The next iPhone will come pre-loaded with the company’s latest operating software, iOS 26 (that’s right, it’s not called iOS 19). Right now, that software is in early developer beta, after an unprecedented early update. But it looks like there’s a new ringtone hiding in plain sight.
Is a new ringtone coming to the iPhone? And if so, which ones?
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A new ringtone has been found in the code for the developer beta. It was mentioned on X and spotted by Joe Rossignol at MacRumors, with a MacRumors contributor, Aaron Perris, confirming its existence.
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So what, you might ask? The interesting thing is that though it’s in the code, it’s been hidden, so you can’t choose it from the list of ringtones found in the Settings app in the beta.
Which means it’s hard to know if it will be in the next beta, let alone the public beta in July or the general release software expected in September.
The ringtone is a new version of the Reflection ringtone which has been the default option since the iPhone X launched in 2017. As Perris suggests, it could be an indication that the ringtone will be restricted, to select handsets when it is released.
Perris notes that the remix is, “a glassy new ringtone called ‘ReflectionAlt1-EncoreRemix’. It’s not live yet in the beta but it is present in the filesystem. Perhaps an iPhone 17 exclusive,” he asks.
Glassy is the key word, of course, suggesting that the new tone has been retooled to fit with the Liquid Glass design of Apple’s new software.
Ringtones are key to a brand. The Nokia theme was exceptionally well known and became synonymous with mobile phones generally. When it was updated in an orchestral remix, it caused quite a stir.
Similarly, Samsung has a ringtone on its phones which is unmistakable — and which Samsung would play at its Unboxed events using a full, live orchestra.
We’ll have more of a clue of Apple’s intentions when the next developer beta is released.
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