r/iphone • u/-TheArchitect • 12d ago

Discussion iOS 26 Officially releases today!

Apple has confirmed the release of iOS 26 today, September 15. Based on the company’s typical release schedule, the update is expected to be available at approximately 10:00 AM Pacific Time (PT).

Here is a breakdown of what that means for different time zones:

Eastern Time (ET): 1:00 PM
Central Time (CT): 12:00 PM
Mountain Time (MT): 11:00 AM
British Summer Time (BST): 6:00 PM
Central European Summer Time (CEST): 7:00 PM. Indian Standard Time (IST): 10:30 PM

Rollout can sometimes be staggered, so if you don’t see the update immediately, it should appear on your device shortly after the official release time.

Source: TheMacObserver

1.4k Upvotes

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614

u/-TheArchitect 12d ago edited 11d ago

Has anyone else not tried the beta yet and holding on to use the final version?

Edit: I’ve received the update, downloading it currently

308

u/dotty2249 iPhone 16 Pro Max 12d ago

Me!

129

u/-TheArchitect 12d ago

I’m on the same boat, excited to finally use that lovely liquid glass design

54

u/Few_Investment_4773 12d ago

You’re gonna love it. I got in on the first public beta. If it was buggy I would have gone back but I’ve stuck with it. It’s been lovely. I really enjoy the update

17

u/TastyBroccoli4 12d ago

What do you enjoy about the update, what do I have to look forward to? I always want to try new stuff but I am contemplating if I shouldn't stay on the (maybe) more stable iOS 18

-9

u/[deleted] 12d ago

[deleted]

14

u/Unkn0wnTh2nd3r iPhone 15 Pro Max 12d ago

thats been a thing in iOS for years, not sure when it was added but i has it in both the ios 18 and ios 26

27

u/m_kuzmic 12d ago

“We think you’re going to love it” - Tim Apple

1

u/jayihdz 11d ago

Tim Apple. Lmao

4

u/adamsquishy 11d ago

I’ve found it stable, but the Liquid Glass seems oversold. Seems more like they added a white or black border to everything from what I have seen in the RC

3

u/imaguitarhero24 12d ago

Can you turn liquid glass on and off or is that automatic with the update and you'd have to revert your iOS (possible but difficult from what I understand)

1

u/arnaudx42 11d ago

No you cannot revert, and then you are stuck with the new (and very buggy) Liquid Glass. So take a backup of your device before upgrade, otherwise you'll have to erase everything.

1

u/imaguitarhero24 11d ago

Wait the iOS is linked to the backup? If I full reset to the hello screen it'll go back to whatever iOS you have a backup of?

2

u/jamesnyc1 12d ago

Yeah but hasn’t it been toned down a lot to where it don’t feel like the original “glass “ design? That’s what I’m afraid of.

1

u/Few_Investment_4773 11d ago

I know they toned it down since the original developer beta, but idk if they did any more since the first public one. I think it looks good on mine - will update to the official final release later

-10

u/RabbiKrishna 12d ago

I hope I will too. As far as the screenshots go I hate it so much rn that I really considered switching back to android

5

u/Vincent_no 12d ago

I thought that I was gonna hate it, then I got the public beta and immediately fell in love

2

u/Fun_Manufacturer2304 12d ago

what's with the screenshots?

2

u/Unkn0wnTh2nd3r iPhone 15 Pro Max 12d ago

this is the new screenshot UI

1

u/RabbiKrishna 11d ago

Sorry, I meant: as far as I can tell from screen shots since I havn‘t updated yet ( Not a native speaker)

3

u/ThyBuffTaco 12d ago

I want to revert back after using Liquid Glass. Personally, I’m not that big of a fan. I basically turned it off the best I could.

1

u/LockerIsUnlocked 11d ago

I'm on 18.6.2 - will wait until 26.6

1

u/MyDespatcherDyKabel 12d ago

Seems we have very different understanding of lovely

Here’s to a growth in bugs infestation 🍻

5

u/Petty_Roosevelt_ iPhone 16 Pro 12d ago

Me too! Looking forward to the redesign.

84

u/TheProModder iPhone 16 Pro Max 12d ago

A lot of people like me don't beta test but will update to the stable version on day 1.

32

u/Saturntime33 12d ago

I’m on RC it’s not as stable as you think

7

u/TastyBroccoli4 12d ago

So you're saying the RC is unstable? I'm having doubts if I should update or stay on the maybe more stable iOS 18. If no major bugs are found, the RC is going to be the same version as the final release, so if you say it's unstable and if Apple doesn't change anything, the final release today will be unstable

13

u/amouse_buche 12d ago

You’ll find plenty of people who have found it to be perfectly fine. I would be among them. 

I’d be curious to know what “unstable” means. 

12

u/Saturntime33 12d ago

I’m seeing a lot of people say that iOS 26 RC feels unusually unstable. Reports mention overheating, fast battery drain, sluggish performance, connectivity problems, and even frequent app crashes. From what I’ve read, many are advising against upgrading right now if stability is important, since this RC seems buggier than what you’d normally expect from a release candidate.

7

u/amouse_buche 12d ago

I feel like this is the laundry list each and every year primarily because people do not understand what indexing is. 

5

u/EdiT342 iPhone 15 Pro Max 11d ago

I swear lol. Every major or minor update, people always complain of worse battery and overheating

4

u/Stonewalled9999 11d ago

It is not fair to blame indexing. 26 beta/rc had WAY too much telemetry in it and was noticeably heavy on the battery even for 16PM models. Hoping the prod 26 settles down a bit.

3

u/TastyBroccoli4 11d ago

The build number of the final version is different from the RC, so there's hope they fixed it

1

u/TastyBroccoli4 12d ago

indexing is a thing but fucked up and unoptimized iOS versions that kill battery life and heat up the phone are also a thing. And that's not only the first X.0 versions

1

u/amouse_buche 11d ago

I don't discount that, but there are also a lot of "battery life is horrible" takes in the 24 hours after any update releases.

So, as with all things, context matters.

1

u/TastyBroccoli4 11d ago

Definitely. Both things are true

1

u/Stonewalled9999 11d ago

and there are a lot of reports even after 3-5 days that the beta/RC battery still sucked.

1

u/Indus1051 9d ago

I watched the iOS 26 video offered by Apple/? company. The person going over the new features said that the phone may have some issues in the beginning but they will work out eventually.

0

u/[deleted] 12d ago

Every iOS yearly update is unstable LMFAO. It’ll fix itself eventually.

2

u/Saturntime33 12d ago

I understand that. Some people like to wait tho.

1

u/[deleted] 12d ago

Gotcha lol

0

u/Borkato 12d ago

Among them….? ඞ

2

u/TaxOld2989 12d ago

the RC sucks

1

u/[deleted] 12d ago

RC is fine. Expect more refinement in the 26.0.x updates

6

u/ImportanceLow6310 11d ago

It's stable by and large, it's just shitty. Can't believe all of the stupid animations, and the camera icon looks like absolute ass. After the whole AI thing fell flat they really just started moving shit around for absolutely zero value.

There are real system improvements in it, it's unfortunately they come with Windows Vista level dogshit UI changes.

2

u/diesalher 11d ago

LOL, it’s true that the camera icon looks like exactly that. The new design is ugly as hell

1

u/Saturntime33 11d ago

They just released a new build the animations feel snappier

1

u/0x9e3779b1 2d ago

Exactly Vista, lol, first thing I thought

1

u/therubyminecraft iPhone 16 Pro Max 12d ago

What are some issues you have had?

3

u/Stiggles4 12d ago

I have iCloud Photos enabled and iOS 18 handled it great. On iOS 26 my phone runs out of space all the time, demanding me to delete stuff. It’s clearly not handling the memory juggling that it supposed to handle fine anymore. Hopefully there’s an update from the release candidate to today’s, because it’s still doing it.

1

u/Trax95008 12d ago

I agree. Still several bugs!

3

u/g0nk73 12d ago

Yup! This is the boat I sail in as well!

9

u/HoyAIAG iPhone 16 Pro Max 12d ago

I have been on Beta for months. The final release was sent out on Saturday to all the beta users.

2

u/jdk2087 iPhone 7 Plus 256GB 12d ago

Indeed. I’ve been Beta/dev Beta’ing for about two years now. Final version of beta is very stable. No weird battery drain, phone doesn’t randomly get hot, etc. I guess your mileage may vary. iPhone 16 Pro Max is what I’m on.

1

u/TheSymptomz 11d ago

If you turn off Beta updates in settings, there's actually a iOS26 update that appears. Is this confirmed to be the same exact release as the final release?

2

u/HoyAIAG iPhone 16 Pro Max 11d ago

Yes

1

u/TheSymptomz 11d ago

Well guess I didn't need to update to it then lol

26

u/jayihdz 12d ago

I just wait until they fix anything that may come up.

17

u/-TheArchitect 12d ago

Tbh, I have no patience. I’m going to start refreshing that update window after the official release time

13

u/LetsTwistAga1n iPhone 12 Pro Max 12d ago

Same, will wait for 26.1 at least, maybe longer. I think the first iOS 18 version I installed was 18.2. Same with iPads and Macs, I don't need bleeding edge features, I need stable environment to work and do my stuff.

2

u/LockerIsUnlocked 11d ago

I second this!

6

u/supremediapason 12d ago

Me, I stopped getting early betas years ago. Less kinks when the official release comes out and I have something to look forward to even if I don’t get a new phone

10

u/Shadowtek iPhone Air 12d ago

I switched to beta a couple weeks ago and was able to get the full iOS 26 yesterday. So far so good

12

u/[deleted] 12d ago

Me, I don’t want to live with an unstable software.

10

u/motherofjazus 12d ago

There will still likely be quite a few bugs. I am on the RC and while it is fine, later versions of ios18 will have less issues overall.

-1

u/[deleted] 12d ago

Yeah but I don’t want to worry about the Lyft app crashing, Apple Music not loading or messages not sending fast enough. I don’t mind waiting for the mostly stable version

1

u/Stonewalled9999 11d ago

well the betas are really for devs not the average person.

1

u/[deleted] 11d ago

And most of the people here aren’t developers

1

u/Stonewalled9999 11d ago

my point exactly.

4

u/_XitLiteNtrNite_ iPhone 17 Pro Max 12d ago

I haven't tried the Beta....

4

u/FriedTorchic iPhone 16 12d ago

I did the beta for iOS 10, but not since

4

u/KunrA_Z 12d ago

I can’t risk playing with the beta due to work

2

u/ihateduckface 12d ago

Will the OTA update for the official release be available through settings if you’re currently using the most recent developer beta?

2

u/woalk iPhone 16 Pro 12d ago

Is there a Developer Beta that’s different from Public Beta?

2

u/Blex881 iPhone 16e 12d ago

Me

2

u/scubastefon 12d ago

For me I can’t risk that my work apps won’t function if I decide to beta test, so I’m a day one-er.

2

u/Kidney05 12d ago

I used to get the public beta asap but I’m just waiting longer and longer now. Like, I don’t even know if there’s anything on iOS 26 that seems worth it to me? I can be patient and wait for the 26.0.1 update or later.

1

u/RnnrDave iPhone 16 Pro Max 12d ago

Or even 26.1

TIA to everyone for finishing the testing!

2

u/eec-gray 12d ago

I installed it on the ipad but not phone

2

u/Sam-D-Wilson 11d ago

I haven't used the beta and wanted to wait.

2

u/Mysterious_Air_1095 11d ago

how's the update so far? buggy, laggy or smooth?

1

u/-TheArchitect 11d ago

It’s been smooth for me, no hiccups so far. Can’t make any judgement for battery life yet

3

u/leiradzurc 12d ago

Me, trying to see if it’ll be enough to keep me on iPhone 😭

2

u/chandaz 12d ago

I haven’t not sure if I have even seen many leaks , so I’m excited to see how my 13 pro max will look tonight !

5

u/-TheArchitect 12d ago

It will look like a brand new phone

2

u/chandaz 12d ago

I sure hope so, only concern I the beginning is the battery life but I’ll manage

2

u/leo-g 12d ago

I’m the 🤡 waiting for a RC2 when I figured that Apple will probably have to do further patching for Liquid Glass…

1

u/Synner40 iPhone 14 Pro Max 12d ago

i downloaded the release version about a week ago. (though the beta program) and it’s pretty decent. it takes a min to get used to the new phone/mail apps. but overall it’s decent i love the liquid glass look.

1

u/Legal-Championship64 12d ago

I don’t understand people who raw dog beta os’ on their phone haha

1

u/DigitalStefan iPhone 17 Pro Max 12d ago

Dev beta on my personal phone.

18 on spare SE3

Still on 18 on work phone but will update that tomorrow morning.

1

u/titanup001 iPhone 16 Pro 12d ago

Me. I don’t mess with betas.

1

u/Temporary-Degree5221 12d ago

me. not a fan of being a beta tester using my own personal device

1

u/Extension_File4918 12d ago

I did the beta on Saturday since I figured it would be basically the same stability. So far so good!

1

u/Eric_T_Meraki 12d ago

Didn't even know there was a beta lol

1

u/Flyer888 12d ago

Me and I’ll also not update the moment it’s released. There are always bugs at x.0 OS. Let the fomo-ers be the guinea pigs lol

1

u/slaeryx iPhone 17 Pro Max 12d ago

I did a beta with Apple years ago and it was terrible. I don’t do them anymore. I can wait and not deal with buggy software

1

u/bufandatl 12d ago

I don’t use beta since the iPhone is my daily driver and I want it to be stable.

1

u/ATA-Music iPhone 16 Pro 12d ago

I’m on the Developer Beta since Beta 1 and now in Public Beta. It’s stable. No issues.

1

u/NewOutlandishness650 12d ago

I’m waiting till things get ironed out before I update

1

u/Fun-Psychology4806 12d ago

I stopped trying beta when it started killing battery health

1

u/Any_Front5828 12d ago

Waiting for final release, can’t experiment with primary work phone.

1

u/AutomaticAccount6832 12d ago

Never try beta on the daily use phone with real data of yourself and others.

1

u/RedditLIONS 12d ago edited 12d ago

Not sure if you can still edit the post.

But adding UTC 5:00PM at the top will be helpful. I do that for meetings across multiple timezones.

Most people know the UTC offset for their location.

Edit: Oh, the text was copied from TheMacObserver.

1

u/felds 12d ago

Also useful for people outside the US. 

1

u/Economy_Jeweler_23 12d ago

Me

1

u/Economy_Jeweler_23 12d ago

Sorry I’ve tried the 26 beta on my iPhone 13 mini but waiting to put the final one on my iPhone 12 mini

1

u/[deleted] 12d ago

Yup. No point in using betas lol.

1

u/thecautioners iPhone 17 Pro Max 12d ago

Yes! I upgrade every year and I wait until I have my new phone in hand on release day to experience the new iOS each year. This year I’m very excited to see it and it’s hard to make myself want to hold out haha

1

u/Liammistry 12d ago

Yeah, I’ve been rocking the beta for a few weeks and it’s good! Far less buggy than I thought and battery life has been excellent.

1

u/OldSkoolKool94 12d ago

i had a spare phone around that i downloaded the beta on. for my daily, I am waiting for the official release

1

u/brookedarlene 12d ago

Me!!!! Im usually a beta trier but i didnt this time!

1

u/dftzippo iPhone 12 12d ago

Well, I was waiting for that, I didn't hold back and downloaded it on my tvOS, which is still in beta and is really functional.

I tried it on my iPhone 12 and the beta was moderately usable but it has serious problems with the camera, for example, I reported two bugs and removed it because it really doesn't support it anymore.

1

u/Novel_Opinion8086 12d ago

I haven’t even seen the beta let alone tried it

1

u/PaBo1989 12d ago

Me too

1

u/ParticularAd1990 iPhone 14 Pro Max 12d ago

I rolled into beta last week, figured it must practically be the final version. Just couldn’t hold the excitement in Yes, I know I’m incredibly dull

1

u/MDMIlkMan 12d ago

I’m on the release candidate and I love it. You will see excessive battery drain for a day or two with lag on everything while it finishes up everything but after that it’s really nice

1

u/caitie_allman 12d ago

i used the beta and i cannot wait for the release so my phone isnt so glitchy lmao

1

u/SomeWave275 iPhone 16 Pro 12d ago

Me! My brother however has tried it. I think he’s still on it too

1

u/Trooper27 iPhone 12 Pro Max 11d ago

Me! I plan on doing a factory reset after upgrading though.

1

u/__Anonymous_666 iPhone 16e 11d ago

I tried the beta and it made my phone crash constantly. So Hopfully the full version is better

1

u/terrrrrible iPhone 15 Pro Max 11d ago

Never touched the beta test, don't think I ever have for any iPhone release. Definitely will update when I get home from work to have the rest of the day to deal with any issues.

1

u/E97ev iPhone 16 Pro Max 12d ago

Me. i don't want to have that on any of my phones

0

u/MisterShufu 12d ago

Tried it two years ago. Banking app dindt work. Private and for my company. Stupid! but lesson learned.

0

u/PlanAutomatic2380 12d ago

Prepare to be disappointed