Apple’s countdown to the iPhone 17 reveal is officially on, with the company confirming its September 9 launch event. Alongside the new flagship, Apple will finalize its next wave of software – including iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe. 
One question developers are asking: when will the release candidate builds land?
For context, Apple’s release candidate (RC) build is the near-final version made available to developers just days before the public rollout. This allows developers to run last-minute checks before the software reaches millions of devices worldwide.
Looking back at Apple’s history, the company rarely exceeds eight beta releases for its major iOS versions. The only exception was iOS 12, which saw twelve betas. With iOS 26 already through its typical beta cycle, it’s unlikely we’ll see more test builds before the big day.
Traditionally, Apple seeds the RC right after the iPhone keynote, meaning September 9 is the most probable date for developers to receive iOS 26 RC, along with iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe. The final public release usually follows about a week later, coinciding with the new iPhone’s retail availability.
If the pattern holds, developers will get their hands on the golden master build immediately after the event, while general users will have to wait just a little longer to download iOS 26 and explore its new features.
2 comments
feels like ios 25 just came out and boom, 26
bet it’s buggy as hell first week lmao