Following the official release of its latest operating systems last week, Apple has now started the next beta testing cycle with iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, watchOS 26.1, tvOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1.
On September 15, Apple rolled out iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26 , visionOS 26, and tvOS 26 to the public. With those updates now live, the tech giant is moving to refine performance and fix issues through point releases. The first betas are already available to developers via the Settings app, provided their Apple ID is linked to a registered developer account.
For iOS 26.1 beta 1 and iPadOS 26.1 beta 1, the build number is 23B5044l. macOS Tahoe 26.1 beta 1 is build 25B5042K, watchOS 26.1 beta 1 is 23S5002i, tvOS 26.1 beta 1 is 23J5543j, and visionOS 26.1 beta 1 is 23N5013j. At this early stage, the updates appear focused on performance improvements, bug fixes, and polishing the new Liquid Glass interface that rolled out in iOS 26.
Apple has not yet detailed which delayed features will arrive in this cycle, but there are a few possibilities. The company previously announced plans to let users add U.S. passports as digital IDs in the Wallet app for TSA verification, though this feature was not ready for the September release. More languages for AirPods’ Live Translation feature, including Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese, are also expected.
macOS Tahoe 26.1 is expected to offer bug fixes and performance improvements instead of adding major new features. macOS Tahoe 26 introduced the Liquid Glass interface, enhanced Continuity tools, and deeper Apple Intelligence integration, so this first point update will likely refine those features and resolve early stability issues reported by users.
Unlike in earlier years, Apple did not pre-announce many features for iOS 26 at WWDC 2025, choosing instead to only confirm what it could deliver at launch. After last year’s delay of Apple Intelligence and the new Siri, Apple has opted for a more measured rollout, so the 26.1 beta cycle may be where new features start to surface.
Developers can install the latest betas today, and Apple will likely release public beta builds soon for broader testing. Users should still exercise caution when installing pre-release software on primary devices, as issues like battery drain, overheating, and camera glitches reported in iOS 26 may not yet be fully resolved. The company is expected to continue working on these stability improvements over the coming weeks ahead of the public release of iOS 26.1 and its companion updates.
