iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 with new Liquid Glass design are here
Apple has released iOS 26 and iPadOS 26, the latest operating system updates for the iPhone and the iPad. iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 are available for free for all compatible devices. You can download the new software from Apple over the air under “Settings > General > Software Update.” However, due to high demand, it may take a few minutes at launch for the updates to be available to all users.
iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer models, as well as the second-generation iPhone SE. If you own an iPhone XR, XS, or XS Max, iOS 18 is your last iOS update. As for the iPad, iPadOS 26 runs on all iPads that also support iPadOS 18, with the exception of the 7th-generation iPad. Apple also released iOS/iPadOS 18.7, iOS/iPadOS 16.7.12, and iOS/iPadOS 15.8.5 for those unable to update to iOS 26.
iOS 26 with Liquid Glass design
iOS 26 introduces an all-new Liquid Glass design with translucent menus, buttons, and icons.
Apple describes Liquid Glass as “a new translucent material that reflects and refracts its surroundings, bringing greater focus to content and delivering a new level of vitality to controls, navigation, app icons, widgets, and more.”
iOS 26 Lock Screen
In iOS 26, the lock screen clock automatically adjusts to fill the empty space, and you can view animated album art for supported Apple Music songs in full screen.
New iMessage Features
Here are some of the most important new features and changes in the Messages app in iOS 26:
- Backgrounds: In iOS 26, you can add a background to each conversation that will be visible to all participants. You can choose from Apple’s selection of backgrounds or set your own photos as the background. You can disable conversation backgrounds in the Settings app if needed.
- Polls: You can now create polls in group chats where participants can vote on topics or questions, such as which restaurant they’d like to go to. Apple Intelligence detects when a poll might be useful and suggests one.
- Apple Cash in group chats: You can now send and receive Apple Cash in group chats.
- Type indicators in group chats: You can now see who is typing in group chats.
- Add contact button in group chats: This button makes it easier to add people to the Contacts app in group chats.
- Select option: Tapping and holding a message bubble displays a new Select option. Tapping it allows you to select a section of text in a message, whereas previously you could only copy the entire message.
- Unknown Sender Screening: When this setting is enabled, messages from unknown senders in iOS 26 are automatically moved to the “Unknown Senders” folder and notifications for them are hidden until you accept them.
Call Filtering and Hold Assist
iOS 26 adds some useful features to the Phone app: Call Filtering and Hold Assist.
Call Screening is an optional feature in iOS 26 that asks unknown callers for their name and the reason for their call. And with Hold Assist, your iPhone can automatically wait on hold during a call and notify you when the agent on the other end is ready.
Adaptive Performance Mode
iOS 26 introduces an Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode.
Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make “performance adjustments” as needed to extend the battery life of an iPhone running iOS 26. This includes, for example, slightly reducing the display brightness, allowing some activities to “take longer,” and automatically enabling Low Power Mode when the iPhone’s remaining battery life reaches 20 percent.
Adaptive Power Mode is only available on iPhone 15 Pro models and newer. The setting can be enabled in the Settings app under “Battery” & “Power Mode.”
AutoMix
A new AutoMix feature in the Apple Music app enables seamless transitions from one song to the next, just like a DJ would. AutoMix replaces the previous crossfade function.
Preview App
iOS 26 extends a version of Apple’s Preview app from the Mac to the iPhone, giving you a built-in app for editing and markup of PDFs and images.
CarPlay Upgrades
If you use CarPlay with an iPhone running iOS 26, the new Liquid Glass design is extended to the CarPlay interface. Like the iPhone, the new look includes shimmering app icons and translucent interface elements.
Starting with iOS 26, you can reply to messages with standard Tapbacks like a heart, thumbs up, or exclamation point directly from CarPlay.
You can now view your pinned conversations in the Messages app on CarPlay.
Starting with iOS 26, CarPlay features a new compact view for incoming phone calls, so you can still see other information on the screen, such as turn-by-turn directions. CarPlay’s dashboard screen can now display live activity, so you can see things like a flight’s arrival time at a glance.
The regular version of CarPlay now has a widget screen for things like calendar appointments and HomeKit accessory controls.
With iOS 26, Apple says you’ll be able to stream videos wirelessly to the CarPlay screen via AirPlay. For safety reasons, video playback is only possible when the vehicle is parked to avoid distractions while driving. The connected iPhone detects the trip and stops playback.
Car manufacturers need to add support for this feature, so it may be limited to newer vehicles and take some time to roll out.
Safari
Safari, Photos, and the Camera app have simplified navigation, and many apps have new Apple Intelligence options. Messages, FaceTime, and the Phone app, for example, all support live translation. Messages includes backgrounds and new group chat features. The Phone app can check calls for you and hold them if you need to wait for someone.
Visual Intelligence
Visual Intelligence can now understand what’s on your screen and answer questions about what you’re looking at. Apple has improved Genmoji and Image Playground with new features. The Wallet app is smarter than before and can track all your orders, and Apple Music offers a useful new AutoMix feature for song transitions.
iPadOS 26
On the iPad, Apple has redesigned multitasking and window design to provide a more Mac-like experience. iPad apps can be placed freely and have menu bars. The Phone app is now available on the iPad, as is a new Games app. The iPad also has almost all the features of iOS 26. Apple’s full iOS 26 release notes can be found here.
Release Notes
- Liquid Glass makes interactions across iOS more enjoyable, refracts and reflects content in real time, and brings even more focus to what you see on your screen.
- Adaptive Time on the Lock screen fluidly adjusts to the available space on your Lock screen, complementing the subjects of your photos and adjusting as notifications and live activity appear.
- Spatial Scenes let you give your wallpapers a new 3D effect, bringing them to life as you move your iPhone.
- App icons get a fresh new look with Liquid Glass, and there are more ways to customize them with updated light or dark appearances, new color-tinted icons, and more. and a new, clean look
- Animated album art makes music playback even more immersive, with artist-designed full-screen animations on supported albums
Visual Intelligence
- Learn more about the content in any app by pressing the same keys you use to take a screenshot.
- Highlight to search for something specific on your screen
- Jump into Google search results based on the content on your screen, find related items in your most-used third-party apps, or ask ChatGPT about what you’re watching
Live Translation
- Automatically translate incoming text in Messages, including group messages, and send a reply in your preferred language – it will be translated upon delivery.
- In FaceTime, live translated captions will appear on the screen during the call.
- In the phone, the audio will be translated and read aloud in real time. You can follow the transcription if the call is on speakerphone.
- Hear a hands-free translation with AirPods when someone nearby is speaking to you in a different language.
Shortcuts
- Smart Actions let you use writing tools, Image Playground, and other Apple Intelligence features in your Shortcut.
- “Use Model” is a new action that gives you direct access to Apple Intelligence models to get answers that flow into the rest of your Shortcut, or use ChatGPT if you want to tap into its extensive world knowledge and expertise.
Genmoji & Picture Playground
- Create Genmoji by mixing two emojis together or combining an emoji with a description to create what you envision.
- Choose expressions for your Genmoji of people and make the characters look happy, shocked, and more.
- Personal attributes like hairstyle and facial hair can be changed for Genmoji inspired by people from your photo library.
- More Styles with ChatGPT allows you to explore additional styles like oil painting and anime, or you can tap “Any Style” to describe the picture and style you want.
Camera
- The streamlined design makes accessing photo and video capture modes even easier, while Other modes remain just a swipe away.
- Lens cleaning prompts alert you when your lens is smudged, so you can capture the clearest photo (iPhone 15 and later).
- The new AirPods gesture lets you take a photo or start recording video by simply pressing the stem on AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 and later.
Photos
- Separate tabs for Library and Collections allow for easier navigation, and you can access search in any view.
- The Collections view can be customized with three different layout options, and it’s easy to collapse and rearrange collections.
- Event detection, such as concerts and sporting events, lets you see the details of an event and access related content. access
Telefon
- The new unified layout option combines your favorites, recent messages, and voicemails
- Call screening lets you review incoming calls from unknown numbers and find out the caller’s name and reason for the call before the phone rings
- Filtered calls from unknown numbers can be moved to a new section of your call list, so they’re out of your way
- Hold Assist holds your place in the queue while you wait to speak to a live agent and calls you to return to the call when the live agent is available
Messages
- By screening With Unknown Sender, you retain control over who can reach you. Verified messages are also placed in a new section of your conversation list, so they’re out of your way.
- Backgrounds can be added to make conversations more personal. You can use built-in backgrounds, your own photos, or images created with Image Playground.
- Polls can help you find out everyone’s availability for an upcoming dinner or decide on a group gift.
- By entering indicators in groups, it’s easy to see who’s next to reach out.
CarPlay
- A new design with Liquid Glass helps clearly highlight each interactive area of the dashboard and offers a new tab bar design for easy navigation in apps.
- Thanks to the compact design for incoming calls, you can easily keep an eye on the next turn in your favorite navigation app.
- Tapbacks in Messages give you an easy way to respond to messages while driving, such as with a thumbs up or a Heart
- Pinned conversations appear at the top of Messages, making it easy to access your most frequently used conversations.
- Widget stacks appear to the left of the dashboard so you can always keep an eye on your favorite apps.
- Live activity automatically appears on the dashboard, making it easy to stay on top of real-time events on the go.
Maps
- With Places You’ve Visited in iOS 26, you can allow your iPhone to recognize the places you visit, such as restaurants or stores, so you can easily find them in the Maps library and share them.
- Favorite Routes improve your frequent trips by learning the routes you take between places you visit regularly, such as your commute from home to Work
Music
- In iOS 26, translation and pronunciation of lyrics helps you understand the meaning of your favorite songs and makes it easier to sing along, even if you don’t speak the language.
- AutoMix lets one song flow into the next like a DJ, providing a continuous playback experience with time-stretching and beatmatching.
- Pin songs, albums, playlists, and more to the top of the Library for quick and easy playback.
Wallet
- Updated boarding passes give you more access to current and relevant information about your flights and airports, as well as quick access to features. Airline App
- Order Tracking (Beta) in iOS 26 uses Apple Intelligence to find emails sent by retailers or delivery carriers, bringing your complete order details, progress notifications, and more together in one place in the Wallet app.
- When you pay in-store with Apple Pay on iPhone, installment financing options from your bank or card provider are available for your credit and debit card purchases.
Apple Games
- The new app in iOS 26 is the all-in-one solution for gaming on iPhone. It helps you dive back into your favorite games, discover new favorites, and play with friends in new ways.
- Challenge friends, track scores in real time, and see what else your friends are playing.
- Access your entire game library, including new and past downloads from the App Store and Apple Arcade, and start playing when you’re ready.
- Recommendations for new games are based on the games you enjoy.
Protect children online with iOS 26
- Using communication requests in iOS 26, children can send requests to their parents when new phone numbers are available that they’d like to communicate with.
- Existing accounts can be easily converted to child accounts. to make the most of all available parental control features.
- Age-appropriate app experiences allow parents to allow children to access third-party apps within their age group, allowing them to access age-appropriate content and features.
- Communication safety has been enhanced to intervene when nudity is detected during live FaceTime calls and to blur nudity in shared albums in Photos.
Accessibility
- Nutrition labels on App Store product pages inform you before downloading whether accessibility features like VoiceOver, Voice Control, and closed captions are available in apps and games.
- The Accessibility Reader in iOS 26 makes it easier to read text in any app. It offers new ways to customize text with extensive options for font, color, and spacing, as well as support for spoken content.
- With Braille Access, you can effortlessly take notes, read documents, access live captions, launch apps, and perform various other tasks with your connected braille display.
Other
- Preview in iOS 26 is a new app for iPhone for viewing and editing PDFs with powerful features like AutoFill, a document scanner, and export options.
- FaceTime features a redesigned home screen with personalized contact posters for your recent callers and video messages that play as you scroll.
- Reminder suggestions use Apple intelligence to identify relevant tasks when you open an email, website, note, or Share other text with the Reminders app.
- Local Recording records your iPhone’s audio and video during a video conference in high quality, so you can create interviews or podcasts with clear recordings.
- The audio input selector in Control Center makes it easy to select the right microphone for any app, even on the web.
- Estimated charge time shows you how long your iPhone is expected to take to charge.
- Adaptive Power Management learns your typical battery usage and makes automatic adjustments on high-usage days to extend battery life throughout the day (starting with iPhone 15 Pro).
- The blood pressure measurement in the iOS 26 Health app can send you reminders to measure your blood pressure using a third-party device. Apply the cuff and create a PDF report for your doctor.
- The new Workout tab in the Fitness app offers exercise tracking, allowing you to record metrics like pace and distance—and even more if you have a compatible heart rate monitor like the AirPods Pro 3. With an Apple Watch, you can take advantage of the larger screen and use features like creating a custom workout.
Apple iPad
Windows
- The powerful new window system allows you to flexibly resize apps and place windows wherever you want.
- Window controls make it easy to close, minimize, and view apps in full screen mode.
- The tiling feature lets you arrange apps side by side, in thirds, or quarters to work with multiple apps at once.
- Exposé shows you all open windows at a glance.
- The menu bar provides easy access to all the commands in an app, or you can use search to quickly find a specific command.
Files
- The updated list view with customizable columns and collapsible folders shows even more files and their details.
- Open With lets you choose the app you use to open a file and set the default app for a file or file type.
- Folders in the Dock let you access your files and folders from anywhere.
Audio and Video Recording
- The Audio Input Selector in Control Center lets you easily select the right microphone for any app, even on the web.
- Local Recording records your iPad’s audio and video in high quality during a video conference, so you can produce an interview or podcast.
- Background tasks allow you to continue long-running tasks while switching between apps and are used as Live activity is displayed so you always know what’s going on.
New Apps for iPadOS
- Preview is a dedicated app for viewing and editing PDFs. It supports Apple Pencil and offers powerful features like AutoFill, a document scanner, image editing, and various export options.
- Journal is an app that lets you capture your thoughts, illustrate them, and document moments with photos, videos, audio recordings, locations, and more. Write your journal with the keyboard or create entries in your own handwriting with Apple Pencil. Multiple journals allow you to save entries. Separate, flexible layouts for different aspects of your life ensure engaging and personalized entries. An attractive map view makes it easy to find listings based on their location.
- Apple Games is the all-in-one platform for gaming on your iPad. Access your entire game library, including new and past downloads from the App Store and Apple Arcade, and get recommendations for new games based on your favorites. Plus, challenge friends, track real-time scores, and see what else your friends are playing.
- With the Phone app, you can make and receive calls from your iPhone and use new features like call filtering, hold assist, and live translation.
