iOS 26: The future of iPhone with Liquid Glass, Visual Intelligence and Game Hub

Apple has officially unveiled iOS 26, bringing the biggest overhaul to its operating system in years. At the heart of the changes is Liquid Glass, a new design language clearly influenced by visionOS, promising a more natural and vibrant user experience thanks to translucent, crystal-like visuals and advanced haptics.

The Lock Screen has been redesigned, supporting dynamic wallpapers with depth, interactive widgets and striking spatial effects. The clock widget now adapts to your notifications and photos.

The Camera app gets a circular UI, bringing all photo and video settings together in one place, with easier access through simple gestures.

The Photos app has been refreshed with new tabs such as "Library" and "Collections", while any 2D photo can now be turned into a 3D scene, making use of the device's spatial capabilities.

Safari features a compact, unobtrusive tab bar that disappears as you scroll, allowing you to see more content.

FaceTime gets a new landing page with personalised posters and the option to send video messages. Meanwhile, the Phone app introduces new tabs for favourite contacts and offers brief voicemail summaries.

Two standout features are:

• Call Screening, which filters unwanted calls from unknown callers in the background,
• and Hold Assist, which waits on hold for you and notifies you when someone answers.

The Messages app supports AI-generated backgrounds, polls in group conversations and Apple Cash payments directly in the chat. New anti-spam tools are also built in.

Live Translation now supports subtitles in FaceTime and is available in Messages and Calls, thanks to an upgrade powered by Apple Intelligence.

In the car, CarPlay expands with a Liquid Glass design and widgets, while the new CarPlay Ultra version extends across all the car's screens, including the dashboard.

Apple Music features new animated cover art, AutoMix for smooth transitions and Music Pins for your favourite tracks. Also making its debut is the brand-new Games app, which brings titles, events and social features together in one experience.

Visual Intelligence offers new capabilities such as recognising on-screen elements and searching via screenshots, with ChatGPT support for further analysis and interaction.

Apple Maps now learns your preferred routes and adds the "Visited Places" feature, while Wallet supports airport maps and new flight-sharing features.

To appreciate the scale of the radical changes Apple is introducing with this new software update, you only need to look back to 2016 — the last time we saw such a significant transition between two models. Back then, the iPhone 7, succeeding the iPhone 6s and 6 Plus, impressed fans of the range with innovative changes that caused a stir. iOS 26 is available in developer beta, with a public beta next month and the final release in the autumn.

iOS 26 is available in developer beta, with a public beta next month and the final release in the autumn.