I'm kind of surprised that we went all week with nothing. Outside chance today, but I don't see it happening.
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iOS 26 Speculation Thread
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I mean, Beta releases are not guaranteed to drop at a given time or anything. It’s not really “wacky”, it’s just different from prior years patterns. 👍🏻. I think 26.3 will drop when it’s good and ready. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get RC beta and then public release a couple days after. 26.3 seems to be a very minor update. And software engineers likely are focused on integrating the new models so they’re ready for 26.4. Obviously Apple’s own models have probably been in the works for a while, but the new models being integrated haven’t, so those will need to be incorporated in, which will probably take some effort.
I get the fatigue and anxiety waiting for new software/betas. I’ve totally been there before. But I really do think at this point it just makes sense to wait and be patient. 🙂👍🏻
I get the fatigue and anxiety waiting for new software/betas. I’ve totally been there before. But I really do think at this point it just makes sense to wait and be patient. 🙂👍🏻
Also, I am surprised we didn’t get a new beta sooner, but bear in mind, it’s unlikely, but we can’t completely write-off the possibility of a beta today. 👍🏻
Of course we’re not getting anything today. If the beta screws something up Apple would need to call people in during weekend to fix it asap. That’s why releases are rare later on in the week.
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They have actually gone from a beta 2 "i" build directly to RC before and a Beta 4 "d" to an RC. So it does happen. (16.3 and 16.2)
Nah, they do it to mess with the MacRumors forum users so feelings are involved in their decisions
I agree with this. No b3 and direct to RC or release.
Yeah, I definitely think we’re hopping straight over to RC, and probably a couple days or so after RC, the public release. If new hardware is announced on the 28th alongside Apple Creator Studio, 26.3 will likely also drop soon after, or alongside it. 👍🏻They have actually gone from a beta 2 "i" build directly to RC before and a Beta 4 "d" to an RC. So it does happen. (16.3 and 16.2)
Nah, they do it to mess with the MacRumors forum users so feelings are involved in their decisions
I agree with this. No b3 and direct to RC or release.
It's not unheard of though. Apple has done releases on Friday in the past, most recently with iOS 26.2 on 12 December 2025. Sure, it was the RTM release, but it was a different build than the RC and still a chance for things to go wrong.
Friday releases has been very rare. My guess would be that the release on 12th of December was to fix something critical before weekend.
Yeah, and with Apple Creator Studio announced for January 28th, and reports indicating a late January release for 26.3 (Jan 28th is late January), I’m pretty sure the 28th makes a lot of sense for the final 26.3 release. If that’s the case, then either we get RC beta late this week (today), or early next week. We’re only 5 days away from the 28th. So an RC today doesn’t seem to implausible. Otherwise, we’re looking at an RC release early next week (Monday/Tuesday), followed by a public release only a day or two later. So RC today doesn’t seem to unreasonable to me, but we will find out.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! Surprisingly, there’s already some speculation material for iOS 27, which is why I’ve been excited for a speculation thread! Sadly, @Kylo83 kind of dropped the ball… 😉👍🏻. So I’m happy to see someone started one. Waiting so long for a reply from Kylo, I was beginning to consider starting one myself, lol! 😂👍🏻
I mean sure... that's always an option, right? The only part you might need help with is getting it promoted to a sticky thread, which I imagine @Kylo83 or some other mod will facilitate in due course.
26.3 is canceled. 26.4 beta next week!
Luckily now I don’t have to because someone else did it. 🙂👍🏻. Hopefully they won’t have any issues getting it promoted to a sticky thread, but I’m thinking it probably will be promoted fine. 👍🏻
Hate to think that we had nothing for the whole week, but life is like this, hopefully, next week, something new to install.
Watch them drop another background security update test that doesn’t do anything just to mess with us.
I think next week they will announce new products and the RC will have code in it for them so they are waiting for that. Next week should be interesting.
There's a thought. Now I'm hoping the M5 Pro chip is holding back MacOS 26.3, so everything is on pause until they are ready for preorder.