Before iOS 26, Here's What Apple Could Bring to Your iPhone With iOS 18.6

2025-06-24

Here's what to expect from iOS 18.6 when it lands on your iPhone.

This beta is all about security patches and squashing bugs

If you're a developer or beta tester, don't expect much from this beta other than bug and security fixes. After downloading and looking into iOS 18.6 beta 1, I found no new features or noticeable changes. And that's not surprising considering Apple's iOS release schedule over the years.

Apple announced iOS 18 at WWDC 2024 and released iOS 17.6 more than a month later in July. That update was filled with more than 30 important bug fixes and security patches, but no new features. Apple recommended that everyone download the update at the time, and it was the last major iOS 17 update before the release of iOS 18.

Apple did the same thing in July 2023 when it released iOS 16.6. When the tech giant released that update, it was focused on bug fixes and security patches; the next major iOS release was iOS 17.

Apple is likely shifting gears and focusing more on iOS 26. In fact, the company has already released two developer betas of that iOS software in preparation for its fall release.

There will be more betas before iOS 18.6 is released to the public, so there's plenty of time for Apple to add features or change others -- but I wouldn't count on new features. Apple has not announced when it will release iOS 18.6, but since iOS 17.6 and iOS 16.6 were both released in July of 2024 and 2023, respectively, I expect Apple to release iOS 18.6 next month.