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iOS 26 Speculation Thread

Kal Madda said:
I think they would just release 26.3 when it’s planned/ready, and just have more of a gap between the 26.3 release and first betas for 26.4 if they needed more time to develop 26.4. They’ve done this before. It’s not like they have to drag their feet on 26.3 to make time to develop 26.4. While it’s true that normally Apple release betas for the next version shortly after public release of the prior version, that is not always the case. They aren’t required to do that. So I really wouldn’t think 26.3 has anything to do with 26.4 development time.

Also, reports seem to indicate 26.4 is dropping mid-February. If that’s the case, then 26.3 RC this week and 26.3 public release next week would make sense and be consistent with those reports. 👍🏻
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Actually the reports says «second half of February” not mid-February, so could be anywhere between 14-28th of February
 
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arovik said:
Actually the reports says «second half of February” not mid-February, so could be anywhere between 14-28th of February
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Yeah, sorry, that’s right. Still, that would be consistent with 26.3 RC this week. You’d have:

-26.3 RC this week (Feb 3-6)
-26.3 public release (Feb 9-13)
-26.4 Beta 1 either week of (Feb 16-20), or week of (Feb 23-27)

Sometimes the first beta for next version drop two weeks after release of prior version. So it seems plausible. But who knows, maybe there will be a beta 4. Personally, I don’t see any need for it. And with reports of imminent new hardware releases, that would also make me think RC this week, and public release next week for new hardware. But as I said, this is all just speculation. 🙂👍🏻
 
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Kylo83 said:
unfortunately we wont see the RC until they announce the new MacBook Pros so let’s hope tomorrow
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While that does make sense, they wouldn’t necessarily announce the new hardware releases before RC Beta. They’ve done this before where they release RC, announce new hardware after, and add any required hardware-specific changes into the public release. So I wouldn’t write off the possibility of them releasing an RC before new hardware. 🙂👍🏻
 
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If there was no mention of new releases on their website right away with the new Xcode, there certainly won't be anything new today, I guess.
 
I don’t understand what’s taking them so long with 26.3, considering there are barely any user-facing changes, and from what I’ve seen with the betas - just as few (if any) issues getting fixed. Not that I’m impatient for such an inconsequential update… it just doesn’t make sense.
 
kal1ch said:
I don’t understand what’s taking them so long with 26.3, considering there are barely any user-facing changes, and from what I’ve seen with the betas - just as few (if any) issues getting fixed. Not that I’m impatient for such an inconsequential update… it just doesn’t make sense.
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The new MBP announcement very likely
 
New Xcode update is out.

Screenshot 2026-02-03 at 20.23.30.png
 
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kal1ch said:
I don’t understand what’s taking them so long with 26.3, considering there are barely any user-facing changes, and from what I’ve seen with the betas - just as few (if any) issues getting fixed. Not that I’m impatient for such an inconsequential update… it just doesn’t make sense.
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Normally I wouldn’t care, but I just want to exit beta at this point until we get some real new features or design tweaks/updates again. Which may be WWDC 2026 considering what we’ve seen lately.
 
Let’s remember we are talking about betas here. I don’t get what that has to do with a new MacBook.

“Here’s our new MacBook. Oh by the way you can install the new beta on it!”

Doesn’t make sense to me. Unlike us most people don’t care about betas lol.
 
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My guess is tomorrow the MacBook Pro announcement at 2pm UK time and then RC at 6pm UK time. And public release of 26.3 on Monday
 
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Nathan576 said:
Let’s remember we are talking about betas here. I don’t get what that has to do with a new MacBook.

“Here’s our new MacBook. Oh by the way you can install the new beta on it!”

Doesn’t make sense to me. Unlike us most people don’t care about betas lol.
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It's because new devices get referenced in updates and as we know Apple, they will announce hardware first and then release the software.
 
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Nathan576 said:
Let’s remember we are talking about betas here. I don’t get what that has to do with a new MacBook.

“Here’s our new MacBook. Oh by the way you can install the new beta on it!”

Doesn’t make sense to me. Unlike us most people don’t care about betas lol.
Click to expand...
Historically, some betas have included references to unreleased devices.
 
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