Apple on Tuesday seeded the release candidates of watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26 to developers for final testing. The release candidates come one week after the release of the eighth betas.
Release candidates are usually identical to the final version of the software that will be released to the public provided that no show stopping bugs be found. watchOS 26, visionOS 26, and tvOS 26 will launch on September 15.
The release candidates can be downloaded from the Settings app on each device.
All three new operating systems offer new features, with watchOS 26 and tvOS 26 adopt new Liquid Glass design changes inspired by visionOS, and watchOS bringing a new AI-powered Workout Buddy for motivation and the Smart Stack incorporates more personal context for better suggestions.
Meanwhile, tvOS 26 offers the ability to use an iPhone as a microphone for karaoke, new Aerial screensaver, and more.
visionOS 26 adds support for spatial widgets refinements to make personas more lifelike and support for shared spatial experiences between two Vision Pro users.
As usual, MacTrast and Apple both warn users to not install any release candidates on their daily driver Apple Watch, Apple TV, or Vision Pro. Instead, only install them on a device set aside for testing purposes.
