Following the year-end festivities, Apple is continuing its developer beta process, providing new second builds of iOS 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, watchOS 26.3, tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3, and macOS Tahoe 26.3.
The second round for iOS 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, watchOS 26.3, tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3, and macOS Tahoe 26.3 follows after the first, which landed on December 15, 2025.
Unusually, since the first beta, Apple has issued background security updates for them, outside the usual update flow. It remains to be seen whether this will continue with future builds, or if it is just a test.
- iOS 26.3 beta 2 is 23D5103d, replacing 23D5089e
- iPadOS 26.3 beta 2 is 23D5103d, replacing 23D5089e
- watchOS 26.3 beta 2 is 23S5600d, replacing 23S5586d
- visionOS 26.3 beta 2 is 23N5602d, replacing 23N5588c
- tvOS 26.3 beta 2 is 23K5600b, replacing 23K5585c
- macOS Tahoe 26.3 beta 2 is 25D5101c, replacing 25D5087f
The first iOS 26.3 developer beta added two main changes to the operating system. The first was a new simplified method of switching devices, thanks to a new "Transfer to Android" option in the Settings app.
The update also brought with it notification forwarding to third-party wearables.
AppleInsider and Apple strongly advise not to install beta operating systems or beta software onto primary or "mission-critical" hardware, due to the ever-persistent risk of data loss. Instead, beta participants should use secondary or less critical hardware, and have sufficient backups of their data at all times.
Apple typically brings out 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].
