IOS 26.5 Includes One Very Annoying New Change for IPhone.
Following the modest release of iOS 26.3 , Apple released a major update to iOS 26.4 —specifically for Apple Music users. The app’s user interface now matches the album art you’re listening to; you can use AI to create new playlists and find upcoming concerts by artists you listen to right within the app. Combined with other new features like eight new emoji and a new “Urgent” section in Reminders, iOS 26.4 is a truly feature-packed update.
iOS 26.5 , on the other hand, also looks like it’s going to be a fairly quiet release—at least judging by the first beta Apple released on Monday. Don’t expect any major new features or changes (despite some rumors to the contrary, Apple appears to be saving its Siri AI for the launch of iOS 27 ), but there are a few interesting updates worth noting—and not necessarily in a good way.
Please note: Since Apple is currently testing iOS 26.5, this is a constantly evolving feature list and may change as new beta versions are released. You can try iOS 26.5 right now by enrolling your iPhone in the Apple beta program, but make sure you understand the risks of installing unfinished software on your devices. Before installing any beta , make full backups of your important data on a computer in case you need to restore your iPhone.
Apple Maps now features ads
Perhaps the most significant feature of iOS 26.5 is the introduction of advertising in Apple Maps. This is part of Apple’s strategy to integrate advertising into more of its apps and services to increase revenue. (What does a company with a market capitalization of $3.7 trillion do?) These ads will appear during searches in Apple Maps, depending on relevance, and at the top of the “Suggested Places” screen, which is also new in iOS 26.5.
You can easily distinguish ads from suggested places: Apple states that it places a blue “Ad” badge on any paid listing that appears in search results or in the “Suggested Places” section. These ads may even be helpful if they’re truly relevant: if you’re looking for a specific type of food in a specific city, the ad at the top of the page might actually be the best option. On the other hand, the fact that they were paid for can be a red flag.
The addition of ads wasn’t unexpected: rumors first surfaced last year , and Apple confirmed it last week . Being Apple, the company assures users that privacy is taken into account when placing ads, as the app “doesn’t know which stores, neighborhoods, or clinics you visit.” When you interact with an ad, that data is linked to a “random identifier” that changes several times an hour, so theoretically no one can attribute your interactions with the ad to you personally.
Testing RCS end-to-end encryption
In iOS 26.5, Apple resumed testing end-to-end encryption to support RCS, one of the last significant limitations of this protocol in iOS. The company began testing encryption support in iOS 26.4 but stated that the feature would not be included in that release. If it is indeed included in the final build of iOS 26.5, iPhone users will be able to send text messages directly to their Android friends without leaving their messages in plaintext.
You can quickly connect Magic accessories to your iPhone.
If you have one of Apple’s “Magic” accessories, such as the Magic Keyboard, you can quickly pair it with your iPhone in iOS 26.5. To pair, simply connect your iPhone to the accessory via USB-C, just like in macOS, instead of fiddling with Bluetooth settings.
Message attachment settings when transferring from iPhone to Android
This year, Apple and Google announced a collaboration to simplify data transfer between iPhone and Android, easing the transition between devices and ecosystems. In iOS 26.5, Apple is apparently testing a new setting that allows you to choose a time range for transferring message attachments, including “Everything,” “1 year,” or “30 days.”
iOS now supports the Inuktitut keyboard layout.
Apple is testing a new keyboard layout for Inuktitut, a language spoken in the Canadian Arctic .
EU-only testing on iOS 26.5
In this latest update, Apple is also testing some features that are only available in the EU . The EU has been cracking down on Apple for blocking other companies from accessing its ecosystem, forcing the company to open up more of its platforms and services.
In iOS 26.5, Apple is testing Live Activities support for third-party devices, allowing them to display Live Activities on their screens—although there’s no word yet on which devices will be supported. Apple is also testing proximity pairing for third-party devices, such as headphones, which could benefit from the same simple pairing system as its own AirPods and Beats headphones. Finally, the company continues to test notification forwarding to third-party devices , such as smartwatches.