Exciting changes are coming to your <a href="https://news.quantosei.com/2025/07/08/apple-seeds-third-watchos-26-and-visionos-26-developer-betas/” title=”Apple Seeds Third watchOS 26 & visionOS 26 Beta: What's New?”>iphone this fall with the anticipated release of iOS 26. Announced at Apple’s WWDC 2025 keynote, this major update introduces a fresh visual aesthetic, significant quality-of-life enhancements across core apps, and subtle yet powerful integrations designed to make your daily interactions smoother and more intuitive. Forget traditional sequential numbering; Apple is aligning its mobile operating system version with the upcoming year, bringing iOS 26 to compatible iPhones in late 2025. Get ready for a smarter, more fluid iPhone experience.
Why iOS 26 and Not iOS 19?
One of the most immediate talking points about this year’s update is Apple’s decision to jump the version number from iOS 18 (which is still receiving updates this summer) straight to iOS 26. The company explained this shift as a move towards a year-based system. Much like car models are designated by the year they represent, Apple’s operating systems released in late 2025 will carry the “26” moniker to align with the year ahead. This simplifies identification and provides a clearer future roadmap across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS, all of which are adopting the ’26’ designation.
Introducing the Liquid Glass Design
Out of all the announcements, the Liquid Glass design overhaul stands out as the most visually striking change in iOS 26. Apple describes this new aesthetic as a “translucent material” that brings a fresh look and feel across the entire operating system, including the Lock Screen, Home Screen, and various apps.
Imagine a display where elements appear clear and fluid, adapting to both light and dark modes dynamically based on your surroundings. This translucent effect extends to app icons and widgets, giving the interface a sense of depth and sophistication. You’ll also notice revamped buttons with a “floating” design in apps like Phone and Maps. These elements are crafted to be less distracting than current interface controls while remaining easily visible and accessible.
Liquid Glass isn’t just for the iPhone; it’s designed to create a more cohesive visual identity across Apple’s entire software ecosystem. This unified aesthetic will also appear in macOS Tahoe 26 and iPadOS 26, ensuring a consistent look and feel whether you’re on your phone, tablet, or desktop. While the design sparked some initial debate, with comparisons drawn to older interfaces like Windows Vista Aero, Apple has already begun incorporating user feedback into the beta versions, reportedly adjusting transparency levels in certain areas based on early reactions. On the Lock Screen specifically, the new design creates a more vibrant appearance where elements like the time dynamically interact with your chosen wallpaper, bringing photos to life with subtle 3D effects as you move your device.
Powerful New Features Arriving This Fall
While the design is visually prominent, iOS 26 also delivers a wealth of practical quality-of-life improvements and smart enhancements focused on core functionality. Following past years where ambitious AI plans were hinted at but saw delays, Apple seems to have concentrated this year on refining existing experiences and integrating intelligence more subtly where it provides immediate value.
Enhanced Communication Tools
The Phone app receives a welcome redesign. You can now easily scroll through contacts, recent calls, and voicemail messages all on a single screen, streamlining navigation. A standout addition is Hold Assist, a feature designed for those tedious waits on customer service lines. Instead of listening to hold music, your iPhone will wait for you and notify you the moment a live agent is ready to speak.
Messages and FaceTime are also getting smarter. Live Translation is now a built-in capability, allowing for real-time translation within text messages, providing live translated captions during FaceTime calls, and even offering spoken translations for standard phone calls. This feature aims to break down language barriers, enabling easier conversations with people who speak different languages, though early examples suggest interactions might involve slight pauses for translation.
For group chats, iOS 26 introduces the ability to create polls directly within conversations, making collective decisions—like choosing a restaurant or planning an outing—much simpler than sifting through numerous messages. Additionally, new screening tools are coming to Phone, FaceTime, and Messages. These tools help filter out spam texts and calls from unknown senders, automatically directing them to a separate folder and giving you more control over who appears in your main communication lists. For incoming calls from unknown numbers, Call Screening provides a discreet way to handle them; your phone won’t ring initially, but will inform you after the caller states their name and purpose, allowing you to decide whether to pick up.
Smarter On-Screen Actions
Building on previous capabilities, Visual Intelligence in iOS 26 is significantly enhanced. This feature allows you to search, ask questions, and take action directly with anything displayed on your iPhone screen. Whether it’s identifying an object in a photo, extracting text from an image, or performing a quick search based on screen content, Visual Intelligence makes your device’s screen a powerful interactive tool. This extends to facilitating actions, such as easily adding an event to your calendar based on information shown on screen within another app.
Updates Across Apple Apps
Several other built-in applications receive notable updates:
Photos: User feedback brings back the separate tabs for Library and Collections, making it much easier to navigate and find your photos without endless scrolling. iOS 26 can also transform a favorite photo into a “spatial scene” using visionOS technology, creating a 3D-like effect.
Maps: The app becomes more proactive, learning your preferred routes and alerting you to potential delays even before you start driving. A new Visited Places feature helps you remember and quickly revisit or share locations like cafes or shops.
Wallet: Enhanced functionality allows you to create a digital ID using a U.S. passport, usable at TSA checkpoints, in apps, and in person. Boarding passes gain convenient access to airport maps, integrated luggage tracking via Find My, and shareable Live Activities.
Apple Music: New features include AutoMix for seamless, DJ-like transitions between songs and Lyrics Translation to help you understand the meaning of music in different languages.
Games: A new dedicated Games app serves as a central hub for managing your game library, discovering new titles friends are playing, receiving personalized recommendations, and competing in score-based Challenges with friends. A Game Overlay function provides quick in-game access to invites and settings.
Journal: The app now supports creating multiple journals, adding images inline, and viewing entries on a map based on location.
Other System Enhancements
iOS 26 includes refinements to several system-level functions:
CarPlay: Integrates Live Activities and Tapbacks from Messages for better glanceable information while driving.
Accessibility: Introduces new features for Braille users, Vehicle Motion Cues to help reduce motion sickness, and expanded reading experience customization.
Family Features: Improvements for managing Child Accounts and enhanced parental controls.
Audio: Improved audio recording quality for video conference calls and support for high-definition recording in the Camera app using AirPods Pro (2nd gen) with the H2 chip. These AirPods can also be used as an AirPods Camera Remote to start video recording.
Clock: Offers customizable snooze durations between 1 and 15 minutes.
FaceTime Communication Safety: A feature discovered in the developer beta uses on-device detection to pause communication if nudity is detected, presented as a child safety measure that protects user privacy by processing locally.
Siri’s Future and AI Integration
While a major AI-driven overhaul for Siri was previously hinted at for WWDC 2024, Apple has stated that this enhanced version is delayed until sometime “in the coming year.” However, Apple Intelligence, the suite of AI features, is integrated throughout iOS 26 in less prominent but impactful ways, as seen with Visual Intelligence and AI-powered features mentioned for Messages and Siri Shortcuts (as detailed in iPadOS 26 previews).
There are reports that Apple is exploring the possibility of integrating third-party large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude to bolster Siri’s capabilities in the future. This potential move suggests that while the big Siri transformation might not arrive with the initial iOS 26 launch, 2026 could indeed be a significant year for the voice assistant’s evolution, making it smarter and more versatile through external AI power.
Will Your iPhone Get iOS 26? Compatibility List
Fortunately, most recent iPhone models will be compatible with the iOS 26 update. Apple has confirmed that any iPhone released in 2019 or later is eligible. However, a few older models that currently run iOS 18 — specifically the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max — will not receive iOS 26.
The full list of iPhones expected to support iOS 26 includes:
iPhone SE (2nd generation and later)
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone 12
iPhone 12 mini
iPhone 12 Pro
iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPhone 13
iPhone 13 mini
iPhone 13 Pro
iPhone 13 Pro Max
iPhone 14
iPhone 14 Plus
iPhone 14 Pro
iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 15
iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16 (all expected models)
- www.engadget.com
- tech.yahoo.com
- www.cnet.com
- www.apple.com
- www.zdnet.com
Any new iPhone models announced alongside or before the iOS 26 release this fall, such as the rumored iPhone 17 series, are also certain to support the new operating system out of the box.
Getting Your Hands on iOS 26: Beta and Final Release
For those eager to try out the new features early, Apple offers a public beta program. The developer beta (currently Beta 2) is already available, and the public beta is expected to launch this month (July 2025).
To participate in the public beta, you’ll need to sign up for the Apple Beta Software Program via beta.apple.com using your Apple ID. Once the beta is live for the public, you can install it directly from your iPhone’s settings: go to Settings > General > Software Update and select the iOS 26 Public Beta option.
A crucial word of caution: beta software is not final and may contain bugs or instability. It is generally advisable not to install beta versions on your primary device unless you are prepared for potential issues.
As for the final release, Apple typically launches its major iOS updates in the fall, usually within a week of the annual September iPhone event. Based on past patterns, you can expect the official public release of iOS 26 to roll out to compatible devices around mid-to-late September 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Apple’s new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26?
Liquid Glass is a new visual aesthetic introduced in iOS 26 that brings a translucent, fluid appearance to elements across the iPhone interface. This includes the Lock Screen, Home Screen, Control Center, and apps, making icons, widgets, and buttons appear clear and dynamic. It adapts to light and dark modes and aims to create a cohesive look across all of Apple’s operating systems.
Which iPhone models are compatible with the iOS 26 update?
iOS 26 will be compatible with most iPhones released in 2019 or later. This includes the iPhone SE (2nd generation and newer), the iPhone 11 series, iPhone 12 series, iPhone 13 series, iPhone 14 series, iPhone 15 series, and the upcoming iPhone 16 models. Older models like the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max will not be able to update to iOS 26.
When will the final version of iOS 26 be released to the public?
Apple is expected to release the final public version of iOS 26 in the fall of 2025. Historically, major iOS updates become available around the same time as the new iPhone models launch, typically in mid-to-late September, following the annual Apple event. A public beta is available earlier, usually starting in July.
Conclusion
iOS 26 represents a thoughtful evolution of the iPhone’s operating system. While a dramatic AI overhaul for Siri is still on the horizon, this update focuses on tangible improvements to usability and design. The Liquid Glass aesthetic promises a beautiful, modern interface, while features like the revamped Phone app, enhanced Messages tools, powerful Visual Intelligence, and extensive app updates bring genuine value to daily iPhone use. With its release expected this fall, alongside the new iPhone models, iOS 26 is set to make the iPhone experience more efficient, engaging, and seamlessly integrated than ever before. Get ready to see your iPhone in a whole new light.
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