Image: Foundry
Apple’s iOS 26.5 update adds encrypted RCS, new wallpapers, Maps suggestions, and security updates for older devices.
Apple may be looking ahead to its next major software cycle, but iOS 26 is not finished yet.
The tech giant’s latest iPhone and iPad update adds three notable features: encrypted RCS messaging, new Pride wallpapers, and Apple Maps suggestions. The release also includes updates for older iPhones, iPads, and Macs that cannot run the newest operating systems.
For users, the most meaningful change may be outside iMessage: better privacy for supported RCS conversations between iPhone and Android users.
RCS messaging first arrived on iPhones and iPads with iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, marking Apple’s biggest step at the time toward improving communication between its devices and those on Android. The feature replaced the older SMS experience with support for higher-quality media sharing, typing indicators, and read receipts across both platforms.
With iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5, Apple is going further by adding end-to-end encryption on supported RCS conversations. The update brings an extra layer of message privacy outside Apple’s iMessage ecosystem. The feature’s availability still depends on carrier support and will roll out over time.
Users with RCS will see a lock icon next to their messages, indicating that their conversation is encrypted.
While ads have not fully arrived in Maps, MacRumors says Apple has already laid “the groundwork” for it with this update. What we have right now is a Maps app rebuilt to recommend suggestions to you via the new Suggested Places feature. Citing Apple’s release notes, MacRumors notes that Suggested Places works by analyzing trending nearby events, along with your recent searches.
Alongside message privacy and Maps’ new suggestions, iOS 26.5 is expanding personalization by enabling the Pride Luminance Wallpaper on iPhones and iPads, paired with a color selection tool.
Many vintage and discontinued iPhones and iPads are not left out of Apple’s recent update rollout. The company has also issued updates for devices that are incompatible with running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26, focusing mainly on security patches and keeping core services functioning reliably on older hardware.
Despite being older models, Apple recognizes that these devices, when put together, are still used by millions of users. As a result, it released the following OS updates to service these devices, based on their update cutoffs:
It also released updates for older Macs running macOS Sequoia 15.7.7 and macOS Sonoma 14.8.7.
As Apple prepares for WWDC, the conversation around its software is gradually shifting beyond iOS 26. Reports surrounding iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 are heavily centered on an overhauled Siri, which reportedly will cost Apple $1 billion in annual payments to Google.
Against that backdrop, iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 feel more like a final layer of polish and, at the same time, the last iOS feature update that millions of iPhone users using these four iPhones will receive.
Also read: Apple’s reported macOS 27 redesign could refine Liquid Glass with changes to transparency, shadows, and readability.
Joseph is a Technical Writer with about 3 years of experience in the industry, also advancing a career in cyber threat intelligence. He is passionate about the responsible use of technology, a passion that led him into cybersecurity. As an undergrad, he leads a novel community of technology enthusiasts at his school, NOUN, where he guides and shares resources for beginners in tech. His writing experience includes writing on a diverse range of topics, from consumer tech to startups and tutorials. Additionally, he periodically shares case studies and research reports on cybersecurity on his social media pages.
