Apple’s beta cycle for its 26.3 updates is officially wrapping up, as the iPadOS 26.3 RC (release candidate) is now available for testing. Here’s what that means.
Public release for iPadOS 26.3 likely coming next week
The largely uneventful beta cycle for Apple’s 26.3 lineup of software updates is almost over.
The first 26.3 betas debuted in December, shortly before a holiday break. Then after that extended holiday hiatus, we got beta 2 in mid-January. After a two-week break, beta 3 dropped last week. But throughout those betas, feature changes were minimal.
Now today, the 26.3 RCs are here.
iPadOS 26.3 is especially light on new features, which may help explain why there were only a few betas.
With most software updates, Apple releases several more beta versions before the RC arrives.
But since not too much is changing with 26.3, and because the company likely wants to start its 26.4 beta cycle soon, things are a little different with this round of updates.
The main change we’ve found in iPadOS 26.3 involves some minor wallpaper updates. iOS 26.3 also adds a new tool to transfer to Android, plus several EU-only features related to DMA compliance.
Unless any major bugs are discovered, and a second RC needs to be shipped for testing, today’s build is likely the exact software that will ship to all users in the public launch.
Based on Apple’s typical release patterns, we’ll likely see that public launch happen early next week.
How is iPadOS 26.3 running for you? Let us know in the comments.
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- Apple Pencil Pro (now only $95, down from $129)
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