Apple today released iOS 26 RC for developers, with the official release scheduled for September 15. I don’t expect any new features or major changes in this update since iOS 26 RC is the final build in the iOS 26 beta cycle, but there are a few changes I’ll highlight below.
What’s New in iOS 26 RC?
New Tinted option
iOS 26 RC adds an option to auto-tint app icons based on your iPhone color or your case color.
In the example below, I have a Natural Titanium iPhone and the official Clear Case.
I think it only works with Apple’s official cases. I don’t have a third-party case to test it, so if you have one, let me know if it works.
Fitness App
iOS 26 RC adds a Workout tab in the Fitness app on iPhone, allowing you to do certain exercises without needing an Apple Watch.
When you begin a workout on iPhone, the new Workout feature shows up in Dynamic Island and Live Activities.
There’s also a new Workout widget in two sizes — small and medium — to give you quick access to your recent workouts.
New Apple Watch Faces
watchOS 26 RC adds four new watch faces, including:
- Flow (Liquid Glass look)
- Exactograph
- Waypoint (Apple Watch Ultra only)
- Hermès Faubourg Party (Apple Watch Hermès only)
Sleep Score
iOS 26 RC and watchOS 26 RC also add Sleep Score to the Health app. This feature calculates overall sleep quality metrics based on data collected by Apple Watch. It then provides clear insights into the most important factors, helping users understand what they need to prioritize to improve their sleep.
Photographic Styles
If you have an iPhone 16 and have updated to iOS 26 RC, you’ll see a new “Bright” style in Settings → Camera → Photographic Styles.
Apple says the “Bright” style enhances skin tones and adds vivid highlights to your photos.
iOS 26 Beta 8 and Beta 9 is just a bug fix update
iOS 26 has reached the end of its beta cycle, and updates like this are usually just for bug fixes reported by users or found by Apple.
Even the iOS 26 Beta 9 IPSW file comes in at the exact same size as Beta 8 and Beta 7.
iOS 26 RC Coming Next Week
iOS 26 RC is expected to arrive next week, right after Apple’s iPhone 17 keynote wraps up around 12 PM PDT. RC updates are usually released immediately after the event.
The public release of iOS 26 should land about a week later, and I also expect iOS 26.1 Beta to roll out sometime that same week.
If I discover anything new, I’ll update it in this post. Stay tuned and follow @BetaProfiles on X or Threads!
