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What to Expect From iOS 18.6 as One of the Final Updates Before iOS 26

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It has been three weeks as of today since Apple released iOS 18.5, and we are still waiting for the first iOS 18.6 beta to follow.

iOS-18.6-Feature-Real-Mock.jpg

Below, we outline everything we know about iOS 18.6 so far.

Timing

Apple's software engineers have been internally testing iOS 18.6 since late March, according to the MacRumors visitors logs.

The first betas of iOS 13.6 through iOS 16.6 were all released before WWDC over the years, while the first iOS 17.6 beta was released the week after WWDC last year, so it is hard to pinpoint exactly when the first iOS 18.6 beta will be available.

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​

iOS Version
First Developer Beta
Public Release
Inclusions

iOS 18.6 will likely be released by mid-July.

Apple is expected to announce iOS 26 at WWDC 2025 next week, instead of iOS 19, as part of a new software version number scheme. The first beta of iOS 26 should be seeded to developers shortly after Apple's keynote on Monday, June 9, and the update will likely be released to the general public in September.

New Features

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects iOS 18.6 to enable Apple Intelligence in China, with Alibaba and Baidu set to power some of the features in that country.

Update — June 4: Apple Intelligence in China has been delayed by a Chinese regulatory agency, according to the Financial Times, so it is unclear exactly when the features will become available in the country.

iOS 18.6 is also likely to include bug fixes and patch security vulnerabilities.

It is unclear if the update will have any other changes. With the iOS 26 beta just around the corner, iOS 18.6 is likely to be a minor update.

Article Link: What to Expect From iOS 18.6 as One of the Final Updates Before iOS 26
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/06/02/what-to-expect-from-ios-18-6/
Last edited:
wanha said:
For better or worse, iOS 18.6 will be peak iOS 18
Click to expand...
Actually, no, that would be iOS 18.7.
X.7 releases usually drop in September to coincide with the new version, and is usually what the default upgrade path is for the first two months or so of the new version being available.
Meaning when iOS 26 drops, most regular consumers will actually have their phones auto update to 18.7 first.
 
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applefan8254 said:
Could we get multiple users please? Thank you
Click to expand...
You really want Apple to break its security model. Reminds me of when law enforcement was sneaking invisible users into whatsapp group chats and sat there spying. Anyways, the Apple security model heavily implies your digital identity is tied directly to a sole device. Apple devices communicate with one another to strengthen this identity, they even calculate a metric for how certain it is actually you. But if you want multiple users on iOS, the brits would love that too. They'll be first in line to ask Apple to add in a special backdoor user on all the phones in UK. Apple usually prevents those conversations from ever happening through the "sorry, not possible". It's probably really annoying for Apple to have to even undergo these types of conversations with every country out there once the capability is even hinted at coming
 
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nocsi said:
You really want Apple to break its security model. Reminds me of when law enforcement was sneaking invisible users into whatsapp group chats and sat there spying. Anyways, the Apple security model heavily implies your digital identity is tied directly to a sole device. Apple devices communicate with one another to strengthen this identity, they even calculate a metric for how certain it is actually you. But if you want multiple users on iOS, the brits would love that too. They'll be first in line to ask Apple to add in a special backdoor user on all the phones in UK. Apple usually prevents those conversations from ever happening through the "sorry, not possible". It's probably really annoying for Apple to have to even undergo these types of conversations with every country out there once the capability is even hinted at coming
Click to expand...

macOS has support for multiple users. Are you saying its security is compromised, and any other devices that connect to a multi-user macOS device are also compromised? It sounds like there might even be government backdoors in macOS, because once you add multi-users it becomes trivial for governments to demand backdoor access?

This is all kind of terrifying when you think about it.
 
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nocsi said:
You really want Apple to break its security model. Reminds me of when law enforcement was sneaking invisible users into whatsapp group chats and sat there spying. Anyways, the Apple security model heavily implies your digital identity is tied directly to a sole device. Apple devices communicate with one another to strengthen this identity, they even calculate a metric for how certain it is actually you. But if you want multiple users on iOS, the brits would love that too. They'll be first in line to ask Apple to add in a special backdoor user on all the phones in UK. Apple usually prevents those conversations from ever happening through the "sorry, not possible". It's probably really annoying for Apple to have to even undergo these types of conversations with every country out there once the capability is even hinted at coming
Click to expand...

No, not at all. I should have clarified: I meant *multiple personal spaces*, for a single user. Sometimes the feature is wrongly called "multiple users" but that is a misnomer. The function is meant for one person to have a few separate spaces for *improved* privacy / security.
 
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