Apple has officially released the first public betas of iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, expanding access beyond developers to users enrolled in the company’s public beta program.
The update follows a developer-focused rollout that arrived a day earlier and introduces several notable improvements aimed at usability, customization, and regulatory compliance.
One of the headline features in iOS 26.3 is a simpler data transfer process for users switching from iPhone to Android. Apple has refined the migration experience to make moving contacts, messages, photos, and other essential data more straightforward. This change aligns with Google’s own efforts on Android to improve cross-platform switching, signaling a broader industry push to reduce friction when users change ecosystems.
Another major addition comes in the form of Notification Forwarding for third-party wearables in the European Union. This feature allows iPhone notifications to be forwarded to compatible non-Apple wearable devices, ensuring users can receive alerts without relying solely on an Apple Watch.
The functionality is the result of EU regulatory requirements designed to promote interoperability. However, Apple notes an important limitation: when Notification Forwarding is enabled, notifications will not appear on an Apple Watch, highlighting a trade-off users should consider.
In terms of visual enhancements, iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3 introduce new weather-themed wallpapers. These are now housed in a dedicated Weather section within the wallpaper gallery. This update follows Apple’s decision to split the former Weather & Astronomy category into two separate sections, offering a more organized and intuitive browsing experience for customization enthusiasts.
As with all beta software, Apple advises users to expect potential bugs and performance issues. The public betas of iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3 are best suited for secondary devices rather than daily drivers.
Overall, this release focuses on platform flexibility, regulatory compliance, and visual refinement, making it a meaningful incremental update ahead of the next stable release.