Historical precedent suggests that the latest iOS 26 beta may be the final one, and therefore the version that will be released into the wild next month.
But while the stats may favor this, not everyone is convinced that beta 8 is ready to be unleashed. Given that there’s now very little time left before the iPhone 17 launch, is iOS 26 good enough … ?
Precedent says iOS 26 is probably complete
We yesterday rounded up the historical precedents, which very clearly point to beta 8 being the final version prior to official release.
While iOS 12 holds the record at 12 betas, followed by iOS 11 with 10, we’ve seen a consistent pattern of 8 beta versions of the last six iOS releases. Additionally, beta 7 and beta 8 appear virtually identical.
Of course, the release version isn’t the end of the story – there will be further revisions to follow. We don’t expect perfection from a first general release, only decent overall performance and the absence of showstoppers.
Views appear split
I’ve been running the iOS 26 betas from the first developer version, and while there have certainly been some extremely rough edges along the way, my experience of the current beta has been generally very good.
However, this doesn’t appear true of all 9to5Mac readers.
“Last beta still feels pretty unfinished on my 13 mini (battery drain, heat, glitches)” “My phone even overheats when charging in my living room until it shuts down itself due to heat.” “I hope not. Bluetooth issues on iPhone 15 Pro find my sound still not working.”
It’s worth noting that it’s perfectly normal to experience your phone running hot while it re-indexes after each update, but some say they have been consistently experiencing this with beta 7 as well as beta 8.
What’s your take?
What’s been your experience of the latest beta? Do you think it’s good enough for release, or are you expecting an additional revision or two before Apple unleashes it on an unsuspecting public?
Please take our poll and share your thoughts in the comments.
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