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Apple has officially unveiled iOS 26 during its WWDC 2025 keynote. It features a new design and privacy-focused Apple Intelligence apps and services.The phone, Messages, Maps, and other applications also have improvements to connectivity. The first beta of iOS 26 is now available to developers under the Apple Developer Program
The released will be later this year, simultaneously with the iPhone 17. As part of its push toward personalisation, intelligence, and seamless integration, Apple’s latest mobile OS features a Liquid Glass aesthetic and tighter integration of AI tools across apps and services.Along with performance enhancements and accessibility improvements, these upgrades make iOS 26 a big step forward in developing the iPhone platform. What are the good things about these features? What do they involve? Let’s break down this article, all that is new in iOS 26
Apple gives the iPhone a fresh look with liquid glass
Apple introduced a new design called Liquid Glass, which brings a translucent, light-reflective interface to the iPhone. The updated look reimagines app icons, widgets, and system components with dynamic textures that reflect surroundings, adding visual depth without compromising familiarity. Craig Federighi, Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, stated that iOS 26 offers a gorgeous new design and significant changes to the features people use daily.
The Lock Screen has been redesigned and will adjust the time to pictures; it also accepts 3D spatial wallpapers. A refreshed Camera interface offers a cleaner layout, while Safari pages now flow edge-to-edge for immersive browsing. The floating tab bar design in apps like Apple Music, News, and Podcasts adapts while users scroll, maintaining quick access to controls. Developers can also use new APIs to bring Liquid Glass to third-party apps, ensuring a consistent design language across the system.
Apple intelligence becomes core to iOS 26
One of the features of iOS 26 is Apple Intelligence, which now works more deeply into the system, designed with privacy as its core principle. This intelligence is on-device and built into fundamental experiences
New Live Translation tools support real-time translation in FaceTime, Messages, and the Phone app, all powered by Apple’s custom models. The feature identifies speech or typed words and translates them in real time without the use of external servers. Apple highlighted that on-device processing is what makes personal conversations stay personal.
This awareness on the screen level presents new shortcuts for dealing with the information in real time. Image Playground and Genmoji offer their users an opportunity to come up with new images that are composed of emojis and text descriptions. Also, smart shortcuts, writing tools, and image-generation features are now powered by Apple Intelligence and are directly integrated into the OS.
Modernised phone and messaging apps to prioritise communication
Phone and Messages, which are the iOS ecosystem essentials, are provided with a set of user-requested enhancements now. Phone app brings a new unified Phone interface that combines Favourites, Recents, and Voicemails.
The AI-powered feature called Call Screening retrieves the information of unknown callers and allows users to determine whether they should pick up or not. Hold Assist is another feature that notifies users when a live agent is available during wait time.
The new feature in Messages screens texts from unknown senders and assigns them to a separate folder. These messages are not loud until the user approves them.
Poll creation tools and custom chat backgrounds are also included in Apple. Suggested polls appear automatically depending on the context of the conversation, and Image Playground allows creating images that align with the mood of the chat
Group chats have also gained typing indicators and in-chat Apple Cash payments, making it easy to send money in a chat. This round of updates shows how Apple is increasingly concerned with giving its users control and a seamless messaging experience.
CarPlay with cleaner layouts and new interactions
CarPlay, which is accessed more than 600 million times every day, gets some important improvements in iOS 26. Incoming call displays are now minimised to a smaller form that allows users to stay focused on maps and directions. The new features of pinned conversations, Tapbacks, and Live Activities offer a more fulfilling experience of messaging on the road.
The platform also presents CarPlay Ultra, an enhanced integration with supported vehicles that combines iPhone capabilities with in-car systems. The iOS 26 design is carried to the dashboard area with new layouts that enable climate settings, music playback, and vehicle functions to be controlled in real time. The widgets and dynamic content are now presented in real-time, turning CarPlay into something more interactive and useful without causing distractions.
Apple Music, wallet, and maps receive smarter features
With iOS 26, Lyrics Translation and Lyrics Pronunciation are coming to Apple Music, allowing users to know the meaning and sing along to songs across a variety of languages. These features apply AI to eliminate language barriers in entertainment, and AutoMix uses tempo and beat-matching technology to apply DJ-style transitions between songs.
Apple Wallet also gains Live Activities support in boarding passes, offering users up-to-date flight information on their Lock Screen. Wallet also supports Apple Maps and Find My to provide guidance through terminals and to track bags. Also, retail payments have been simplified, and instalments and rewards can now be used in-store Apple Pay transactions. Such modifications show that Apple is devoted to sensible changes that are based on actual utility.
Apple Games app offers unified access to titles
In iOS 26, Apple introduces Apple Games, which is a central application that shows all installed games. Gamers will be able to follow the events, play their beloved games, and discover new releases at a single site. Apple Games is the new application that improves the Apple Arcade experience, a premium subscription service of the company that offers games.
The application provides notifications about the updates, activities of the friends and featured content, keeping the players informed across platforms. Apple plans to make the iPhone more attractive as a casual and competitive gaming platform, with curated discovery and gameplay insights that co-exist. This single platform can also spark more intense developer interest, entrenching Apple in the mobile gaming.
Expanded accessibility and privacy features
Accessibility continues to evolve in iOS 26. The new Accessibility Reader offers a systemwide experience for easier reading, while Braille Access improves navigation for users with compatible devices, and Braille Access introduces an optimised navigation experience for those using connected braille displays. Other enhancements include updates to Personal Voice, Live Listen, and Background Sounds.
Parents also gain more control through upgraded Child Accounts. These tools enable detailed contact approvals, blurred sensitive content in Shared Albums and FaceTime, and app download exceptions based on age filters. Communication Limits can now be set on a per-contact basis, adding another layer of safety for younger users. Child accounts are easier to set up and move. Parents can approve contacts, manage app downloads, and ensure content moderation in FaceTime and shared albums. These controls help maintain a safe digital space for younger users.
Additional enhancements and device support
AirPods also see major improvements. The latest AirPods 4 and Pro 2 models support studio-quality voice recording and a camera remote function. Users can now start or stop video recordings by pressing and holding the AirPods stem.
The iOS 26 developer beta is already available for download through the Apple Developer Beta program. A wider public beta is expected in the coming weeks, with the final iOS 26 release date anticipated around the iPhone 17 launch window. The iOS 26 developer beta launched immediately following the Apple WWDC 2025 keynote, giving registered developers access to new tools and design APIs.
Apple is expected to roll out the public beta this summer, followed by the final release in fall 2025. All iPhones starting from iPhone 12 and newer are expected to support iOS 26, although some Apple Intelligence features may be limited to devices with Apple Silicon
