Apple releases macOS 26.6 developer beta 1

Following the release of mcOS 26.5 earlier this month, Apple has now kicked off the next wave of betas for macOS 26.6. Here are the details.

Final betas ahead of WWDC

Earlier this month, Apple released macOS 26.5, which was relatively light on user-facing features. It introduced a new power control setting, that lets Mac mini, Mac Studio, and iMac users power off or restart their devices via assistive accessories, and included the usual box fixes and performance improvements.

Other than that, macOS 26.5 brought in several cross-platform features and improvements, including support for end-to-end encryption for RCS, Live Activities support for third-party accessories in Europe, and a new “Suggested Places” feature in Apple Maps.

macOS 26.5 was also very likely the last major system update released before this year’s WWDC and the announcement of macOS 27, which means macOS 26.6 will likely be more of a maintenance release than a feature-heavy update.

That said, we are digging through the changes to macOS 26.6 developer beta 1 and will report back if we find anything noteworthy.

The release build for macOS 26.6 developer beta 1 is 25G5028f.

How to install the new beta

Here’s how to install the macOS Tahoe 26.6 developer beta 1:

1. Backup your Mac
2. Open System Settings
3. Go to General ⇾ Software Update
4. Click the ‘i’ icon next to Beta Updates
5. From the dropdown menu in the top-right, select the macOS Developer Tahoe Beta
6. Hit ‘Done’

Did you spot any changes in today’s betas? Let us know in the comments.

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