Apple releases iOS 26.5: Here everything new on your iPhone

Source Domain: techcabal.com

Apple dropped iOS 26.5 today, and your iPhone can pick it up right now. Head to Settings, tap General, then Software Update, and the download will be waiting for you. The update is about 14+ GB, so you need Wi-Fi connection before you start.

Image source: Iphone 15 pro screenshot

This is the last major update in the iOS 26 lineup. Apple’s next big software reveal happens at WWDC on June 8, 2026, where the company is expected to show off iOS 27.

Until then, iOS 26.5 is what you get, and it brings a handful of changes worth knowing about.

What’s new in iOS 26.5

Image source: @theapplehub on X (formerly Twitter)

1. End-to-end encrypted RCS messaging

The biggest change in this update is encrypted messaging between iPhones and Android phones. For a long time, texts sent from an iPhone to an Android device were not encrypted, which meant they could be read by your carrier or anyone intercepting the connection. iOS 26.5 changes that, at least in part.

Apple has built support for RCS Universal Profile 3.0, which uses the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol to encrypt your conversations. Encryption is enabled by default. You can check the status by going to Settings Apps Messages RCS Messaging, where you’ll see an “End-to-End Encryption (Beta)” toggle.

When a conversation is encrypted, you’ll see a lock icon and the word “Encrypted” in your Messages thread. Google Messages on Android shows the same label, so both sides of the conversation will know the protection is active.

There’s an important catch, though. The encryption only works if your carrier and the other person’s carrier both support RCS Universal Profile 3.0. If one side doesn’t, your messages will still go through as unencrypted RCS or plain SMS. Apple hasn’t published a full list of which carriers support it yet.

For iPhone users in Nigeria, this feature will likely not be active right away. Apple’s Africa carrier page currently lists MTN,…

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