Apple has restarted the beta-testing process once again, with developer builds of iOS 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, watchOS 26.3, tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3, and macOS Tahoe 26.3 now available.
After the public release of the 26.2 generation, which includes iOS 26.2 and others with the same version number, Apple is now working on the next set of updates.
- iOS 26.3 beta 1 is build 23D5089e
- iPadOS 26.3 beta 1 is build 23D5089e
- watchOS 26.3 beta 1 is build 23S5586d
- visionOS 26.3 beta 1 is build 23N5588c
- tvOS 26.3 beta 1 is build 23K5585c
- macOS Tahoe 26.3 beta 1 is build 25D5087f
As the first round of the new developer betas, it will be initially unclear as to what is new with the new builds, until some time is put into exploring the releases in detail.
Apple also introduced release candidates for updates to older macOS versions:
- macOS Sequoia 15.7.4 Release Candidate is build 24G503
- macOS Sonoma 14.8.4 Release Candidate is build 23J305
The iOS 26.2 release included changes to the Liquid Glass lock screen slider, allowed Reminders to become alarms, and introduced 30-day access codes to AirDrop. There were also automatic chapters added to Podcasts and additional buttons in Apple News, and changes to Sleep Score, Games, and CarPlay, among others.
AppleInsider and Apple strongly recommend against users installing beta operating systems or beta software onto primary or "mission-critical" hardware, due to the persistent risk of data loss. Beta participants should instead use secondary or less critical hardware, and have sufficient backups of their data at all times.
Apple usually releases a public beta version of its updates shortly after the developer counterpart. A more battle-hardened version of the update, with potentially fewer bugs or issues, it is the version that interested members of the public should try, not the developer build.
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].
