macOS 15 / Xcode 26.1: iOS 26.1 platform not installed

[jshier]

Description

Through the betas and now the RC, builds attempting to use macos-15-xlarge with Xcode 26.1 for iOS fail due to missing the iOS 26.1 platform (there are also no 26.1 sims):

[19:37:25]: ▸ xcodebuild: error: Unable to find a destination matching the provided destination specifier:
[19:37:25]: ▸ 		{ platform:iOS Simulator, id:A95FF35F-EA71-4924-9A09-4C490F6F0FC0 }
[19:37:25]: ▸ 	Ineligible destinations for the "App" scheme:
[19:37:25]: ▸ 		{ platform:iOS, id:dvtdevice-DVTiPhonePlaceholder-iphoneos:placeholder, name:Any iOS Device, error:iOS 26.1 is not installed. Please download and install the platform from Xcode > Settings > Components. }

Platforms affected

• Azure DevOps
• GitHub Actions - Standard Runners
• GitHub Actions - Larger Runners

Runner images affected

• Ubuntu 22.04
• Ubuntu 24.04
• macOS 13
• macOS 13 Arm64
• macOS 14
• macOS 14 Arm64
• macOS 15
• macOS 15 Arm64
• macOS 26 Arm64
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2022
• Windows Server 2025

Image version and build link

Image: macos-15-arm64
Version: 20251104.0104

Is it regression?

No

Expected behavior

Targeting iOS 26.1 should succeed.

Actual behavior

As described.

Repro steps

As described.

[erik-bershel]

We don't provide platform tools for beta versions or release candidates. You can install them during runtime if needed or wait until the release. Beta versions of platforms cause issues with using all other platforms.

Support policy:
https://github.com/actions/runner-images?tab=readme-ov-file#support-policy

[GuilhE]

@erik-bershel Xcode 26.1 (17B55) is stable (an therefore iOS 26.1). I read you reply here so we should expect next week 17 nov. right?

[jshier]

It seems that the macOS-26 images have the 26.1 platforms installed (since they're both prerelease?), which is a bit confusing, but useful for now.

@erik-bershel Xcode 26.1 (17B55) is stable (an therefore iOS 26.1). I read you reply here so we should expect next week 17 nov. right?

10-14 november.

[mmrobert]

I am still get this error, when we expect this issue is fixed.

[jshier]

It hasn't been deployed yet, keep an eye on https://github.com/actions/runner-images/releases to see when the new images is coming.

[mmrobert]

Thanks. Is there a way to workaround to avoid this error?

[jshier]

Use the macOS-26 image if you can, it has the platform SDKs installed. Otherwise just wait a few more days for the macOS-15 image with the final Xcode 26.1 to be deployed.