Apple seeds the third developer betas for the iOS 26 generation

Apple’s hardware getting the 26-generation update – Image Credit: Apple

Apple is now on its third developer beta round for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, and visionOS 26.

The third round follows after the second round, which arrived on June 23. The first wave of betas, including iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe, and visionOS 26, which Apple introduced on June 9, after the WWDC keynote.

• iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 beta 3 is build 23A5287g, replacing 23A5276f
• macOS Tahoe 26 beta 3 is build 25A5306g, replacing 25A5295e
• watchOS 26 beta 3 is build 23R5307g, replacing 23R5296f
• visionOS 26 beta 3 is build 23M5290f, replacing 23M5279f

At the time of publication, there is not currently a third developer beta for tvOS 26.

As usual for a milestone release, the betas include quite a few changes. The main visible one is the introduction of Liquid Glass, a new UI aesthetic that uses transparency throughout the operating systems and Apple’s first-party apps.

For iOS 26, the changes includes a new battery management system, a refined camera app, refinements to its ChatGPT integration, and AirPods feature updates too.

The revisions in iPadOS 26 make it more of a productivity device, including a better Files app, Preview for the first time, and significant window management changes. Among the macOS changes are the Phone app, Clipboard History, and a reworking of Spotlight.

The ’26 betas aren’t the only ones Apple is currently testing. It has a second track, trialling the current-gen operating system updates, including iOS 18.6 and macOS 15.6.

AppleInsider and Apple strongly advise against users installing test operating systems or beta software onto primary or “mission-critical” hardware. The higher likelihood of major issues in these early beta releases can potentially result in the loss of data.

Ideally, beta participants should use secondary or non-essential hardware and ensure they have sufficient backups of their critical data at all times.

Members of the public wanting to try out the features of the inbound generation should wait until the initial public betas are issued. This safer build is due to start circulating in July.

Find any changes in the new builds? Reach out to us on Twitter at @AppleInsider or @Andrew_OSU, or send Andrew an email at andrew@AppleInsider.com.

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