Updated Jan. 16 with more details of new features coming in iOS 26.3 and exactly when it will arrive.
The next major iPhone update is iOS 26.3 (though a surprise minor update, iOS 26.2.1 could be here in the next few days). And the latest iOS 26.3 developer beta and public beta suggest that messaging is about to become more versatile and more private. And the newly released second beta adds to the expectation that this feature is likely to land. What's more, since the expected minor update is proving elusive, there has been increased speculation about when iOS 26.3 will go on general release.
"Starting with the iOS 26.3 beta, Apple appears to be laying the groundwork for carriers to be able to support end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages, and that news could actually have even bigger implications for the Messages app on the iPhone," MacRumors reported.
To make this happen, the software needs to support something called RCS Universal Profile 3.0, which brings with it many of the features that iMessage users take for granted. Messages sent to one iPhone from another already have E2EE, but those shared between an iPhone and an Android handset don't yet. This change would allow E2EE support for RCS messaging from Android phones, so that messages and attachments can't be read by third parties -- as is already the case with iMessages.
But the upgrade will bring with it more of the enhancements iMessage has. For instance, in-line replies can appear in your messages, wherever it might have come from or being headed to. Users will be able to edit messages, and, just as importantly, to unsend them. For the first time, Tapback will be supported, where you can quickly reply to a message with a thumbs up or other symbol, something only possible through workarounds at the moment.
It's known that this is coming: Apple said it was committed to adding support for these capabilities, but didn't say when. The new betas suggest that there may not be long to wait and it should work for all iPhones from the iPhone 11 right up to the iPhone 17.
However, this is a beta, and Apple has been known to introduce elements which don't make it to the final release, so it's possible this messaging upgrade could still be some time off.
On Tuesday, Jan. 13, Apple released a public beta of iOS 26.3. It is the same as the developer beta, so the RCS messaging found in the developer beta remains the biggest element here as well. Other key aspects to the beta, such as the new way of transferring more data from iPhone to Android, are still found in the public beta. The second beta looks to be a smoother way to make this happen.
The updated wallpaper gallery and some new features for EU users only are also front-and-center. There are also references to Gemini, notable after the announcement by Google and Apple of the companies working together on AI for the iPhone.
Additionally, "it will be up to carriers to implement support, and Apple might also work with Google to ensure there is a consistent experience across iOS and Android," as MacRumors pointed out. A carrier-driven rollout means that the networks will control when features such as this are activated. That means the exact timing still can't be known.
So, when is the update expected to land? The presumed imminent arrival of iOS 26.2.1 keeps not happening. I would guess that since it hasn't arrived on Friday, Jan. 16, there's a diminishing chance that it will appear at all. Something similar happened in October last year when there were extensive reports of iOS 26.0.2. But as October crept to a close, it seemed increasingly unlikely to appear. Instead, iOS 26.1 was released on Nov. 4, folding the security bugs and fixes expected in iOS 26.0.1 into that.
Here's the thing: if iOS 26.2.1 does not appear on Monday, Jan. 19, I believe it won't come. Which leads me to the release date for iOS 26.3.
Although some earlier parts of the iOS 26 schedule were delayed, Apple seems to have got back on track now, so I still think that iOS 26.3 is likely to hit general release on or about Monday, Jan. 26. Assuming that's still on track, then iOS 26.2.1 seems superfluous -- Apple doesn't want its users to update the iPhone on a weekly basis unless it has no alternative.
Other reports are also pointing to similar release dates. "Monday, January 26 is the most likely launch date, but it could always slip to a day later that week or early the following week instead," 9to5Mac reported on Jan. 15.
It arrived at this conclusion after comparing calendar dates in recent years for iOS x.3 releases. "They all follow the exact same pattern. Each of the last three x.3 launches happened exactly one week after Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This year, that will be January 26," it said.