iOS 26.5 Public Beta: Have End-to-End Encrypted RCS Messages Finally Coming to iPhone?

Apple has released the first public beta version of iOS 26.5 on Monday, about two weeks after the company launched the mega-volume iOS 26.4 Update included New emojisVideo podcasts and more. iOS 26.5 beta brings some smaller — but important — changes to iOS iPhone for developers and beta testers, including one feature that will be familiar to anyone who has followed previous iOS beta builds.

Since this is a beta, I recommend only downloading it on a device other than your primary device. This is not the final version of iOS 26.5, so the update may have some bugs and battery life may be short, so it’s best to keep these issues on a secondary device.

Also, since this is not the final version, it is possible that there will be more features available on your iPhone when version 26.5 is released.

Here are some of the features developers and beta testers can try out now, and what could be coming to your iPhone when Apple releases iOS 26.5.

Returns end-to-end encrypted RCS messages

iOS 26.5 beta brings back an option to enable end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging on your device. When Apple brought RCS messages For iPhone with iOS 18One feature that the messaging protocol was missing was end-to-end encryption, and iOS 26.5 can finally bring privacy protection to your iPhone.

To find this setting, go to Settings > Apps > Messaging > RCS Messaging And tap the adjacent slider End-to-end encryption (beta).

Apple wrote in the feature’s description that it is still in beta and that it only works on certain carriers and devices. Apple also wrote that these encrypted messages will be labeled as such, so you should know when your messages are labeled and when they don’t have this level of protection.

Apple included end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging in beta versions of iOS 26.4, but the tech giant has not included the feature in the final release.

Suggested places on maps

The iOS 26.5 beta also brings a new section called Suggested Places to the Maps app. Once you’re in the app, tap the search bar as if you were going to search for a nearby café or restaurant, and for the department Suggested places It will appear below recently.

These are some of the new features that developers and public beta testers can try out now with the first public beta of iOS 26.5. There will likely be more beta versions before the operating system is released to the public, so there is plenty of time for Apple to change these features and add others. Apple has not said when it will release iOS 26.5 to the general public.

For more iOS news, here’s everything you should know iOS 26.4 and iOS 26.3. You can also check our website iOS 26 cheat sheet.

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