IOS 26


iOS 26 is the nineteenth major release of Apple's iOS operating system for the iPhone. It was announced on June 9, 2025, at the 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9, 2025, and released on September 15, 2025. The successor to iOS 18, its version number was brought forward to 26 as Apple changed its version numbering convention for consistency across its operating systems.
iOS 26 introduces the Liquid Glass design language that is shared across all other Apple platforms, marking the first major redesign of the user interface since iOS 7. The Wallet app introduces an enhanced boarding pass with the ability to track and share flight status using Live Activities. New Apple Intelligence AI features include additional ChatGPT integration in Visual Intelligence, now usable when taking screenshots, and the ability for third-party apps to integrate the Apple Intelligence framework.
This release was received with poor critical and user reception, with reviewers and users criticising its controversial Liquid Glass interface, performance issues, slow adoption rates, and widespread complaints about battery life and usability.

Features

System features

User interface

iOS 26 introduces a unified design language, known as Liquid Glass, across all Apple platforms. Influenced by visionOS, the design replaces the flat design language introduced in iOS 7 to utilize rounded, translucent elements with the "optical qualities of glass", which react to motion, content, and inputs. Multiple apps, including Camera and Safari, have redesigned user interfaces to reflect the new design language.

Home screen and lock screen

Widgets on the lock screen can now be placed at the bottom of the screen.
The height of the time shown on the lock screen is dynamic, and can increase or decrease depending on the objects recognized in the background.
In addition to the Dark, Light, and Tinted themes, iOS 26 adds a "Clear" theme that changes the Home Screen to use icons that use the glass-like effects introduced with Liquid Glass.

Battery

  • A new energy-saving feature called Adaptive Power was introduced for periods of higher device usage. It makes minor adjustments, such as reducing screen brightness and slowing down processes, without blocking background activities like the traditional low-power mode does. Models earlier than the iPhone 15 Pro do not support it, as it requires Apple Intelligence.
  • The estimated time to full charge is now displayed on the Lock Screen and in Settings.
  • In the Settings app, daily battery consumption is color-coded: orange for higher usage and blue for lower or typical usage. Each app shows whether it sent more notifications, ran in the background longer, or consumed more battery than usual.

    Accessibility

  • Reader Mode is a system-level reading mode designed to assist users with blindness, low vision, or other reading impairments.
  • Braille Access turns the user's phone into a full braille note-taking tool, eliminating the need for external devices. It supports braille input, Nemeth code for calculations, reading braille files, and app navigation. It also provides real-time conversation transcripts on the braille display.
  • Head Tracking allows the user to control the pointer on the screen by tracking head movements and perform to customized actions based on facial movements and expressions
  • A new audio equalizer with two modes, "Comfort" and "Focus", for automatic frequency adjustment has been added in the Accessibility settings under Audio and Visual Effects.

    Apple Intelligence

iOS 26 introduces new Apple Intelligence features; Apple Intelligence models were made more efficient and support additional languages. It supports live translation of voice and text conversations using on-device models, and Genmoji can now be invoked to merge existing emojis together rather than needing to use a prompt. Visual Intelligence and Image Playground also feature additional ChatGPT integration.
The framework allows Apple Intelligence features to be integrated into third-party apps; Apple said that a Swift app can implement the framework with as little as three lines of code.
After taking a screenshot, a full-screen preview appears. Users can search for information on the circled area and ask questions using ChatGPT. This functions like Visual Intelligence.

Wallpaper

In iOS 26 Beta 3, Apple introduced new styles for the default iOS 26 wallpaper, including Shadow, Sky, Halo, and Dusk. A new dynamic wallpaper was added in the first public beta. Wallpaper Blur for AOD is a setting that lets the user apply a blur effect to the Always-on Display's wallpaper image.

Wi-Fi

  • Wi-Fi Aware: introduced support for the new Wi-Fi standard that allows a device to discover other nearby devices and communicate with them securely without an internet connection or access point.
  • Captive Assist: when the user accesses a public Wi-Fi network on an Apple device by filling out a web form, the form information is automatically shared with the other Apple devices, making it easier to connect to the same network.

    Screenshots and screen recordings

The "General" section of the Settings app has a new section for configuring screenshots.
  • Full-screen previews: a screenshot-capture mode that keeps the captured screen in full-screen view instead of minimizing it to an icon in the screen's bottom-left corner.
  • HDR captures: it is now possible to capture HDR screenshots and screen recordings.

    eSIM transfer

iOS 26 allows the user to directly transfer an eSIM between an iPhone and an Android phone without a QR code from the mobile carrier.

Ringtones

New ringtones have been introduced for the first time since iOS 17, including six variations of the "Reflection" ringtone: "Buoyant", "Dreamer", "Pond, "Pop", "Reflected", and "Surge".

App features

Phone

An optional unified layout has been introduced, for those who want to have favorite contacts, recent calls, and voicemail in a single view.
  • Call Screening automatically answers calls from unknown numbers to determine whether they are from a real person or spam. It asks the caller to identify themself and state the reason for the call. If the call is deemed legitimate, it is passed through, and the phone rings.
  • Hold Assist lets users put a call on hold and notify the caller when they are ready to resume the conversation.
  • Tap Recents to Call is a setting that, when disabled, prevents accidental calls by tapping a name or number in the user's call history.
  • Live Translations in Calls allows real-time translation of the caller's voice, converting it into the desired language during the call.
  • The Phone app provides haptic feedback, vibrating when the call is answered on the other end.
  • From the Recent Calls page, it is possible to create a reminder to re-call recently called numbers in an hour, tonight, tomorrow, or later.
  • Full per-contact Call History: for each contact, you can now view the full call history, spanning months and years, rather than just the most recent calls.

    Messages

The Messages app now supports custom backgrounds, polls, and the user indicator for typing in group chats. The user can also select and copy part of a message instead of the entire message.
  • Spam messages from unknown senders are automatically recognized and moved to a separate list.
  • Users can activate translation in real time to ensure that everything written in one language is sent as a message written in another.

    Music

  • The user can pin favorite songs or albums at the top of the library.
  • Translation and pronunciation of live lyrics allows users to understand the lyrics of the songs in other languages and to sing them even if the user person does not know the language.
  • AutoMix switches from one song to another using Time Stretching and Beat Matching techniques for a more continuous mix.
  • Users can create folders in which to put playlists.
  • Live Radio Widget is a widget for the Home screen that allows direct access to 6 radio stations.
  • Fullscreen artwork: the album cover of the playing song extends to full screen on the Lock Screen.

    Photos

  • The Photos app is redesigned to replace its short-lived design from iOS 18 with a layout that reinstates the command bar at the bottom of the screen, though unlike before, it is simplified to allow the user to quickly switch among Library, Collections, and Search selections.
  • It is possible to apply a 3D effect to a photo to make it appear that the represented subjects come out of the screen when the phone moves. This is the same VisionOS technology that has been brought to the iPhone.

    Camera

The Camera interface is simpler, with two main buttons, "Photo" and "Video", initially visible and placed at the bottom. An expandable and scrollable command bar reveals other shooting modes. Menus are also more intuitive: to access controls like flash, timer, and photo format, the user need only tap the grid-shaped button at the top of the toolbar, without a swipe gesture.
  • Lens Cleaning Hints is a setting that displays a suggestion when the camera lens should be cleaned to improve image quality.
  • The items in the side menu can now be reordered, allowing the preferred control to be placed in the first position.

    Reminders

A Reminders control can be added to the Control Center, allowing users to quickly create a reminder directly from there.

Maps

  • Preferred Routes automatically learns the routes the user takes every day, such as those between home, school, and work, and notifies them in advance of any delays without needing to be checked manually.
  • The user can save the favorite places they visit, such as bars or parks, to find them immediately.