iOS 26 is here with Liquid Glass redesign, new Camera, and Apple Intelligence promises
Apple has launched iOS 26 at WWDC, with big enhancements to the user interface with Liquid Glass, a new Camera app, and a Photos app rework.
iOS 26 - Image Credit: Apple
Just as expected for a WWDC keynote, the 2025 edition has seen the launch of a new version of iOS. However, unlike the previous versions, Apple has gone for a big name change, by going for iOS 26 instead of iOS 19.
It was reasoned in rumor reports that it is a way to bring all of its operating systems to the same version number, to avoid confusion. It is also one that is year-based since it will only be officially released in 2025 for a few months and it will be 2026 for most of its existence.
Big design changes
The new name is accompanied by a new look, as Apple attempts to bring a more unified appearance to its ecosystem.
Taking design cues from visionOS, Apple has brought a more glass-like appearance to the iPhone, referred to as "Liquid Glass. There are more glossy and edge-lit textures in view, as well as a more bubble-like appearance to everything.
The Lock Screen gains animated Apple Music artwork - Image Credit: Apple
This all starts with the lock screen with a new dynamically adjusting glass-like font for wallpapers. Those wallpapers can also be converted into a Spatial Photo, while the wallpaper can also be switched for animated album art from currently-playing Apple Music tracks.
App adjustments
The changes aren't limited to the Home Screen and general interface, as some apps will get a bunch of changes too.
The Camera app is getting a UI refresh to simplify controls. Previous iterations of the app have been loaded up with more controls, making it harder to navigate over time.
Camera app - Image Credit: Apple
Simplifying the interface should help more people take photographs or record videos on their mobile devices. You literally get two options now: Photo or Video.
The camera controls are still there but with lots of them hidden in a top bar, such as to quickly switch between formats for an image.
Another big app to get changes is Safari, which benefits from the same glass-like appearance as the rest of iOS. Functionally, it will be similar to the previous version, but the glass-like UI will be a major alteration to the core app.
You're now getting full-screen webpages, with a floating tab and address bar above the content.
This full-screen experience is extended to FaceTime, which also makes the controls disappear during a call. You also get new contact posters on the FaceTime homepage.
The Phone app hasn't had that many changes in its lifetime, but it will in iOS 26. The app gains a new unified layout to combine contacts, recent calls, and voicemails into a single window, making it faster for users to call a contact.
Call changes - Image Credit: Apple
There's also Call Screening, which will help by automatically answering calls from unknown numbers and getting the caller's name and reason for calling. Once that information has been given, only then will the iPhone ring and display the details, so the user can choose whether to answer it or not.
Hold Assist can automatically detect hold music and keep your place in the line, while not keeping you hanging around and waiting.
Messages gets custom backgrounds and updates to Group Chats. You can now set up a poll, with Messages using AI to suggest polls you can use.
Messages and translation for calls - Image Credit: Apple
The group chats can also include requests to send and receive Apple Cash. Group chat also gets typing indicators.
Messages also benefits from spam detection, options to screen new message senders, and an expanded use of Genmoji that uses ChatGPT images.
Apple Music benefits from lyric translations, including pronunciation guides. Meanwhile, Automix will automatically beat matches between tracks.
For Maps, users can see new daily commute features, with the app learning your preferred routes. They will then be offered in Maps direction queries.
Visited Places will detect where you've gone, which can help you know where you have been in the past. Users can also remove the locations if they wish.
The Apple Wallet now has over 20 car brands that work with Car Key support. More are on the way, with Porsche being one of the big inbound automotive names.
Apple also mentioned the continuing work on Digital ID for travelers. Flight status widgets are also on the way.
Apple also introduced the Games app, a standalone app from the App Store.
Apple Intelligence
The big alteration this time is Apple's allowance for third-party developers to gain access to its models. The change will make it so that developers can tap into Apple Intelligence features and the models that run them, from within their apps.
This change could be crucial in enabling the construction of more apps with AI, as it lets developers take advantage of the on-device processing capabilities. Cloud-based Apple Intelligence processing is still around, but allowing for on-device processing of AI functions for apps could be a big move for the future.
More consumer-facing, Live Translation will use AI to translate text and speech from others live, in apps other than just translate. For example, you can see transcripts of others speaking to you in a FaceTime call, or in a phone call, participants could hear an AI-generated voice after they finished speaking.
Naturally, there's an API developers can use with it.
On-screen Visual Intelligence - Image Credit: Apple
Visual Intelligence has also been extended to the iPhone screen. It's possible to search for something you're looking at on your iPhone, with your iPhone.
Taking a screenshot brings up Visual Intelligence tools at the bottom right. You can search for images but also use advanced features, such as extracting date and time information from an online event and adding them to the Calendar.
All new iOS, same arrival time
Based on previous form, Apple should be bringing out a developer beta for iOS 26 later on Monday, as it starts the testing process. A public beta is unlikely to be made available for a number of weeks, as the initial developer betas are considered more risky to use and not intended for public use.
Selected new features of iOS 26 - Image Credit: Apple
The formal release to the public will occur in the fall, coinciding with the release of the next iPhone generation, iPhone 17.
This story is breaking, refresh often for the most current information
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Comments
None of which will be immediately available.
Looks absolutely fantastic in some ways.
And a total backwards step in others.
Overall, I think it's a win. Better than I was expecting.
but readability in some cases is hurt a bit and focus is hurt a bit. Seeing redacted video and imagery in areas where there is not need or usefulness is a bit off-putting. I am sure they will address that in future updates. But overall, it's a really nice, classy look.
Pro and con to this one. But far more pro than con.
They should go back to cat names: macOS Baby Jaguar.
In static images, the UI looks kinda mid. but in motion, it's simply amazing.
It really is. Cheetah/Jaguar. It's very clearly an update to the old Aqua UI.
In defense of that, Aqua was insanely amazing when it came out. Nothing like it before or since. And this is a nice, modern way of bringing it to today's marketplace. Overall, I think it's the right way to go. sometimes the best way to move forward is to respect the past - especially when the past was so good.
Like cheetah and Jaguar, some aspects are overdone. they will balance these in future updates. right now, it's about making a big splash.
So it’s only been a couple of hours of use, but I am not, so far, a fan of this UI
Some of the transparency effects make the UI harder to see and use
some of the sizing is a bit all over the place
Let’s See though. It’s only beta 1