When Apple stops supporting older iPhones and iPads with the latest version of iOS or iPadOS, it usually isn’t the end of the line—Apple keeps releasing new security-only patches for those devices for another year or two, keeping them usable while their hardware is still reasonably capable.

Apple has a new beta 2 version of iOS 26.3 available for public beta testers, here’s what to expect from the latest software update.

OS 26.3 has been in beta testing for more than a month. The software update is relatively minor, but it does include a couple of new features for iPhones. iOS 15.3 through iOS 18.3 were all released to the general public in late January over the years,

The adoption numbers are wrong — thanks to a bug Apple hasn't squashed.

OS 26 adoption is higher than thought earlier. Find out how Apple's tracking change completely threw off the count.

In addition to various hardware information, files leaked from Apple also contain initial plans for iOS 27 and even 28.

According to AppleInsider, iOS 26.3 could finally include support for E2EE RCS messaging in Messages. A French developer known as Tiino-X83 posted a screenshot online of what could be carrier bundles in the latest iOS 26.3 beta's code. There's also a new key titled "SupportsE2EE."

It’s not that there were no Apple software updates last week. Anyone who bought the new iPad Pro, which went on sale on Wednesday, Oct. 22 alongside the latest MacBook Pro and Apple Vision Pro, had to update to a new version of iPadOS. But that was ...