A few minutes ago the 'California streaming' keynote ended in which Tim Cook and his team presented the new devices to start the fall. Among them are the new iPad 2021, the iPad mini 2021, the Apple Watch Series 7 and the entire new range of the iPhone 13. All these devices will carry with them the new operating systems presented at WWDC 2021 which took place in June. In fact, a few minutes ago Apple released the RC (release candidate) versions of the new operating systems. Among them are iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8.
Apple launches RC versions in preparation for the official launch of iOS 15
Apple just launched in the portal for developers the RC versions of iOS 15, iPad OS 15, tvOS 15, HomePod 15 and watchOS 8. The almost final version of macOS Monterey still has to wait a couple of weeks to reach this version that will most likely be released in the October event predictably.
These RC versions are so called because they are the 'Release Candidate' or final version candidate. These versions are versions of the operating systems that incorporate all the new features of the betas in order to prepare for the official launch. In this case, Apple has released the final candidate versions of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, tvOS 15, HomePod 15 and watchOS 8. These operating systems will see the light of day in the coming days.
Apple is likely to release the RC versions in the coming days for users who are enrolled in the official public beta program. This is done to try and debug any last minute issues that may be reported by developers in final testing of the operating systems.