The first iOS 26 public beta should arrive this week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"All indications are that iOS 26 should go into the public beta phase this coming week," said Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today.
In a social media post last week, Gurman said that the iOS 26 public beta would likely be released on or around Wednesday, July 23.
Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, but it did not provide a more specific timeframe.
The first public betas of iPadOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, watchOS 26, and HomePod software 26 should be released alongside the iOS 26 public beta, and Apple is also planning to offer a public beta of its next major AirPods firmware update for the first time. Apple does not plan to offer a visionOS 26 public beta, though, according to its beta website.
Anyone can sign up to be a member of the Apple Beta Software Program, for free, and gain access to the public betas for testing. As always, we highly recommend backing up your devices before installing beta software, in case of issues.
All of the updates are already available in developer beta. A few years ago, Apple dropped the requirement to pay $99 per year for an Apple Developer Program membership in order to access the developer betas, but you still need to have an Apple Developer account. Technically, though, the public should wait for the public betas.
Looking ahead, the first iOS 27 rumor has surfaced.
According to Gurman, Apple will formally kick off development of iOS 27 soon, and the company plans to prioritize software features that are tailored for the long-rumored foldable iPhone. That device is expected to launch in the second half of next year.
