Based on previous iPhone software releases, iOS 26 will likely be available around 1 p.m. ET. Since millions of iPhone users may be trying to download it at the same time, you may want to wait till tomorrow morning at least, or even a few days.

Apple has just released the iOS 26 RC (release candidate), which is expected to be the final shipping version of the new iPhone software.

It took laws to force Apple to catch up to Android. Apple made a big deal about USB-C on the iPhone 15, yet didn't mention it was practically forced to implement the feature by the European Union. Now Apple is being driven to allow app sideloading on iOS ...

On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > About and look at Model Name. If your phone isn't on the compatibility list, it will keep receiving iOS 18 security patches for a while, but you won't see any of iOS 26's new features.