Apple launched iOS and iPadOS 26 for iPhone and iPad, which introduces a brand new Liquid Glass design theme and superior multitasking capabilities for iPad (see the total function record beneath). Apple jumped to the brand new “26” conference to deliver naming consistency to all of its working techniques, representing the upcoming 2026 yr. Like all software program replace, we suggest ready till your app or accent developer has time to check it out and confirm that there aren’t any compatibility points.
Design
Liquid Glass makes interactions throughout iOS extra pleasant, refracts and displays content material in actual time, and brings much more focus to what you’re viewing in your display
Adaptive time on the Lock Display screen fluidly resizes to the obtainable area in your Lock Display screen, complementing the topics of your pictures and adapting as notifications and Reside Actions seem
Spatial scenes allow you to add a brand new 3D impact to your picture wallpapers, bringing them to life once you transfer your iPhone
App icons get a contemporary new look with Liquid Glass, and there are extra methods to customise them with up to date mild or darkish appearances, new color-tinted icons, and a brand new clear look
Animated album artwork makes music playback extra immersive, with full-screen artist-designed animations on supported albums
Visible Intelligence
Study extra in regards to the content material in any app by urgent the identical buttons you utilize to take a screenshot
Spotlight to seek for one thing particular in your display
Bounce into Google search outcomes based mostly on the content material in your display, discover associated gadgets out of your most-used third-party apps, or ask ChatGPT about what you’re taking a look at
Reside Translation
In Messages, robotically translate incoming texts, together with group messages, and ship a response in your most well-liked language – it’ll be translated when it’s delivered
In FaceTime, reside translated captions seem on display in the course of the name
In Telephone, audio is translated and spoken out loud in actual time, and you may comply with together with a transcription when the decision is on speaker
With AirPods, hear a translation hands-free when somebody close by speaks to you in a distinct language
Shortcuts
Clever actions allow you to benefit from Writing Instruments, Picture Playground, and different Apple Intelligence options inside your shortcut
“Use mannequin” is a brand new motion that allows you to faucet immediately into Apple Intelligence fashions to get responses that feed into the remainder of your shortcut, or use ChatGPT if you wish to faucet into its broad world information and experience
Genmoji & Picture Playground
Make Genmoji by mixing two emoji collectively, or by combining an emoji with an outline to create what you take into account
Select expressions on your Genmoji of individuals, making characters look comfortable, shocked, and extra
Private attributes like coiffure and facial hair might be modified for the Genmoji which might be impressed by folks out of your Images library
Extra kinds with ChatGPT enables you to discover further kinds like Oil Portray and Anime, or you possibly can faucet Any Fashion to explain the picture and elegance you need
Digicam
Streamlined design makes it even simpler to entry the Photograph and Video seize modes, with different modes nonetheless only a swipe away
Lens cleansing hints warn you when your lens is smudged so you possibly can seize the clearest doable picture (iPhone 15 and later)
New AirPods gesture enables you to take a photograph or begin recording video simply by urgent the stem on AirPods 4 and AirPods Professional 2 and later
Images
Separate tabs for Library and Collections gives simpler navigation, and you may entry Search in each view
Collections view might be personalized with three completely different structure choices, and it’s simple to break down and reorder the collections
Recognition for occasions like concert events and sports activities enables you to see the small print of an occasion and entry associated content material
Telephone
New unified structure possibility brings collectively your Favorites, Recents, and Voicemails
Name Screening enables you to display incoming calls from unknown numbers, getting you the caller’s identify and motive for the decision earlier than the telephone rings
Screened calls from unknown numbers might be positioned in a brand new space of your name record so that they’re out of your method
Maintain Help retains your spot in line when you wait to talk to a reside agent, and rings you to return to the decision when the reside agent is there
Messages
Screening for unknown senders lets you keep accountable for who can attain you, and places screened messages in a brand new space of your dialog record so that they’re out of your method
Backgrounds might be added to conversations to make them extra private, with the choice to make use of built-in backgrounds, your individual pictures, or pictures made with Picture Playground
Polls may help you discover out everybody’s availability for an upcoming dinner plan or resolve on a bunch reward
Typing indicators in teams make it simple to know precisely who’s about to chime in
CarPlay
A brand new design with Liquid Glass helps make every interplay space of the Dashboard distinct, and offers a brand new tab bar design for straightforward navigation in apps
Compact design for incoming calls makes it simple to maintain your eyes on the upcoming flip in your favourite navigation app
Tapbacks in Messages provides you a easy solution to react to messages whereas driving, like with a thumbs up or a coronary heart
Pinned conversations seem on the high of Messages, making it simple to get to your most frequent conversations
Widgets stacks might be discovered to the left of the Dashboard, so you possibly can keep on high of your favourite apps at a look
Reside Actions seem robotically on the Dashboard, making it simple to maintain observe of actual time occasions on the go
Maps
Visited Locations provides you the choice to permit your iPhone to detect the locations you go to, like a restaurant or store, so you possibly can simply discover them once more within the Maps library and share them simply
Most popular routes enhance your frequent drives by studying the routes you’re taking between locations you recurrently go to, like your commute from residence to work
Music
Lyrics Translation and Pronunciation assist you to perceive the that means behind your favourite songs and makes it simple to sing alongside, even when you don’t know the language
AutoMix transitions one music into the subsequent like a DJ does, time stretching and beatmatching to ship a steady playback expertise
Pin songs, albums, playlists, and extra on the high of Library for fast, simple playback
Pockets
Up to date boarding passes offer you extra entry to well timed and related details about your flights and airports, in addition to fast entry to airline app options
Order monitoring (beta) makes use of Apple Intelligence to search out emails despatched by both retailers or supply carriers and brings your full order particulars, progress notifications, and extra into one place within the Pockets app
Installment financing choices out of your financial institution or card supplier on your credit score and debit card purchases are accessible once you pay with Apple Pay in-store on iPhone
Apple Video games
New app is the all-in-one vacation spot for gaming in your iPhone, serving to you leap again into the video games you like, uncover new favorites, and play with buddies in new methods
Problem buddies, observe scores in actual time, and see what else your mates are taking part in
Entry your total recreation library, together with new and previous downloads from the App Retailer and Apple Arcade, and launch if you find yourself able to play
Suggestions for brand spanking new video games are based mostly on the video games you like to play
Defending Youngsters On-line
Communication Requests give youngsters the flexibility to ship requests to their mother and father when there are new telephone numbers they need to have the ability to talk with
Convert current accounts to Youngster Accounts simply to take full benefit of all obtainable little one security protections
Age-appropriate experiences in apps provides mother and father the choice to allow youngsters to share their age vary with third-party apps, to allow them to entry content material and options suited to their age group
Communication Security expands to intervene when nudity is detected on reside FaceTime calls, and to blur out nudity in Shared Albums in Images
Accessibility
Accessibility Diet Labels in App Retailer product pages let you know if accessibility options like VoiceOver, Voice Management, and Captions can be found inside apps and video games earlier than you obtain them
Accessibility Reader makes textual content in any app simpler to learn by providing you with new methods to customise textual content with in depth choices for font, colour, and spacing, in addition to assist for Spoken Content material
Braille Entry helps you’re taking notes, learn paperwork, entry Reside Captions, launch apps, and carry out numerous different duties effortlessly together with your related braille show
Different
Preview is a brand new app on iPhone devoted to viewing and enhancing PDFs, with highly effective options like AutoFill, a doc scanner, and export choices
FaceTime has a reimagined touchdown web page that options customized Contact Posters on your current callers and video messages that play as you scroll
Reminder Ideas use Apple Intelligence to determine related duties once you share an e mail, web site, word, or different textual content to the Reminders app
Native seize data the high-quality audio and video out of your iPhone whereas on any video conferencing name, letting you produce an interview or podcast with the clearest recordings
Audio enter picker in Management Heart makes it simple to decide on the best microphone for every app, together with on the internet
Estimated time to cost lets you understand how lengthy it can take on your iPhone to cost
Adaptive energy learns your typical battery utilization and, on larger utilization days, makes automated changes that will help you lengthen your battery life all through the day (iPhone 15 Professional and later)
Blood strain logging expertise within the Well being app can ship you reminders to measure your blood strain utilizing a third-party cuff and create a PDF report on your healthcare supplier
New Exercise tab within the Health app brings exercise monitoring, so you possibly can observe metrics like tempo and distance, and much more when you have a suitable coronary heart charge monitor like AirPods Professional 3. When you’ve got an Apple Watch, you possibly can benefit from the bigger display whereas utilizing options like constructing a Customized Exercise
Adaptive Temperature robotically adjusts your thermostat to your most well-liked temperature once you’re in your method residence, and adjusts to avoid wasting power once you depart for the day or go on trip
Customized snooze choices allow you to modify how lengthy you possibly can snooze when your alarm goes off, with choices between 1 and quarter-hour
Password Historical past offers a timeline of modifications you’ve made to an account in Passwords, together with a historical past of previous passwords and generated robust passwords
Notes enables you to import and export Markdown formatted information
iPad-specific options:
Windowing
Highly effective new windowing system means that you can fluidly resize apps and place home windows precisely the place you need
Window controls makes it simpler to shut, decrease, and make apps full display
Window tiling enables you to organize apps facet by facet, in thirds, or in quarters so you possibly can work throughout extra apps directly
Exposé enables you to see all of your open home windows at a look
Menu bar gives easy accessibility to all of an app’s instructions, or you should utilize search to rapidly discover a particular command
Recordsdata
Up to date record view with resizable columns and collapsible folders shows much more of your information and their particulars
Open with means that you can select the app you open a file in and you may set the default app for a file or file sort
Folders within the Dock allow you to entry your information and folders from anyplace
Audio & Video Recording
Audio enter picker in Management Heart makes it simple to decide on the best microphone for every app, together with on the internet
Native seize data the high-quality audio and video out of your iPad whereas on any video conferencing name, letting you produce an interview or podcast
Background duties enable for lengthy operating duties to proceed once you change apps and are displayed as Reside Actions so that you at all times know what’s operating
New Apps on iPadOS
Preview is a devoted app to view and edit PDFs that gives full assist for Apple Pencil and highly effective options like AutoFill, a doc scanner, picture enhancing, and numerous choices for export
Journal is an app the place you possibly can jot down your ideas, illustrate, and seize moments utilizing pictures, movies, audio recordings, locations, and extra. Journal together with your keyboard, or create entries in your individual handwriting utilizing Apple Pencil. A number of journals allow you to hold entries for various elements of your life separate, versatile layouts make entries really feel stunning and private, and a phenomenal map view makes it simple to search out entries based mostly on their location
Apple Video games is the all-in-one vacation spot for gaming in your iPad. Entry your total recreation library, together with new and previous downloads from the App Retailer and Apple Arcade, and discover suggestions for brand spanking new video games based mostly on ones you like. Plus, problem buddies, observe scores in actual time, and see what else your mates are taking part in
Bret is a senior vp at Sporty’s and senior flight teacher for Sporty’s Academy. Along with Bret’s instructing obligations, Bret leads Sporty’s video manufacturing and app growth crew and serves as editor of iPad Pilot Information. As an airline transport pilot, Bret is a senior captain in Sporty’s company flight division.
