iOS 26.3 Beta Breaks Key Continuity Features
▼ Summary
– Users of the latest iPhone and iPad Pro models should avoid updating to the iOS/iPadOS 26.3 Beta 3 due to broken Continuity features.
– The broken features include iPhone Mirroring, AirPlay to Apple TV, wireless Continuity Camera, and Sidecar from Mac to iPad Pro.
– These issues specifically affect the iPhone 17 series, iPhone Air, and the M5 iPad Pro running the beta software.
– Apple has acknowledged the problems in its developer notes but has not explained the cause, expecting a fix in a future beta.
– The public release of iOS 26.3, typically in late January, may be delayed into early February, with release candidates expected soon.
Those exploring the cutting edge of Apple’s software should proceed with caution, as the latest beta releases for iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3 have introduced significant disruptions to several core Continuity features. This development is particularly relevant for owners of the newest iPhone and iPad Pro hardware, who rely on these seamless ecosystem integrations for their daily workflows.
Apple has officially updated its developer notes to confirm that the third beta versions contain these known issues. The affected functionality is not working on specific devices, including the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, and the iPad Pro equipped with the M5 chip. The list of broken features is substantial, impacting some of the most popular cross-device capabilities.
Users cannot currently utilize iPhone Mirroring to see and control their phone from a Mac. The ability to stream content via AirPlay mirroring to an Apple TV 4K is also non-functional. Furthermore, the wireless use of Continuity Camera with a Mac or Apple TV is impaired, and the Sidecar feature, which allows an iPad to serve as a secondary display for a Mac, is broken on the latest iPad Pro models.
While the company has not elaborated on the root cause of these widespread failures, the expectation within the developer community is that a fix will be prioritized for the next beta iteration. These kinds of regressions are not uncommon in pre-release software, but their scope highlights the inherent risks of running beta operating systems on primary devices.
Looking at the broader release timeline, the public versions of iOS 26.3 and its sibling updates were anticipated around the end of January, following Apple’s historical pattern for x.3 updates. With the calendar turning to February, it now seems the official rollout may experience a slight delay. However, final release candidate builds are likely to be distributed to testers in the very near future, paving the way for a stable public release once these critical connectivity bugs are resolved.
(Source: Mac Rumors)
