Apple’s 2025 Betas: iOS 26, iPadOS, macOS, and More Hit Developer Beta 6

August 11, 2025, Apple released the sixth developer beta for its 2025 software lineup, encompassing iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26. This release, arriving shortly after the fifth beta, marks a key step toward the public launch expected in September alongside the iPhone 17 series and other hardware. Each platform in this beta cycle showcases Apple’s vision of a cohesive ecosystem, blending the stunning Liquid Glass design with powerful Apple Intelligence features. From fluid animations on the iPhone to enhanced spatial computing on Vision Pro, Developer Beta 6 refines the user experience across the board. This article dives into the new features, animations, ringtones, and soundscapes for each platform, complete with a streamlined build number chart.

iOS 26: A Fluid, Intelligent iPhone Experience

iOS 26 introduces the Liquid Glass design, a translucent, visionOS-inspired interface that gives the iPhone a dynamic, reflective aesthetic. Developer Beta 6 polishes this look, ensuring menus and tab bars balance transparency with legibility. The Lock Screen’s time display adapts seamlessly to wallpapers, while spatial scenes add a 3D parallax effect, making photos come alive as you tilt your device. App icons and widgets adopt a “clear look” that fluidly shifts between light and dark modes for a cohesive feel.

New Features in iOS 26 Developer Beta 6

• New Ringtones and Customization: Five new ringtones—Buoyant, Dreamer, Surge, and two others—match the Liquid Glass vibe. The Reflection ringtone is customizable with multiple styles, and the Phone app now supports creating ringtones from audio files.
• Enhanced Animations: Smoother app transitions and dynamic menu scaling keep content central. Control Center toggles (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirPlay) feature ripple animations, and Apple Music’s Lock Screen album art pulses with the beat.
• Apple Intelligence Upgrades: Live Translation in Messages, Phone, and FaceTime ensures private, seamless communication. Visual Intelligence now supports third-party apps like Etsy for reverse image searches. Genmoji and Image Playground offer more creative control for emoji mixing and AI-generated images.
• Phone and Messages Enhancements: A unified Phone app layout combines Favorites, Recents, and Voicemails. Call Screening and Hold Assist filter unwanted calls and notify you when a live agent responds. Messages adds custom backgrounds, group chat polls (with Apple Intelligence suggesting polls), and a dedicated folder for unknown senders.
• Camera and Photos Tweaks: The Camera app’s six-dot menu has snappier animations for settings like frame rate. The Photos app features smoother Library-to-Collections transitions and spatial scene creation for immersive browsing.
• Apple Music and Maps Improvements: AutoMix in Apple Music enhances AI-driven song transitions with better beat matching. Maps tracks Visited Places with end-to-end encryption and offers smarter preferred routes with delay alerts.
• CarPlay and AirPods Updates: CarPlay’s compact call UI and HomeKit widget support improve safety. AirPods gain studio-quality audio recording and camera remote functionality via stem presses.
• Accessibility and Productivity: Shared family accessibility settings and new background sounds aid focus. Notes supports Markdown, Reminders auto-categorizes tasks, and two-factor code autofill simplifies logins.

iPadOS 26: Productivity Meets Immersive Design

iPadOS 26 brings the Liquid Glass aesthetic to the iPad’s larger display, with translucent menus and dynamic wallpapers. Beta 6 optimizes animations for multitasking, ensuring a fluid experience across apps and workspaces.

New Features in iPadOS 26 Developer Beta 6

• Liquid Glass Animations: Stage Manager windows scale and reposition with fluid transitions, enhancing multitasking. Translucent menus maintain legibility on larger screens.
• Apple Pencil Enhancements: Smoother hover animations improve precision in apps like Procreate, with a new split keyboard option for larger iPads.
• Apple Intelligence Features: Smart Summarization in Safari and Notes condenses lengthy content. Visual Intelligence supports spatial scene creation in Photos for immersive browsing.
• Productivity Boosts: Notes gains Markdown support, and the Files app introduces animated folder transitions. A new widget stack for productivity apps streamlines workflows.

macOS 26 Tahoe: A Polished Desktop Ecosystem

macOS 26 Tahoe adopts Liquid Glass with translucent sidebars and dock effects, refined in Beta 6 for better contrast and usability. The desktop experience feels more connected to iOS and iPadOS.

New Features in macOS 26 Tahoe Developer Beta 6

• Dynamic Desktop: A new wallpaper engine creates desktops that shift with time or weather, syncing with iOS and iPadOS devices.
• Apple Intelligence in Spotlight: Contextual search suggestions pull results from Messages, Mail, and third-party apps.
• Continuity Camera Upgrades: AI-driven background removal for video calls enhances virtual meetings.
• Files App Enhancements: A new column view with animated transitions improves file navigation.

watchOS 26: Fitness and Connectivity Evolved

watchOS 26 emphasizes fitness tracking and glanceable information, with Liquid Glass-inspired animations enhancing the Apple Watch’s interface.

New Features in watchOS 26 Developer Beta 6

• Vitals App: Consolidates sleep, heart rate, and respiratory data with AI-driven health trend predictions.
• Fitness App Upgrades: Custom workout templates and animated activity ring transitions keep you motivated.
• Watch Face Animations: Complications ripple when tapped, tying into the Liquid Glass theme.
• Siri and Translation: Faster on-device Siri and new Live Translation for wrist-based calls.
• New Ringtone: The Echo ringtone, customizable via the iPhone’s Watch app, adds a fresh auditory touch.

tvOS 26: A Smarter Entertainment Hub

tvOS 26 transforms Apple TV with Liquid Glass menus and smoother app transitions, making entertainment more immersive.

New Features in tvOS 26 Developer Beta 6

• AI-Curated Watchlists: The TV app suggests shows based on viewing habits across streaming services.
• Picture-in-Picture Mode: Translucent borders allow multitasking while watching.
• Spatial Audio Profiles: Enhanced immersion for movies via AirPods.
• Home App Widgets: Animated HomeKit controls make smart home management intuitive.

visionOS 26: Advancing Spatial Computing

visionOS 26, tailored for Apple Vision Pro, refines spatial computing with Liquid Glass-inspired environments and precise interactions.

New Features in visionOS 26 Developer Beta 6

• Immersive Transitions: Smoother shifts between apps and mixed reality views.
• Hand-Tracking Animations: New pinch and swipe animations improve precision.
• Spatial Search: Apple Intelligence lets you query objects in your field of view.
• 3D Photos and Soundscapes: The Photos app supports 3D memory creation, and a new Serenity soundscape enhances virtual workspace focus.

Build Numbers for Apple’s 2025 Software Betas