Apple’s next iPhone software update, unless there’s an unexpected bug-squishing minor release, will be iOS 18.5, likely one of the last releases before iOS 19, due this fall. And the exact release date has just become much easier to pinpoint, thanks to Apple.
Apple iPhone 16: iOS 18.5 is on its way.
That’s because in the last few minutes, on Tuesday, May 6, Apple has slipped out another beta: the iOS 18.5 Release Candidate. That’s the version that, assuming it’s free of bugs, will be released to the public.
If it hadn’t arrived when it did, it would have meant that the general release wasn’t ready. Now, it looks like it is.
This means the schedule that many had been hoping was falling into place is working out, coming as it does a week after the fourth beta of the software.
And, assuming there are no hiccups, means the general release will appear next week.
Another thing has happened in the last hours which perfectly matches this schedule: on Monday, May 5, Apple announced that this year’s Apple Watch Pride Edition Sport Band is coming and that the accompanying watch face will be here soon — full details here.
The watch band is available for pre-order and goes on sale “beginning next week,” Apple said on May 5.
Look closely at the end of Apple’s announcement for that and there’s a detail that many have missed. Apple has given the game away. “The Pride Harmony watch face and iPhone and iPad wallpaper will be available in an upcoming software update with watchOS 11.5, iOS 18.5, and iPadOS 18.5,” it says.
Those three software updates almost always happen on the same day, and given the watch band will land next week, it’s almost inconceivable that the software won’t arrive at the same time.
Apple has quietly confirmed, then, that iOS 18.5 release date will be in the week commencing Monday, May 12. So, which day?
Apple iOS 18.5 Release Date
Apple likes to release its software on a Monday or Tuesday, unless there’s a pickle or a delay. Here, it looks like it’s right on time, so my guess is Tuesday, May 13, but if Apple is happy with the way the release candidate has landed, then Monday, May 12 is right in the frame.
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