Apple showed iOS 26 to developers on June 9, 2025, and put it in everyone’s hands on September 15. The version number jumped ahead of iOS 18 so that all of Apple’s operating systems carry the same year-based label.
The headline change is a new look called Liquid Glass. It is the biggest visual rework of the iPhone software since iOS 7 in 2013. Apple describes it as a translucent interface that adds depth while keeping things familiar, and it borrows from the glass material used in visionOS on the Vision Pro. Buttons, sliders, toolbars and tab bars bend and shift as you touch and scroll. The same design runs through iPadOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe, watchOS 26 and tvOS 26.
“iOS 26 shines with the gorgeous new design and meaningful improvements to the features users rely on every day, making iPhone even more helpful,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering.
What changes on the screen
App icons and widgets now come in light, dark or tinted versions. The Lock Screen clock resizes to fit the space around it, and photo wallpapers get a 3D effect that follows the movement of the phone. Safari shows web pages edge to edge. Apple Music, News and Podcasts have slimmer tab bars, Camera has a simpler layout, and Photos gains Library and Collections tabs.
Developers get updated APIs so their own apps can pick up the Liquid Glass style.
Calls, messages and Apple Intelligence
Call Screening collects information from a caller before you pick up. Hold Assist pings you when a live agent comes on the line. Messages sorts unknown senders into a separate folder, and chats can have custom backgrounds and polls.
Live Translation works in Messages, FaceTime and Phone and runs on the device itself. Visual intelligence can act on whatever is on the screen: ask ChatGPT a question about it, search Google or Etsy for similar images, or turn an event it spots into a calendar entry. A new Foundation Models framework lets third-party developers use the on-device models behind Apple Intelligence, offline.
Wallet’s boarding passes now show live flight updates and link to Maps and Find My. Apple Pay adds instalments and rewards. Maps has a Visited Places feature that keeps your location history end-to-end encrypted. Apple Music gets Lyrics Translation, Lyrics Pronunciation and AutoMix, and a new Games app collects your titles in one place.
Mixed first reactions
Not everyone likes it. Some users call it modern, clean and impressive. Others complain that see-through elements hurt readability and contrast, that the animations slow older iPhones, or that the look is “ugly” or “cartoony.” Apple has put “Reduce Transparency” and “Increase Contrast” options in settings for people who struggle with it.
The update is free for iPhone 11 and later. Apple Intelligence needs newer hardware, such as the iPhone 15 Pro or later, and is supported in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean and simplified Chinese. It is not available in mainland China.
Sources
- Apple Unveils iOS 26: A Stunning "Liquid Glass" Redesign Marks the Biggest iPhone Interface Overhaul Since iOS 7
- Apple unveils iOS 26 with Liquid Glass, smarter features & redesign
Sources
- Apple Unveils iOS 26: A Stunning "Liquid Glass" Redesign Marks…
- Apple unveils iOS 26 with Liquid Glass, smarter features & redesign
