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iOS 26 Beta Testing Likely Complete After Apple Seeds Beta 8

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Apple today provided developers with iOS 26 beta 8, which means that beta testing is likely coming to an end. Apple typically only seeds eight developer betas of an iOS update before the software gets a final launch.

iOS-26-Feature.jpg

Apple did not go beyond eight betas for iOS 18, iOS 17, iOS 16, iOS 15, iOS 14, or iOS 13. Way back in 2018, iOS 12 did have a ninth beta, a tenth beta, an eleventh beta, and a twelfth beta, but no other new versions of iOS have been updated as frequently ahead of a planned September launch date.

With iOS 18, Apple released the eighth beta on August 28, and there were no subsequent betas. Since the eighth iOS 26 beta came on August 25, the timing is similar.

Apple could always deviate from its testing cycle and throw in another beta if there are still major bugs to be worked out, but Apple software engineers are likely focused on getting the iOS 26 release candidate ready. There were no major changes found in the eighth beta of iOS 26, and we are still waiting on the final public beta.

Ahead of when iOS 26 sees an official launch in September, Apple will provide a finalized release candidate as the last testing step. If Apple follows its past pattern, we'll get the release candidate for iOS 26 just after the September iPhone event.

Rumors suggest Apple will hold this year's iPhone event on September 9, so the release candidate would be made available on that date. iOS launches typically happen a few days before new iPhone models come out. Apple often holds iPhone pre-orders on the Friday after an event, and then the next Friday is the official launch date. So iPhone pre-orders will likely be on September 12, with a launch on September 19. With that timeline, iOS 26 will launch to the public sometime between September 15 and September 17.

We are also not expecting to see any additional betas of iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe, tvOS 26, visionOS 26, and watchOS 26 before the release candidates come out on iPhone event day.

Article Link: iOS 26 Beta Testing Likely Complete After Apple Seeds Beta 8
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/08/25/ios-26-beta-testing-likely-complete/
Anyone else still not care for liquid glass? I’ve been running it on my iPad Pro and I still can’t get used to it. To me it looks even worse on the Mac screenshots I’ve seen. I might keep it off my Mac just for that reason. At least for as long as I can stand it as they add new features in the future. Idk.
 
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macduke said:
Anyone else still not care for liquid glass? I’ve been running it on my iPad Pro and I still can’t get used to it. To me it looks even worse on the Mac screenshots I’ve seen. I might keep it off my Mac just for that reason. At least for as long as I can stand it as they add new features in the future. Idk.
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I've been running the public beta on my iPad mini... Liquid Glass is ugly imo.
 
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Is it usual to have 2 weeks between Beta 8 & the RC? If it is usually 1 week, perhaps the iPhone announcement will happen on Sept 3, with pre-orders on Sept 5?
 
But where is public beta 5? Last time they followed up with the public beta right after the dev release.
 
profwafflez said:
I've been running the public beta on my iPad mini... Liquid Glass is ugly imo.
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Same on my iPad Pro. I’m not one of those people who hates change (I was actually looking forward to a design refresh), but honestly, it looks really dated, full of flashy yet pointless effects like the changing icon border, and all they do is waste processing power (even if just a little) and screen space. On top of the ugly visuals, it’s still full of bugs and glitches for me on the latest public beta. I’d strongly advise waiting at least until 26.1, that’s what I’m going to do on my iPhone. If Android were run by literally any company other than Google, I’d seriously consider switching ecosystems at this point.
 
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macduke said:
Anyone else still not care for liquid glass? I’ve been running it on my iPad Pro and I still can’t get used to it. To me it looks even worse on the Mac screenshots I’ve seen. I might keep it off my Mac just for that reason. At least for as long as I can stand it as they add new features in the future. Idk.
Click to expand...
I dislike the overall aesthetic. I've tried to get used to it. I've been hoping for a fresh new look and this just isn't it for me.
 
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Bit crazy that for an update which brings an allegedly even more elaborate visual refresh than iOS 7 there won’t be (m)any more than eight betas.
 
Cyberius11 said:
I dislike the overall aesthetic. I've tried to get used to it. I've been hoping for a fresh new look and this just isn't it for me.
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The rounded, concentric button design is rather Android-esque, not necessarily in a bad way, just a generic one. So I guess I’m neutral other than the unnecessary tacky flashiness of the on/off toggle animation for example.

Thank Jobs for Reduce Motion/Reduce Transparency/High Contrast ;)
 
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macduke said:
Anyone else still not care for liquid glass? I’ve been running it on my iPad Pro and I still can’t get used to it. To me it looks even worse on the Mac screenshots I’ve seen. I might keep it off my Mac just for that reason. At least for as long as I can stand it as they add new features in the future. Idk.
Click to expand...
I have it on my Mac and the only thing that really bothers me is the obnoxious radius of the window corners and the size of the window controls. If they just had a setting that allowed us to adjust the size it would be great.
 
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This has been the most stable beta in a very long time for me and using iOS is now just more enjoyable. Features actually work.

I think everyone is forgetting something important though… For the first time in years, we will finally have actual surprises in the milestone releases (.1, .2, .3, etc.) - granted there are limited leaks - thanks to all announced features being available since beta 1.

Very, very excited for 26.1!
 
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I suspect there will be more betas for this release as this is the first time in many years that they change design language, and from what I have seen, it doesn't look ready for prime time just yet.
 
MacRumors said:
Apple did not go beyond eight betas for iOS 18, iOS 17, iOS 16, iOS 15, iOS 14, or iOS 13
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Otherwise written as 'Apple didn't go beyond eight betas for iOS 13-18' 😄

I'm hoping this won't be the end of the iOS 26 betas given there's still many issues outstanding. For customers to find 'it just works' I would expect the 'automix, visual corruption of buttons and symbols on iPads', 'clock, notifications, and other elements might not display', and the multiple known issues in maps, to be fixed prior to release to the public, or at least for the workarounds to somehow be shown in the released software. If these issues exist AND the issues are known AND the workarounds are not provided to the end user, then it presents a pretty poor user experience.

If someone bought a Tesla and it just took a sharp left into a tree because of a known issue, you'd expect the driver to be offered a workaround to avoid or at least manage said tree event. Having said that, rebooting after said tree event may prove fruitless 😄

Yes I know people won't die because of iOS issues, but hey, it's all relative, and with the premium cost of iPhones and their ever increasing breadth and cost of subscriptions, and the increasing number of 'US only' features, well, you get my point. Surely doing better is an option.

Overall, though, I like iOS 26 thus far.
 
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