It’s finally here – iOS 26 brings the biggest overhaul to iOS in recent memory. And yes, we’ve gone from iOS 18 to 26 because Apple wants a more unified naming scheme for its portfolio of operating systems.
The biggest new addition to iOS 26 is Liquid Glass – Apple’s new unified design language. It’s clearly inspired by visionOS and Apple says it “makes something purely digital feel natural and alive.” The entire UI features crystal-like design elements and a more dynamic touch response.
The Lock screen is updated with Liquid Glass and is now more responsive. The time widget can adapt to the subject of your photos and the number of incoming notifications. Apple also added new spatial scenes, which bring a 3D effect to your wallpapers. It gives off some Nintendo 3DS vibes.
The Camera app is another one to get the Liquid Glass redesign. The UI is even round, and a swipe brings up all settings. All photo and video quality options are finally available in one place now.
iOS 26 Camera app
The Photos app is also updated with the new visual identity and gets Library and Collections tabs. Any 2D photo can be transformed into a 3D Spatial Scene.
Safari brings a smaller and adaptable tab bar, which blends into the page as you scroll and dynamically shrinks so you see more of the page.
FaceTime has a new landing page with personalized contact posters and video messages from your contacts.
The Phone app gets a favorites tab as well as recents and voicemail listed below. Apple is bringing voicemail summaries to help you save time. The contacts and keypad are still accessible below.
Call Screening will fight spam calls coming from unknown numbers in the background. If you receive a call from an unknown number, your iPhone will only begin to ring after the person on the other end provides their name and reason for calling.
Hold Assist can help keep your spot during calls with companies and will notify you when you’ve reached a real person on the other line.
Messages gets new backgrounds for chats, you can even use AI-generated ones. Group chats get polls, Apple Cash inside the chat and typing indicators. The screening tools from the Phone app are also here with on device spam detection.
Live Translation is Apple’s overhauled translation app, overhauled by Apple Intelligence. It is integrated into the Messages, Phone and FaceTime apps. Users can use the feature during calls and also get translated captions during FaceTime calls.
CarPlay is also in on the Liquid Glass redesign as it extends its way into the car. You get light and dark modes and new compact alerts for incoming calls, messages and other notifications. Apple is also bringing widgets to the CarPlay UI and Live Activities. The same widgets made for iPhones will work on the new CarPlay.
CarPlay in iOS 26
Apple also showed out CarPlay Ultra, which was announced last month. This version of CarPlay takes over all screens on your car, including the speedometer, and allows for much more detailed tweaks like adjustments to your car’s radio and climate controls.
The Liquid Glass redesign is also coming to Apple Services. Apple Music gets lyrics translation and pronunciation as well as 3D album artwork animations on your lock screen. AutoMix helps for the perfect mix and transitions between songs. Music Pins allows you to pin favorite songs, artists and genres.
Apple also introduced its new Games app. It’s an all-in-one destination for games, exploring new titles and connecting with friends. The app features Home, Arcade, Play Together, and Library tabs. Gamers will find upcoming events, new updates and can jump into their favorite games straight from the app.
Apple Games • Visual Intelligence
Visual Intelligence in iOS 26 gets some much-needed tools. You can now search for anything on your device screen kind of like Google’s Circle to Search. Apple’s method takes a few more steps. You take a screenshot, and you’ll then see the new Ask tool and Image search button. From there, you can highlight the item you want to search and it will pop up on Google or any other app you use to search and shop. Visual Intelligence can also extract text from event invitations and features ChatGPT integration.
Apple Maps can now learn your preferred routes and will adapt to your commutes to improve your trips. Apple is also bringing Visited Places to help you reexperience restaurants and other locations you’ve visited recently.
Apple Waller flight status • Apple Maps
The Wallet app gets a new boarding pass interface with mapping for airports. You can also share your flight status and Find My trackers.
Apple will release iOS 26 as a developer beta today. The public beta is next month while the final consumer version will drop later this fall.
