RCS Encryption and Reading Goals: Everything New in iOS 26.5 Beta 1

The iOS 26.5 beta cycle has begun, and while yesterday’s first developer beta showed no signs of Siri improvements, suggesting we’ll likely be waiting until iOS 27 for a smarter built-in voice assistant, there are still a few other interesting things that appear to be on deck for iOS 26.5.

Of course, none of these are as groundbreaking as “Siri 2.0” would have been. By the time we get to a “.5” release, there’s not usually much left to add, and, if past release schedules are any indication, when iOS 26.5 hits your iPhone in non-beta form, we’ll likely be only days away from iOS 27 appearing at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

That major update won’t come as a public release until September, but by this time of the year Apple is usually focusing all of its software engineering efforts on that, putting the current release into more of a polish and maintenance mode.

Securing RCS Messaging

Nevertheless, one welcome feature that could debut in iOS 26.5 is something that Apple was already testing during the last beta cycle: the promise of RCS Encryption.

When Apple added an End-to-End Encryption toggle for RCS Messaging in the first iOS 26.4 beta, it also made it abundantly clear in the developer release notes that this would not be shipping in iOS 26.4. While beta 1 limited RCS encryption to RCS messages between iPhones, beta 2 welcomed Android to the party. However, by the time beta 4 rolled out, the switch was gone, as Apple began finalizing things for the public release.

Now, it’s all back in iOS 26.5, and this time the developer release notes don’t say anything about it being a temporary thing. Mind you, they don’t mention it at all, so we’re not banking on it sticking around just yet, but at least Apple hasn’t slammed the door on the possibility. While the toggle is live in the beta, the fact that it’s missing from the official release notes suggests Apple might still be undecided on whether it’s ready for prime time.

Still, it’s important to keep in mind that Apple’s work here is only one piece of the RCS E2EE puzzle. Even though Google has long supported RCS end-to-end encryption, that’s been done using its own proprietary extension, not the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) of the official RCS standard. Google will have to pivot to that before iPhones and Android devices can communicate securely over RCS.

The good news is that Google is also actively working on it, but don’t expect it to be a magical turnkey solution with all your Android friends right away, as this will undoubtedly involve updates to both the Android operating system and the Google Messages app — and not everyone on Android stays up to date with the most current releases.

Apple also hasn’t taken the “Beta” tag off the setting in iOS 26.5, which implies that even if it comes to the public release, it will still likely be a work in progress.

Other Changes in iOS 26.5 Beta 1

Compared to RCS encryption, the other changes in this week’s beta are fairly minor. Apple’s developer release notes are fairly sparse, focusing on fixes and back-end APIs, but here’s a quick rundown of what we’ve found so far:

• Apple Maps gains a new Suggested Places feature that can offer recommendations based on your recent searches and what’s trending nearby. This is part of the Apple Maps Ads initiative that we heard about last week, and the Maps app is also laying the groundwork for these to begin appearing.
• Auto-pairing for Apple’s Magic Accessories will allow you to skip the manual Bluetooth pairing process by plugging a Magic Keyboard or Magic Trackpad directly into an iPhone over USB-C — mirroring the seamless setup Mac users have enjoyed for years.
• iPhone to Android Transfer, introduced in iOS 26.3, adds a new feature that lets you choose a time range for which message attachment to transfer.
• Apple Books lays the groundwork for a new awards feature that could help you recognize your reading accomplishments (via Aaron Perris on X). Think of it as Apple Fitness, but for Books.
• App Store Subscriptions may offer annual commitments, billed monthly. That’s from the developer release notes, which lists a “a monthly with 12-month commitment billing plan configuration” for apps.
• There’s a new Inuktitut keyboard layout.
  

The iOS 26.5 beta also opens up new features to comply with European Union regulations to open up connectivity to third-party hardware such as smartwatches. Previous iOS 26.x releases have shown Apple taking smaller steps toward this, but it looks like iOS 26.5 will finally open up AirPods-style proximity pairing for all Bluetooth earbuds, Apple Watch-style notifications for other smartwatches, and even extending Live Activities to third-party wearables. Still, like RCS encryption, these features have been tested in previous betas only to be yanked before the final release, so there’s no guarantee they’ll show up in iOS 26.5.