Summary
- Apple has started the rollout of the iOS 26.3 Public Beta 2 to eligible iPhones.
- The most significant change in this update is the addition of end-to-end encrypted RCS chats.
- iOS 26.3 Public Beta 2 is currently available to download from iPhone 11 to the latest iPhone 17 series.
After the official iOS 26.3 Public Beta 1 rollout last month, it is now time for iPhone owners to enjoy the second official public beta update of iOS 26.3. This new build brings many minor changes along with one big feature.
iOS 26.3 Public Beta 2 adds end-to-end encrypted RCS chats support
The latest public beta is available just one day after iOS 26.3 beta 2 was released for developers for iOS 26-supported devices. As for what it brings, the latest build lays the groundwork for end-to-end encrypted RCS chats in the Messages app.
However, it is not yet enabled on the consumer end. At the time of writing, Apple has added a provision for carrier partners to enable encryption for RCS. End-to-end encryption in RCS is denoted by the code string ‘SupportsE2EE’ and might ship with the complete public release of iOS 26.3.
Aside from that, no other new change has been spotted in this build so far. It carries forward all the other tweaks introduced with the first public beta release. Here as well, users can find the new Transfer to Android option inside the Settings app. It has been added as a joint collaboration between Apple and Google for users to easily switch between Android and iPhone.
Also, just like the iOS 23.2 beta 2 build, here as well, the combined "Weather&Astronomy" section has been segregated between Weather and Astronomy. Lastly, there's a Notification Forwarding feature that's available for users in the EU. This allows an iPhone to forward notifications to third-party wearables.
That said, eligible users can update to the latest public beta by going to Settings > General > Software Update > Update Now. The update is currently going live from the iPhone 11 to the latest iPhone 17 series.
