A week after the release of a third beta for the developers, Apple announces the publication of a preversion of iOS 26 for the general public. The owners of iPhone and iPad can try the new Liquid Glass design today in the next few days, if they are ready to live with a few bugs.
Are you looking forward to discovering the new design of the iPhone? The Liquid Glass, although criticized by some, is a major evolution of iOS. It is a full reason to install the iOS 26 update, in addition to new functions like Audiomix in Apple Music or the new messages of messages. IOS 26 is an update that will make a lot of talk when it was released in September.
Like all summers for several years, Apple has been offering a public beta of its future operating system, so that the curious can install it in preview. iOS 26 beta has been available for download since July 24, 2025.
Is the public beta of iOS 26 stable?
Important first thing: A beta of an operating system is never as stable as a final version. Apple publishes a public beta when he thinks that his new iOS is sufficiently stable for daily use, but does not guarantee the absence of bugs. Do not install iOS 26 beta on your iPhone on a device you really need.
That said, the beta 4 Dev of iOS 26, that Numerama has been testing since July 22, is much better than the first three. The battery almost returns to normal with increased stability. However, expect small bugs from time to time.
How to install iOS 26 public beta on your iPhone?
To install iOS 26 beta, that’s what to do:
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Step 1: Save your device
First essential step: save your iPhone. The easiest way is to go to Settingsto touch Your name at the top of the screento choose iCloud Then ICloud backup. You will not need backup in most cases, but, in the event of a bug during installation, it could prove crucial.
If you don’t have enough iCloud storage, you can backup on your computer from the Finder On Mac or the application Apple devices On Windows.
Step 2: Join the Beta program of iOS 26
Another compulsory step: register for the Apple beta program.
Go to the beta.apple.com website and select the option Register. You have to connect with the Apple identifier associated with your phone, then accept the general conditions displayed on the screen.
Note that this step unlocks all beta. You can also install iPados 26, Watchos 26 or MacOS Tahoe 26 on your other devices.
Step 3: Install iOS 26 on your iPhone
To install iOS 26, go to the application Settings. Go to Generalchoose Software update And wait until the submenu “Beta update” appears under the option “automatic updates” (if it does not appear, go back and try again). Select it, and you should see the option iOS 26 Public Beta. After selecting it, touch Back and iOS 26 will be offered to download.
The installation will take between 20 and 40 minutes depending on your connection. Download should exceed 10 GB.
What are the iPhone compatible with iOS 26?
All iPhone from iPhone 11 can install iOS 26. The iPhone SE of 2020 and 2022 are also entitled to it.
When will the final version of iOS 26 come out?
The testers of the public beta of iOS 26 will receive a new version approximately every 14 days, with more regular updates at the end of the cycle. The “release release” will arrive on the evening of the announcement of the iPhone 17 in September. It should be identical to the final version.
People who do not want to hear about a beta will have to wait mid-September, when launching the final version of iOS 26.
Can we come back to iOS 18 if the beta is too buggy?
Yes, but it’s not easy. To return to iOS 18, it will be imperative to reset your iPhone from a Mac or PC, to return to the factory configuration. Hence the importance of saving your device: without recent backup under iOS 18, impossible to find your data in iOS 18.
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