As the final release gradually approaches, Apple has issued release candidates for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26.

The first release candidates arrive after the ninth round, which was handed out on September 2. The eighth was seeded on August 25, the seventh landed on August 18, while the sixth landed on August 11.

It is the tail end of the developer beta cycle, with Apple now finalizing the 26-generation operating system updates, which include iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe, visionOS 26, and tvOS 26. A final release to the public will take place on September 15.

  • iOS 26 RC 1 is build 23A340, replacing 23A5336a
  • iPadOS 26 RC 1 is build 23A340, replacing 23A5336a
  • watchOS 26 RC 1 is build 23R351, replacing 23R5350b
  • macOS Tahoe 26 RC 1 is build 25A353, replacing 25A5351b
  • visionOS 26 RC 1 is build 23M336, replacing 23M5335b
  • tvOS 26 RC 1 is build 23J352, replacing 23J5351a

While labeled by Apple as RC, it is entirely plausible for there to be multiple release candidates to be seeded before the final public release.

The highlight change for the 26 generation is the cross-platform Liquid Glass interface design. Based on glass, it uses transparency for a refractive effect throughout the operating systems and Apple's apps.

Other major updates in iOS 26 include the battery management system, an updated camera app, changes to the ChatGPT integration, and feature updates for AirPods.

AppleInsider and Apple strongly warn against users installing test operating systems or beta software onto primary or "mission-critical" hardware. Due to the increased risk of data loss and other issues, 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 new features before the full release should instead try the public betas, even at this late stage.

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