After releasing the second developer beta of iOS 26.2 last month, Apple has now started shipping the Release Candidate (RC) of iOS 26.2, starting today. This is the first iOS 26.2 RC and is now rolling out to eligible iPhones.
iOS 26.2 Release Candidate brings an improved Sleep Score System
The latest RC build comes twenty days after the second iOS 26.2 public beta went live and iOS 26-supported devices now have access to a fine-tuned Apple Sleep Score system. As part of the update, the previous "Excellent" rating has now been replaced with "Very High".
Each range in between now offers a more realistic threshold that better translates to real-life sleep cycles. Apple says that this new change has been incorporated based on user feedback and now offers a better understanding of sleep metrics.
The new iOS 26.2 Release Candidate has also brought changes to Apple Podcasts and is now infused with AI for better linking to reference podcasts and AI-generated chapters. It is meant to streamline the user's listening experience by using AI to fine-tune the recommendations.
Also, the Reminder App now lets users trigger alarms and timers for urgent tasks by bypassing Focus Mode. This ensures that high-priority notifications can get through at any time of the day.
Coming to design, the iPhone lockscreen now supports a much more versatile Liquid Glass slider that can precisely control the amount of tinting for each clock. There is also now a new pill-shaped popular links and topics section atop the Apple News homepage for easy and quick access.
Lastly, starting December 2025, the new language support for AirPods Live Translation will finally land in European Union (EU) countries.
That said, eligible users can install iOS 26.2 Release Candidate update by heading over to Settings> General> Software Update> Update Now. Alongside iOS 26.2, Apple is also expected to ship the general stable updates of iPadOS 26.2, macOS 26.2, watchOS 26.2, tvOS 26.2 and visionOS 26.2.
