Apple just put out release candidate builds for iOS 26.5, which means the next update for your iPhone should release to the public later this month. The update arrives after a month of beta testing.
The latest iOS update isn’t massive but it does add some big changes to the Messages app, Apple Maps, and some minor ones to CarPlay. There’s new wallpapers in iOS 26.5, too. Read on for all the new features.
Ads in Apple Maps
If you’ve followed the roadmap over the last month, Apple laid the groundwork for ads in Apple Maps in mid-April with the second iOS 26.5 beta.
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A splash screen showed that Maps could show local ads based on your approximate location, current search terms, or businesses that are within view of your map as you search. Apple promised that advertising information is not linked to your Apple account.
Ads are also supposed to appear in the new “Suggested Places” section that was added in the first iOS 26.5 beta.
These ads will act similar to the ones you currently see in the App Store search results. The advertisements will have an “ad” label.
Chatbots in CarPlay
Siri and Google Assistant have long been available in CarPlay, but IOS 26.5 introduces broader integration, including ChatGPT. You can’t use your voice to activate it without an iPhone shortcut, but it is available on the widget screen for vocal queries.
My colleague John Velasco tested ChatGPT in iOS 26.5 and found that the OpenAI chatbot’s voice was more fluid and realistic than Siri or Gemini.
End-to-end encryption for RCS
Android phones already feature end-to-end encryption for RCS, except when talking to iPhones. Apple finally started testing encrypted RCS messages to Android with iOS 26.4 beta 2 back in February. The feature did not make the public release of iOS 26.4 in March.
If you don’t know, end-to-end encryption is a security feature in RCS that makes messages sent between your iPhone and Android devices encrypted, meaning they cannot be intercepted and read by a third party while in delivery.
It appears Apple may be ready to finally launch RCS encryption with iOS 26.5, but we won’t know for sure until it actually releases.
New wallpapers and other changes
Other changes in the iOS 26.5 beta include extending iPhone features like notifications, Live Activities and AirPod-esque pairing to third-party smartwatches and headphones in the EU. This is being done at the behest of the Digital Markets Act.
It’s not clear if those tools will be region-locked to Europe, though.
Finally, Apple is launching a new Pride month wallpaper for your iPhone to go with a Pride Luminance watch face for Apple Watch, and a new 2026 Pride watch band.
The wallpaper is meant to be a “joyful and dynamic” design to celebrate LGBTQ+ communities. The new wallpaper is a collection of 11 options, per 9to5Mac, and a custom builder will be available as well.
There are 11 unique variants, and the builder lets you manually choose which colors you want featured from 1 all the way up 12 different hues.
As mentioned, Apple just dropped the release build. So, we expect the full public version of iOS 26.5 to launch later this month.
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