Apple Rolls Out iOS 26 Beta 9 Update for iPhone With Bug Fixes Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch

Apple on Tuesday released the iOS 26 Beta 9 update for iPhone to developers and beta testers. The new operating system (OS) firmware arrives a week after the introduction of the eighth beta update. While there are no new features, the iOS 26 Beta 9 update carries fixes for several bugs discovered in previous iterations. It resolves issues related to Apple Intelligence, Bluetooth, Camera, CarPlay, Siri, software, and the Weather app.

iOS 26 Beta 9 Update for iPhone: Compatible Models

The iOS 26 Beta 9 update for iPhone is available as a free over-the-air (OTA) software update to registered Apple developers and beta testers on iPhone 11 and later models. A public beta is also available for general consumers who are enrolled in Apple's beta software programme.

However, Apple Intelligence features are restricted to the iPhone 16 series, as well as the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models. To install the update on your iPhone, open the Settings app and tap on General > Software Update > Install Now.

iOS 26 Beta 9 Update: What's New

The iOS 26 Beta 5 update for iPhone comes with the build number 23A5308g. It is the first ninth iteration of Apple's beta software since 2018. According to Apple's release notes, the latest update patches a bug that caused software updates to reserve more space than necessary.

When conversing with Siri, instances were reported where knowledge requests handled by ChatGPT produced results based on stale data. This has been fixed with the iOS 26 Beta 9 update, too.

As per Apple, another bug resulted in new modifiers for customising appearance in Image Playground and Genmoji failing to work. This was reported by Japanese-language users, with image creation also being blocked when attempting to add modifiers to its appearance. While Apple first issued a fix for this with the fifth beta update last month, the latest firmware continues to carry it for devices that are still plagued by the problem.

In the Camera app, iOS 26 Beta 9 fixes an issue that resulted in the mode selection picker remaining expanded after launch. Apart from this, Apple's latest update also patches bugs related to the Kernel, Contacts, Journaling, lock screen, App Intents, WebKit, and more.

The new iOS 26 firmware is expected to ship with the upcoming iPhone 17 series, expected to be showcased at Apple's ‘Awe Dropping' event on September 9.