Apple has moved on to its third round of developer betas for iOS 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, watchOS 26.3, tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3, and macOS Tahoe 26.3.

The third 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 second, which Apple introduced on January 12. The first batch appeared on December 15, 2025.

Along with the main developer beta releases, Apple has also provided testers with background security updates, outside the usual update flow. This may be Apple testing the function, and there's no guarantee that more will be made available in the future.

  • iOS 26.3 beta 3 is 23D5114d, replacing 23D5103d
  • iPadOS 26.3 beta 3 is 23D5114d, replacing 23D5103d
  • watchOS 26.3 beta 3 is 23S5611c, replacing 23S5600d
  • visionOS 26.3 beta 3 is 23N5613b, replacing 23N5602d
  • tvOS 26.3 beta 3 is 23K5611c, replacing 23K5600b
  • macOS Tahoe 26.3 beta 3 is 25D5112c, replacing 25D5101c

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.

The second developer beta included references to the addition of end-to-end encryption support for RCS messaging on iOS. Originally announced in March 2025, Apple and the GSMA introduced a standard which has taken Apple almost a year to implement.

AppleInsider and Apple strongly insist that users don't install beta operating systems or beta software onto primary or "mission-critical" hardware. Users should maintain sufficient backups of their data, and use secondary or less critical hardware for the betas, or consider using the public version.

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].