Apple finally did it. They skipped the numbers. If you were looking for iOS 19 or 20, you can stop. The new software is officially iOS 26, and it’s basically the biggest visual overhaul we've seen since the skeuomorphism died back in 2013.
Honestly, it’s a lot to take in. You’ve probably seen the screenshots of the "Liquid Glass" design floating around. It's not just a marketing term; the whole UI now looks like it's floating behind a pane of frosted glass that reacts to how you tilt your phone. But beyond the eye candy, the iOS 26 release notes hide some massive functional changes that will actually change how you use your iPhone every day.
The Liquid Glass Redesign is More Than Just Shiny
The first thing you’ll notice—and likely the thing you’ll either love or hate—is the transparency. Apple calls this "Liquid Glass." Icons aren't just flat squares anymore. They have depth. If you move your phone, the light on the icon shifts.
It sounds like a gimmick, but it’s actually functional. The new Home Screen allows for "Clear" icons that let your wallpaper bleed through, which is great if you spent hours picking the perfect photo.
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What’s New on the Lock Screen
- Dynamic Time Placement: The clock now moves. If your wallpaper has a person in it, the time will tuck itself behind their head or move to the bottom of the screen to avoid covering their face.
- Glass Opacity Toggles: You can finally adjust how "see-through" your notifications are.
- Animated Album Art: If you’re playing music, the entire Lock Screen becomes a living version of the album cover.
Apple Intelligence and the Death of "Old Siri"
We've been hearing about "Smarter Siri" for years. This time, it’s real. In iOS 26, Siri has been rebuilt from the ground up using Apple's own large language models. It no longer just searches the web; it understands what’s happening on your screen.
If a friend texts you a flyer for a concert, you can just say, "Siri, add this to my calendar," and it knows which concert, which date, and which venue without you tapping a single button.
Visual Intelligence
There is a new feature called Visual Intelligence that basically turns your camera into a super-search tool. You point it at a restaurant, and it pulls up the menu and reviews. Point it at a plant, and it tells you if it's poisonous to your cat. It’s deeply integrated with Apple Intelligence, and honestly, it makes the old Google Lens feel a bit clunky.
The Camera App Finally Got a Facelift
The Camera app has looked the same since, well, forever. In iOS 26, it’s been stripped down. There are only two main toggles at the bottom: Photo and Video. Everything else—Slo-mo, Pano, Portrait—is tucked into a swipeable menu that stays out of your way until you need it.
Creators are going to love the new Audio Input Chooser. If you have a USB-C microphone or AirPods Pro connected, you can manually select which mic the phone uses for video recording. No more guessing if it’s picking up the internal mic or your external one.
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Messages and Phone: No More "Unknown" Stress
Spam is getting out of hand, and Apple knows it. The iOS 26 release notes detail a new "Call Screening" feature. When an unknown number calls, a virtual assistant answers for you. You see a live transcript of what they’re saying on your screen. If it’s a delivery driver, you can pick up. If it’s a scammer, you just hit block.
Messages Upgrades
- Custom Backgrounds: You can finally set a background for specific threads.
- Polls: Group chats finally have native polling. No more scrolling through 50 messages to see who wants pizza or tacos.
- Partial Copy: You can finally highlight and copy part of a text message instead of the whole bubble. It took 19 years, but we’re here.
The Games App and Multi-tasking
Apple is trying to make gaming a "thing" on the iPhone again. There’s a new dedicated Games app that acts like a console dashboard. It tracks your achievements and lets you challenge friends to beat your high score in real-time.
On the productivity side, Stage Manager has finally jumped from the iPad to the iPhone. If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, you can plug your phone into a monitor and get a full desktop-style interface. It's not quite a MacBook replacement, but for knocking out some emails on a hotel TV, it’s a lifesaver.
What Most People Are Missing
The biggest "hidden" feature in iOS 26 is actually for people who might be leaving. For the first time, Apple has included a native Transfer to Android tool in the settings. This is clearly a move to satisfy EU regulators, but it’s available worldwide.
Also, if you're in the EU, you're getting Notification Forwarding. This lets you see your iPhone notifications on other devices, even non-Apple ones, which is a massive shift in how the ecosystem usually works.
Battery and Performance
Under the hood, there’s a new "Adaptive Power" mode. It uses AI to learn your routine. If it knows you usually don't charge your phone until 11 PM, it will throttle background tasks at 6 PM to make sure you have enough juice to get home. It’s smarter than the old Low Power Mode because you don't have to turn it on manually.
Is Your iPhone Compatible?
Apple dropped support for a few older models this year. To run iOS 26, you'll need an iPhone 11 or newer.
- iPhone 17, 17 Pro, and the new iPhone Air (pre-installed)
- iPhone 16 series
- iPhone 15 series
- iPhone 14, 13, and 12 series
- iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max
- iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)
If you're still rocking an iPhone XR or XS, I have bad news. Those devices are officially capped at iOS 18.
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Actionable Steps for the Update
Updating to a version this big can be messy. Before you hit that download button in Settings > General > Software Update, do these three things:
- Audit your storage: iOS 26 needs about 8GB of free space just to unpack the installer. If you're full of 4K videos, move them to iCloud or a laptop first.
- Back up via cable: iCloud backups are fine, but for a "point zero" release, a physical backup to a Mac or PC is way safer if the install loops.
- Check your banking apps: High-security apps sometimes take a few days to catch up with new iOS versions. If you rely on your phone for work or banking, maybe wait for the 26.0.1 patch.
The stable version of iOS 26 is out now, with iOS 26.3 currently in beta testing for a late January release. That update is expected to bring the new Black Unity wallpapers and even more EU-specific interoperability features.