Overview
- Apple rolled out the first 26.5 developer betas on Monday for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, visionOS, and HomePod.
- Testers report no new Siri or Apple Intelligence capabilities in iOS 26.5 beta 1, with the broader assistant revamp now anticipated to be shown with iOS 27 on June 8.
- Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports Apple plans a standalone Siri app in iOS 27 with text and voice chat plus “Extensions” that let third‑party AI bots like Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT run inside Siri, surfaced in a dedicated App Store section.
- What is new in iOS 26.5 beta: Apple Maps adds Suggested Places and groundwork for local ads, RCS messaging again shows end‑to‑end encryption in testing, and developers see a new App Store option for monthly billing with a 12‑month commitment.
- Regional updates continue as Apple tests interoperability features such as notification forwarding and Live Activities for third‑party accessories in the EU, improves plug‑in pairing for Magic accessories, and sees reports from China that Apple Intelligence is appearing with references to Baidu’s Wenxin Yiyan model.