Apple releases iOS 18.6 beta 1 as iOS 26 development ramps up

Published Jun 16th, 2025 1:10PM EDT

Image: José Adorno for BGR

A week after Apple introduced iOS 26 during the WWDC keynote, the company is now seeding iOS 18.6 beta 1 to developers. At this moment, it’s unclear what’s new with this update. However, this is likely one of the lightest iOS 18 updates; after all, the iOS 26 beta is already available, and Apple aims to release this big update later this fall.

Historically, iOS x.6 versions don’t bring many improvements, but sometimes new features are released. With iOS 17.6, Apple introduced the following functions:

• Apple News+ got Live Activity support for Home Screen and Lock Screen, so users could follow games and other factual stories
• It also brought a new Messages app setting that lets users filter unknown senders if they’re international senders.

That said, Apple could prepare a few new tweaks with iOS 18.6 during this beta cycle. With the previous software update, Apple added these changes:

• The update fixes the Contact Photos issue by offering Mail users a new menu that lets them toggle the feature with a simple tick. That should have always been the case.
• Apple added a new Pride wallpaper to celebrate the “strength and beauty of LGBTQ+ communities around the world.”
• Parents now receive a notification when the Screen Time passcode is used on a child’s device.
• Buy with iPhone is available when purchasing content within the Apple TV app on a 3rd party device.
• Fixes an issue where the Apple Vision Pro app may display a black screen.
• Support for carrier-provided satellite feature is available on all iPhone 13 models.

With iOS 18.5 already being a light-on-features update, it’s only natural that iOS 18.6 will follow that during the beta cycle. Looking in retrospect, iOS 18 did more cosmetic changes than breakthrough improvements, as Apple Intelligence didn’t have the expected impact.

BGR will let you know if we find anything new with iOS 18.6 beta 1.