iOS 26 Brings Liquid Glass Design, AI-Powered Experiences, and Smarter Connectivity to iPhone Apple has officially previewed iOS 26, marking a major update to the iPhone experience with an elegant new design, deeper Apple Intelligence integration, and meaningful enhancements to apps like Phone, Messages, CarPlay, and Apple Music.

Unveiled today, the update showcases Apple’s continued push to merge seamless usability with privacy-first AI capabilities, delivering a more personal, productive, and expressive mobile experience.

From the visual overhaul led by Liquid Glass to intelligent message screening and real-time translation, iOS 26 reflects Apple’s vision for a smarter iPhone—one that adapts, assists, and connects users more intuitively than ever before.

A New Look Built on Liquid Glass

The visual identity of iOS gets a refresh with the introduction of Liquid Glass—a translucent, light-reactive material used throughout the OS. It brings depth and motion to app icons, widgets, tab bars, and system controls. Whether you’re on the Lock Screen, browsing Safari, or playing music, Liquid Glass dynamically adapts to content and movement, adding a sense of vitality to everyday interactions.

The Lock Screen time display now fluidly adjusts around photos, while spatial wallpapers respond to iPhone motion with subtle 3D effects. App redesigns include a cleaner Camera UI and a simplified Photos layout, alongside floating, responsive navigation bars in apps like Apple Music and News.

Apple Intelligence Expands Across the System

iOS 26 integrates Apple Intelligence more deeply than ever, with several new features built entirely on-device to ensure privacy. Key highlights include:

• Live Translation in Messages, FaceTime, and Phone calls, allowing real-time multilingual conversation while preserving user privacy.

• Visual Intelligence that understands on-screen content—helping users search, identify objects, or pull event data into Calendar with a tap.

• Genmoji and Image Playground enhancements for creating custom emoji and stylised images.

• Summarisation and content recognition in Mail, Wallet, and Notes for streamlined day-to-day use.

Developers also gain access to Apple’s on-device foundation model through the new Foundation Models framework, allowing AI features to be added to third-party apps without the need for cloud processing or additional costs.

Smarter Communication with Phone and Messages

In the Phone app, Apple introduces Call Screening, which captures caller intent before you decide to answer. Hold Assist alerts you when a real person joins a call after waiting on hold. Messages gets its own screening feature for unknown senders, improving spam management and user control.

Users can also create polls directly within Messages, with Apple Intelligence smartly suggesting when a poll might be helpful in conversation. Unique conversation backgrounds and improved group chat features like typing indicators and Apple Cash integration round out a more interactive experience.

Refined CarPlay and App Improvements

iOS 26 upgrades CarPlay with a refined layout that minimises distractions. Incoming calls now appear in a compact view, while support for pinned conversations, Tapbacks, widgets, and Live Activities enhances functionality on the road.

Apple Music gets Lyrics Translation and Lyrics Pronunciation, along with AutoMix, which uses AI to create seamless transitions between songs. Apple Maps introduces Visited Places—secure, on-device location history—and improved predictive routing.

Apple Wallet now supports installment payments and shows Live Activities for flights. It even integrates Maps and Find My for real-time airport navigation and luggage tracking.

New Features Across the Ecosystem

• Apple Games, a new app, centralises all iOS gaming experiences in one place.

• AirPods gain camera remote and studio-quality audio recording features.

• Child Accounts are easier to manage with new parental control options.

• Safari now includes systemwide fingerprinting protection for added privacy.

• Accessibility sees major upgrades with Accessibility Reader and Braille Access, as well as enhancements to Live Listen and Personal Voice.

With iOS 26, Apple isn’t just refreshing design or dropping isolated features—it’s building a smarter, more context-aware OS that remains private by design. The enhancements across communication, AI, and daily usability reinforce iPhone as not just a tool, but a personalised assistant. And by opening its on-device intelligence to developers, Apple is laying the groundwork for a broader AI app ecosystem on its own terms.

The developer beta is available now, with a public beta expected next month and full rollout this autumn for iPhone 11 and newer.