The Critical New Messaging Feature: Secure RCS

The biggest update coming to iOS 26.5, arguably the one that makes this version so important, is the introduction of end-to-end encrypted messaging with RCS.

Those three letters, which stand for Rich Communication Services, are important because they mean that the encryption will work with messages sent to and from Android phones — they’re already encrypted between iPhones.

Apple is beta-testing this feature now — if you’re running the beta you can toggle end-to-end encryption on now — and while it hasn’t confirmed that it will go live when iOS 26.5 does, Apple has dropped a hint.

That’s because in iOS 26.4 it warned that it wasn’t shipping the feature until a “future software update” but that warning is absent from iOS 26.5 betas.

Apple iOS 26.5 Other Features

There are other updates coming. Maps will have a Suggested Places feature with recommendations of places worth checking out, based on trending locations and your previous searches.

This is the time of year when Apple introduces its Pride items, so expect a new wallpaper to appear for the iPhone (and iPad, plus an Apple Watch Pride face).

Apple iOS 26.5 Release Date

It’s expected the Release Candidate beta will arrive in the next couple of days, on Monday, May 4 or Tuesday, May 5. If it does, then the general release is highly likely to arrive a week later, on Monday, May 11 or Tuesday, May 12.

If it doesn’t, then the following week is likely, but I’m confident the new release is going to land on Monday, May 11. It fits with previous x.5 release dates for the last two years, too.