The iOS 26 public beta is now available to download via the Apple Beta Software Program. If you're not already a member, you'll need to sign up to try out all the latest features. Just visit beta.apple.com and sign up with your phone number or email address. It's free.

Apple hasn't announced a release date for iOS 26, but if past updates are any guide, we have a pretty good idea of when to expect to launch.

The number of days between Apple's September event and the release of the next iOS version has also trended -- slightly -- downward in the past decade. In 2015, Apple released iOS 9 on Sept. 16, seven days after the company's September event, and in 2022 Apple released iOS 16 on Sept. 12, five days after the company's Sept. 7 event.