How to Install the iOS 26 Public Beta on Your iPhone

[Jack Burton]

God bless the brave beta testers. I don't have the confidence in beta operating systems to take that plunge.

 

[macfacts]

What is this comment supposed to mean, exactly?

Means you need a long page of instructions to update.

 

[Yimbaz]

Means you need a long page of instructions to update.

It's a beta.

 

[SlowCarBoost]

I haven't been involved in betas since iOS7, but took the risk and installed B4 on my 16 Pro main daily driver and either I don't use my phone as much as some of the people here, or B4 is just a very stable, very usable beta, aside from some very minor stuttering here and there. All the apps I use still work fine, battery life is great, really liking the liquid glass changes, all my accessories still connect without issues, call screening works great. Not saying people here are lying / trolling / being overly pedantic but....yeah...

Completely agree. I have no idea what people are so up in arms about. It looks cool and is running smoothly. I haven’t had any issues so far.

 

[pixieblack]

I sorta feel if you need to be told how to do this then you probably shouldn’t do it. smh

 

[macfacts]

It's a beta.

The software is beta, not the install process nor the downgrade process.

 

[hjkuldbrot]

It’s been a while since I’ve done a local backup, but I think whoever wrote the article forgot to show how to also archive a backup. What I read just sounds like how to do a local backup. Don't you have to also click on manage backups to archive it?

 

[sb22]

I used to be a beta risker but the last one I did proved I was a fool. I reverted to ios18 and Apple had a hard time running diagnostics on it for a battery replacement, because I had been mucking about. Embarrassing 😳 🤣

 

[chelsel]

Just installed public beta... man it's glitchy... very odd visual artifacts... like I'm watching those old school cable shows that were scrambled and would momentarily come into focus and then descramble... that type of effect... especially on transitions. This is NOT ready for public beta.

 

[Lt.Bananas]

I have my iPhone 13 on 79% battery health. I know that the betas tend to have worse battery life, but I love the liquid glass design. Update is calling to me like the green goblin mask.

I can just back my phone up on Mac and then restore it if something goes wrong, right?

 

[macfacts]

I have my iPhone 13 on 79% battery health. I know that the betas tend to have worse battery life, but I love the liquid glass design. Update is calling to me like the green goblin mask.

I can just back my phone up on Mac and then restore it if something goes wrong, right?

You can't downgrade by restoring a backup.

 

[PaladinGuy]

You can't downgrade by restoring a backup.

You can if it’s an encrypted backup. I’ve done it more than once.

 

[svish]

Nice article. Still undecided on whether to install the beta. Want to try out all the new features.