Your iPhone Just Got Smarter: Everything New in the iOS 26.5 Beta 1

Apple released iOS 26.5 Beta 1 for developers and beta testers with system optimizations and bug fixes.

The update upgrades modem firmware to 1.60.00 to improve cellular connectivity and reintroduces RCS end-to-end encryption in beta on select carriers.

Siri received localized enhancements for mainland China and Apple Maps added location-based search suggestions.

The beta adds notification forwarding to third-party devices and fixes wallpaper installation issues, while increasing system storage usage slightly.