In the past, Apple has tended to release its iOS public betas around the middle of July, so the mooted July 23 launch date is a little later than usual. Gurman ascribes this to the full-blown Liquid Glass redesign in iOS 26, saying “it makes sense that Apple would want to take a little extra time to get things right.”

New rumors suggest iOS beta testers could get their hands on the next iPhone operating system and new features like Liquid Glass in a few days.

Apple announced in June that the release of iOS 26 would first appear as developer betas as usual, with the first public beta set for July. When it reaches general release it will be on the 2025 releases, iPhone 17 series, as well the iPhone 16 sereis and some earlier models.