Apple is already moving on to its next incremental update. Just a week after rolling out iOS 26.4 on the stable channel, the company has released the first developer beta of iOS 26.5, giving us an early look at what’s coming next.
What’s new in iOS 26.5 beta 1?
The latest beta doesn’t introduce any major, user-facing features. Instead, it focuses on bug fixes while setting the stage for a couple of notable changes. Earlier this month, Apple confirmed plans to bring ads to Apple Maps alongside a new “Suggested Places” feature.
Although ads aren’t live yet, 9to5Mac reports that iOS 26.5 beta 1 already includes Suggested Places, which surfaces recommendations based on what’s trending nearby, recent searches, and more. It’s a small addition on the surface, but it hints at a shift in how discovery could work within Maps going forward.
Are there any other notable changes?
Apple’s release notes also point to upcoming changes in the App Store. The update is said to bring new purchase options for developers, including a model that allows users to be billed monthly while committing to a 12-month subscription. This could give developers more flexibility in how they price long-term subscriptions.
If you were expecting bigger changes, iOS 26.5 beta 1 isn’t quite there yet. There are no visible changes to Siri in this build, despite recent reports suggesting otherwise. For now, the update feels like a setup release. It introduces early pieces of upcoming changes, but doesn’t deliver anything particularly transformative just yet.
Apple will likely iterate on these features in the coming weeks as more beta builds roll out. iOS 26.5 should follow once testing wraps up, potentially with more visible changes in place.
