2026 following a partnership announced the previous year. A toggle for...