The first public beta of the next-generation iPhone software has landed, but it took longer for iPhone 11 users. Here’s what happened.

What these changes mean for you is that your technology experience may differ drastically depending on which type of phone you buy in the coming years.

With the iOS 26 public beta now out, you may have chosen to give the new software update a try ahead of its general release in the fall.

Apple’s first iOS 26 public beta offers an early taste of a major software overhaul. Here are the biggest changes and features we tested.

In iOS 26, you'll get new tools for creating custom Genmoji using ChatGPT. According to Apple, "Genmoji and Image Playground provide users with even more opportunities for self-expression, including mixing their favorite emoji, Genmoji, and descriptions together to create brand-new images."

Apple pushed it almost to the end of July, but the public betas of iOS 26 and other upcoming updates are now available for wider testing ahead

Apple announced iOS 18 at WWDC 2024 and released iOS 17.6 more than a month later in July. That update was filled with more than 30 important bug fixes and security patches but no new features. Apple recommended that everyone download the update at the time and it was the last major iOS 17 update before the release of iOS 18 .

Visual Intelligence is getting a new screenshot search feature in iOS 26, giving the iPhone it's own version of Google's Circle to Search.