Apple on Monday seeded the first betas of its upcoming iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3 updates to developers for testing. The new betas come just a few days after Apple released iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 to the public.
Registered developers can download the new iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3 beta software using the Software Update section of the Settings app.
While we don’t know what’s included in the new beta software, it likely focuses on bug fixes and performance issues, since the updates will be tested over the holiday period,.
What’s New
iOS 26.3 beta one makes it easier for iPhone users to transition to an Android smartphone by offering a new transfer tool allows an iPhone user to place their device next to an Android device to initiate a transfer process. Users can opt to move over photos, messages, notes, apps, passwords, phone number, and more. However, health data, paired Bluetooth devices, and protected items like locked notes are not transferred over to the new smartphone.
iOS 26.3 beta one also brings a new “Notification Forwarding” setting that allows incoming notifications on an iPhone to be forwarded to a third-party device. The setting can be found in the Notification section of the Settings app under a new “Notification Forwarding” option.
While the iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3 betas are currently limited to developers, Apple will likely release a public beta in the next couple of days.
As usual, MacTrast and Apple both warn users to not install any betas on their daily driver iPhone or iPad. Instead, only install betas on a device set aside for testing purposes.
