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Apple Begins Testing iOS 18.6 Update for iPhones

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Apr 12, 2001
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Apple this week began testing iOS 18.6, according to our website's visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The update is currently limited to Apple's software engineers, with no developer or public beta available yet.

iOS-18.6-Feature-Real-Mock.jpg

The first iOS 18.6 beta will likely be made available in May or June, and the update should be released to the general public before the end of July.

It is still too early to know what new features and changes will be introduced in iOS 18.6, if any. iOS 17.6 and iOS 16.6 had only bug fixes and security patches, but earlier updates like iOS 13.6, iOS 14.6, and iOS 15.6 included some new features.

Apple recently delayed personalized Siri features until some point "in the coming year," but the current consensus is that those upgrades will not launch until the iOS 19 cycle.

The chart below recaps "point-six" updates over the past five years.

iOS Version​
First Developer Beta​
Public Release​
Inclusions​
iOS 13.6​
June 1, 2020​
July 15, 2020​
- Digital car keys in Wallet app
- Apple News+ audio stories
- Symptoms category in Health app
- Bug fixes and small enhancements​
iOS 14.6​
April 22, 2021​
May 24, 2021​
- Apple Podcasts subscriptions
- Family Sharing for Apple Card
- AirTag and Find My enhancements
- Bug fixes​
iOS 15.6​
May 18, 2022​
July 20, 2022​
- Restart live sports in TV app
- Bug fixes​
iOS 16.6​
May 19, 2023​
July 24, 2023​
- Bug fixes and security patches​
iOS 17.6​
June 17, 2024​
July 29, 2024​
- Bug fixes and security patches​

Apple has also been testing iOS 18.5 for a few months now. The first iOS 18.5 beta will likely be released either this week or next week.

iOS 18.4 was released earlier today, following more than a month of beta testing.

Article Link: Apple Begins Testing iOS 18.6 Update for iPhones
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/03/31/apple-begins-testing-ios-18-6/
Last edited by a moderator:
techfreak23 said:
It's really interesting that there are Apple Engineers that frequent this site on pre-production software that hasn't been released to the public.
Click to expand...
I bet most of them aren't real, anyone can change their userinfo string to show whatever they want.
 
I'm still limping along with a 32 GB iPad 7. Don't really want to replace it until absolutely necessary.
Will be kind of glad when the iPad OS 18 updates are finished so I can put some app back into storage.
Have to agree with people who probably won't care about 18.6 when 19 is released, except people who still have a 2019 iPad like me.
While I like Android too, only Apple products seem to get updates for this many years.
My iPad was new to me (refurbished) in late 2021.
I received it with iPad OS 14.8 with a quick update to 15.xx.
While I would love to have the iPad 9 with the headphone jack and big home button like I have now, it would most likely be an unwise decision. Funny how Apple has the iPad 9 refurbished for the same $209 I paid for the iPad 7.
Oops. Waited too long. It's gone now.
I will wait for MacRumors to tease me with clues to the iPad 12. Will there be an iPad 13 or is that bad luck?
 
Apples software developers are really slacking on quality it seems every year it takes them almost till the release of the next IOS to get it right.
 
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