Apple has officially released iOS 26 on September 15, 2025. This version is more than just incremental tweaks. It introduces a major design shift, new intelligence features, enhanced privacy and accessibility, and lots of smaller but useful improvements.
What’s Actually New
Here are some of the biggest changes you’ll notice in iOS 26:
Liquid Glass Design
Apple has rolled out a new design language called Liquid Glass. It brings translucency, reflections and refractions, more glass-like effects, dynamic lighting, and updated icons. The UI has been made more fluid, with controls, menus, and widgets adopting a more layered, “glassy” appearance.
Apple Intelligence + Live Translation
Apple is pushing further into AI/ML with new features under the Apple Intelligence label. Live translation is now built into Phone, FaceTime, Messages. That means both spoken & written content can be translated in real time on device. Visual Intelligence has been enhanced to work with screenshots so you can query, search, or act (e.g. calendar, web lookup) on content you capture.
Phone & Messages Upgrades
- Call screening and tools to filter or handle unwanted or unknown callers more intelligently.
- Polls and customizable backgrounds in Messages.
- Better organization of call logs, voicemails, and contacts.
Apps & System Features
- A new Games app consolidates games and Game Center features.
- CarPlay is smarter: Tapbacks, live activities, more glanceable info when driving.
- Reminders can suggest tasks from text or webpages.
Accessibility, Safety, Device Support Changes
Support for older devices has shifted: you need at least an iPhone 11 (or SE 2nd gen or later) to get iOS 26. Devices like iPhone XR, XS, XS Max are excluded.
System-wide Reader mode, enhanced Braille tools, expanded motion cues.
Communication safety in FaceTime and Shared Albums, more parental controls.
Pros & Cons: What You Might Like vs What to Watch Out For
Benefits
- Visually fresh: If you care about how your device looks and feels, Liquid Glass is a noticeable upgrade.
- Translation and cross-language communication get much easier. Useful for travel, multilingual communication.
- Better spam and unwanted call control is welcome, especially if you’ve had issues.
- Utilities like polls in messaging, smarter reminders, more context-aware features improve daily usability.
- Accessibility and privacy enhancements strengthen Apple’s promise in those areas.
Potential Pain Points
- Visual effects like strong translucency or refraction may affect readability or performance, especially on older supported devices. Some users in betas noted that certain UI elements became harder to read.
- Not all “AI” features are available on all devices: some require newer hardware. So you might see some missing bits depending on your iPhone model.
- Because of its design overhaul, people used to the old layouts may need time to adapt. Some menus have shifted or changed visually.
- The update size is large, and you’ll need sufficient free storage, good WiFi, and battery before installing.
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