Updates on Apple iOS 26
Apple released iOS 26 on September 15, 2025, introducing a transformative update for iPhone users, compatible with iPhone 11 and newer models. This major release, announced at Apple’s “Glowtime” event, brings a stunning Liquid Glass design, enhanced Apple Intelligence features, and significant improvements to core apps, making it one of the most ambitious updates since iOS 7.
The Liquid Glass design overhauls the iPhone’s aesthetic with translucent menus, buttons, and icons that reflect and refract surroundings, creating a fluid, vibrant interface across the Lock Screen, Home Screen, Control Center, and apps. The Lock Screen’s clock dynamically adapts to wallpapers, and full-screen animated album art enhances the Apple Music experience. This design ensures a consistent, delightful user experience.
Apple Intelligence, integrated with privacy-first principles, powers advanced features like Visual Intelligence, allowing users to search and interact with on-screen content. Writing Tools enable text rewriting, proofreading, and summarization across apps, now supporting eight additional languages, including Japanese and Korean. Image Playground’s new Sketch style lets users create artistic drawings from text prompts or photo library concepts, syncing via iCloud.
The Messages app introduces polls, custom backgrounds, and Live Translation for seamless multilingual communication in Messages, Phone, and FaceTime. Call Screening and Hold Assist in the Phone app reduce distractions by filtering unknown callers and notifying users when a live agent is available. Messages from unknown senders are moved to a dedicated folder, enhancing user control.
Maps now learns regular routes, alerting users to delays, and Visited Places helps recall past locations. Apple Music’s AutoMix feature uses AI for DJ-like song transitions, while Lyrics Translation decodes song meanings. Wallet supports digital U.S. passport IDs, shareable boarding passes, and airport maps. CarPlay gains Tapback reactions and Live Activities for better connectivity.
Security remains robust, with iOS 26 addressing vulnerabilities through regular updates, building on iOS 18.6.2’s zero-day flaw fix. The update, available via Settings > General > Software Update, is a free upgrade for eligible devices. However, iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR are unsupported, though Apple may provide occasional security patches.
iOS 26 redefines the iPhone experience with its bold design, intelligent features, and app enhancements, solidifying Apple’s leadership in mobile innovation. Users can explore these updates today, with more features expected in future releases.
Key Features to Apple iOS 26
1. Liquid Glass Design: Translucent, fluid interface across iOS.
2. Apple Intelligence: Visual Intelligence, Writing Tools, multilingual support.
3. Messages: Polls, backgrounds, Live Translation, unknown sender screening.
4. Phone: Call Screening, Hold Assist, unified layout.
5. Maps: Route learning, Visited Places, hiking enhancements.
6. Apple Music: AutoMix, Lyrics Translation.
7. Wallet: Digital passport, boarding pass features.
