Apple iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, visionOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, along with new AirPods capabilities were announced at WWDC 2025. The new naming scheme was already leaked last week, along with the new Liquid Glass design which has also been rumoured before. Here’s everything to know about the new major update for the iPhone.
iOS 26: Everything to Know
Liquid Glass Design
Apple is giving iOS a fresh coat of paint, unveiling a redesigned user interface that balances familiarity with a more expressive and immersive experience. At the heart of the visual overhaul is a new material design called Liquid Glass, a translucent effect that reflects and refracts surroundings. The result is a visually dynamic system that puts more emphasis on content while breathing new life into App icons, widgets, and system controls.
The updated design touches nearly every corner of iOS, including the Home Screen and Lock Screen, both of which are now more customizable and visually rich. App icons and widgets can now adopt a clearer, sleeker appearance, and users have more options to personalize their device’s look and feel.
On the Lock Screen, Apple iOS 26 has introduced a smart layout where the time automatically adjusts to fit around images, while new spatial scenes add a 3D-like depth that reacts to iPhone movements. Across system apps, the visual refresh continues with improved usability. The Camera app now features a cleaner, simplified interface, helping users focus more on the shot. In Photos, a new layout separates the Library and Collections views for easier navigation.
Safari has also been redesigned, with pages now flowing from top to bottom, giving users more screen real estate and easier access to functions like search and refresh. In Apple Music, News, and Podcasts, the tab bar now floats and adapts dynamically — shrinking to highlight content while expanding when needed.
To help third-party developers adopt this look, Apple has released a new set of APIs that unlock Liquid Glass components and materials, ensuring a consistent, vibrant design language across the entire iOS ecosystem.
Apple Intelligence Gets Smarter
New Apple Intelligence features have also been introduced in Apple iOS 26. One of the standout additions is Live Translation, now built directly into Messages, FaceTime, and Phone. It translates text and audio in real time, making cross-language communication seamless. Importantly, the translations are handled entirely on-device, ensuring that private conversations stay private.
Apple is also expanding its visual intelligence capabilities. Users can now interact with content on their screens in smarter ways — whether it’s searching for more information about what they see, identifying products, or creating calendar events from context like dates and locations. Users can even ask ChatGPT about what’s displayed onscreen or search platforms like Google and Etsy for similar items.
Creative tools also get a major upgrade with Genmoji and Image Playground, allowing users to combine emojis, AI-generated images, and custom descriptions to express themselves in new ways.
Shortcuts become even more powerful, offering intelligent actions triggered by context and integrated with Apple’s new writing and image tools. Meanwhile, Apple Intelligence can now detect order-tracking emails, summarize shipping details, and consolidate package updates — even for purchases made outside of Apple Pay.
For developers, Apple has introduced a Foundation Models framework, granting access to the same on-device intelligence that powers Apple Intelligence. It’s fast, works offline, respects privacy, and comes with no additional cost for inference — opening the door for smarter, more responsive apps across the iPhone ecosystem.
Updates for Apple’s Apps: CarPlay, Apple Music, Maps, Phone, Messages, and More
Then, the Phone app now offers a unified layout that combines Favorites, Recents, and Voicemails all in one place. Call Screening builds on Live Voicemail and helps eliminate interruptions by gathering information from the caller and giving users the details they need to decide if they want to pick up or ignore the call. And for the times when a user is stuck on hold, Hold Assist notifies the user when a live agent is available.
In Messages, users can now screen messages from unknown senders, giving them more control over who appears in their conversation list. Messages from unknown senders will appear in a dedicated folder where users can then mark the number as known, ask for more information, or delete. These messages will remain silenced until a user accepts them.
iOS 26 also offers enhancements to conversations, including custom backgrounds and the ability to create polls. With Apple Intelligence, Messages can detect when a poll might come in handy and suggest one, and users can generate unique backgrounds that fit their conversation with Image Playground. Additionally, in group chats, users can now see typing indicators, and request, send, and receive Apple Cash.
Next, Apple has given CarPlay a new design that includes a new compact view for incoming calls, allowing users to see who’s calling without missing key information like upcoming directions. iOS 26 also brings Tapbacks and pinned conversations to Messages in CarPlay, and with widgets and Live Activities, users can stay in the loop without losing focus on the road. These updates also come to CarPlay Ultra, which brings the best of iPhone and the best of the car together for a deeply integrated, unified experience across every screen.
In Apple Music, Lyrics Translation helps users understand the words to their favorite songs, while Lyrics Pronunciation allows everyone to sing along, regardless of language. AutoMix uses intelligence to transition from one song to the next like a DJ, using time stretching and beat matching to seamlessly move from one song to the next.
In Apple Maps, Visited Places help users remember the places they’ve been. Users can choose to have iPhone detect when they’re at a place like a restaurant or shop, and view all of their Visited Places in Maps. Visited Places are protected with end-to-end Encryption and cannot be accessed by Apple. Additionally, iPhone can now use on-device intelligence to better understand a user’s daily route, presenting them with their preferred route when they’re headed home or to the office, along with notifying them of delays and offering alternate routes.
As for Apple Wallet, users can choose to pay with installments or rewards when they make in-store purchases with Apple Pay using iPhone. Refreshed boarding passes in Wallet offer the ability to see and share Live Activities for real-time updates on a flight. They also provide convenient access to a traveler’s most relevant information, such as Maps to navigate airports, Find My to track important items and report missing bags, and more.
The new Apple Games app acts as a central hub for all gaming activity, letting users jump back into favorites, discover new titles, and keep up with game events. It also offers the best way to experience Apple Arcade, home to over 200 premium games.
For families, managing Child Accounts is now easier, with expanded parental controls like contact request approvals, content blurring in FaceTime and Shared Albums, and one-time overrides for App Store restrictions.
Safari browsing is now more private, with default fingerprinting protection across all activity. And in accessibility, iOS 26 introduces Accessibility Reader, Braille Access, and updates to features like Live Listen and Personal Voice, making the iPhone even more inclusive for all users.
Availability, Supported Models
All of these features are available for testing starting today through the Apple Developer Program at developer.apple.com, and a public beta will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program next month at beta.apple.com. New software features will be available this fall as a free software update for iPhone 11 and later. The Apple Intelligence features detailed require supported devices, which include all iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad mini (A17 Pro), and iPad and Mac models with M1 and later.
New AirPods Capabilities
Apple also previewed studio-quality audio recording and camera remote features for AirPods 4, AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), and AirPods Pro 2. Updates to audio recording enable creators to record studio-quality vocals on the go, and start or stop video recordings from a distance with a simple press of the AirPods stem. Building on the benefits of Voice Isolation, AirPods users will also enjoy even clearer calls with enhanced voice quality.
While using the Camera app or compatible third-party camera apps on iPhone or iPad, content creators can press and hold the AirPods stem to take a photo or start a video recording, and one more press-and-hold will stop the recording. For users who like capturing themselves singing or dancing, the new features make it easy to perform in sync with a soundtrack while simultaneously recording the video.
Further, Interviewers, podcasters, singers, and other creators can record their content with greater sound quality, and even record while on the go or in noisy environments with Voice Isolation on the AirPods. With the H2 chip, beamforming microphones, and computational audio, users will also enjoy more natural vocal texture and clarity across iPhone calls, FaceTime, and CallKit-enabled apps. Studio-quality audio recording and improved call quality work across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, while also supporting the Camera app, Voice Memos, dictation in Messages, video conferencing apps like Webex, and compatible third-party camera apps.