Apple releases iOS 26 beta 3 for iPhone

Four weeks have passed since Apple unveiled iOS 26 and the major software redesign coming for iPhone. Now it’s time to start testing the third developer beta preview and see how performance and polish have improved. iOS 26 also includes loads of new features and functionality in addition to the new Liquid Glass-inspired look and feel.

iOS 26 developer beta 3 is here

Apple summarizes the upcoming iPhone software update by saying that iOS 26 “delivers a stunning new design, powerful Apple Intelligence capabilities, new ways to stay connected in the Phone and Messages apps, and exciting updates to CarPlay, Apple Music, Maps, and Wallet.”

In iOS 26 beta 2, we saw design tweaks including legibility improvements for Control Center, better menu organization in Safari, and stronger accessibility options with borders added to High Contrast Mode. However, beta testers are still concerned with the total transparency of Notification Center, and the second beta version introduced a weird left-align icon situation for the dock when using fewer than four apps. (It’s even weirder and buggier for iOS 26 on iPhone SE with misalignment with a full dock.)

Public beta in July

Most importantly, we’ll be able to evaluate performance in beta 3 as we inch toward the target release date that’s just two months away. We’re basically one-third of the way through the beta period so there’s plenty of time for optimizing performance, especially on older iPhone models. Still, July is when Apple says it plans to release the first public beta version of iOS 26 to eager customers who want to test the pre-release software with slightly less risk than the developer beta train. That makes today’s iOS 26 developer beta 3 build a candidate for iOS 26 public beta 1, barring any show stopping bugs, of course.

Is your iPhone ready for iOS 26? The next major software update runs on iPhone SE (2nd generation) as well as iPhone 11 and up. iOS 18 is the last version that will run on iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max. You’ll need to upgrade your iPhone if you want the latest features and newest design, but older iPhones will continue to receive software updates for security for a while. Features that use Apple Intelligence require iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any iPhone 16 family model.

Meanwhile, we’ll collect and list every change to iOS 26 beta and more on 9to5Mac so stay tuned (and join the fun with tips@9to5mac.com)!