iOS 26: A Liquid Glass Revolution and AI’s Next Frontier for iPhone
Cupertino, California – June 11, 2025 – Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 has just concluded, and while the keynote featured its usual array of updates across all platforms, the star of the show was undoubtedly iOS 26. Marking a significant departure in naming conventions (bypassing iOS 19 to align with the calendar year, akin to automotive models), iOS 26 promises to be the most visually striking and intelligently integrated software update for the iPhone in a decade, spearheaded by a radical new design language and deeper AI functionalities.
The developer beta of iOS 26 is available immediately, giving developers a head start on exploring the new features. A public beta is expected in July 2025, allowing eager iPhone users to try out the update. The final, stable release of iOS 26 is slated for September 16, 2025, typically a Tuesday, roughly a week after the anticipated launch of the iPhone 17 series.
A Visual Reimagining: “Liquid Glass” and Redesigned Apps
The most immediately apparent change in iOS 26 is its groundbreaking design language, dubbed “Liquid Glass.” This new aesthetic, which will extend across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS, brings a translucent, glass-like quality to the entire user interface. Expect to see:
- Translucent Elements: Menus, toolbars, and various UI elements will now feature a transparent design, allowing the background content to refract and reflect, creating a sense of depth and fluidity.
- Softer, Rounded Icons: App icons and other visual elements will adopt a more curved, softer look, moving away from the sharper edges of previous iterations.
- Unified Visual Style: This “Liquid Glass” theme aims for a consistent and immersive experience across all Apple devices, ensuring a seamless visual transition as users move between their iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
- Home Screen and Lock Screen Enhancements: The new design extends to these crucial interfaces, offering new levels of personalization. This includes dynamic adaptations of the time display to images and spatial scenes that bring wallpapers to life with a 3D effect when the iPhone is moved.
- Redesigned System Apps: Key native applications like Camera and Photos are receiving streamlined designs. The Photos app, for instance, will feature separate tabs for Library and Collections views for improved organization. Safari, Apple Music, News, and Podcasts will also see redesigned tab bars for a more immersive viewing experience.
Apple Intelligence: The Smarter, More Personal iPhone
While the visual overhaul is captivating, the true power of iOS 26 lies in its deeper integration of “Apple Intelligence,” the company’s ambitious foray into on-device AI. This aims to make the iPhone experience more intuitive, proactive, and personalized:
- Smarter Siri (A Work in Progress): While a fully revamped, conversational Siri wasn’t showcased in its entirety (Apple noted it “needed more time”), iOS 26 lays the groundwork. Expect a smarter, more context-aware Siri capable of more complex requests and deeper integration with on-device actions.
- Visual Intelligence: This powerful feature allows the iPhone to understand what’s on the screen. Users can now:
- Take a screenshot and perform on-screen searches for products, information, or events seen in any app (similar to Google Lens).
- Integrate with ChatGPT: Users can directly ask ChatGPT about what they see on the screen for more detailed inquiries.
- Automated Calendar Additions: Events displayed on the screen can be automatically suggested for calendar additions, pre-populated with dates, times, and locations.
- Genmoji and Image Playground: New creative tools powered by AI will allow users to:
- Generate unique emojis (Genmoji) based on descriptions.
- Create custom backgrounds for chats or other visual elements using AI in “Image Playground.”
- Smarter Shortcuts: Apple Intelligence enables “intelligent actions” within Shortcuts, offering new possibilities for automation and dedicated features like Writing Tools.
- Automated Order Tracking: The system can automatically identify and summarize order tracking details from emails, providing a unified view of purchases even if not made via Apple Pay.
- Live Translation: A highly anticipated feature, live translation will be seamlessly integrated into Messages, FaceTime, and Phone calls, enabling real-time translation of text and audio for effortless cross-language communication. Crucially, Apple emphasizes that this feature runs entirely on the device for enhanced privacy.
Enhanced Communication and Convenience:
iOS 26 brings significant improvements to core communication apps and overall user experience:
- Redesigned Phone App: The Phone app gets a unified layout combining Favorites, Recents, and Voicemails into a streamlined view.
- Call Screening: This feature helps eliminate interruptions by providing real-time context from unknown callers, allowing users to decide whether to answer or ignore.
- Hold Assist: The iPhone can now detect hold music on customer service calls and notify the user when a live agent becomes available.
- Messages Overhaul:
- Typing Indicators in Group Chats: The familiar “three dots” typing indicator will now be visible in group conversations.
- Group Chat Polls: Users can create and share polls directly within group chats, with intelligent suggestions from Apple Intelligence when a poll might be useful.
- Custom Backgrounds: Personalize chat conversations with custom backgrounds.
- Apple Cash Integration: Enhanced options to request, send, and receive Apple Cash in group chats.
- Unknown Sender Screening: Messages from unknown senders will appear in a dedicated folder, giving users more control over their conversation list.
- CarPlay Updates: CarPlay gains a new compact view for calls, Tapbacks, and pinned conversations in Messages. New widgets and Live Activities integration aim for safer driving. “CarPlay Ultra” promises deeper iPhone-vehicle integration, unifying controls and displays across all screens.
- Apple Music Enhancements: Features like Lyrics Translation, Lyrics Pronunciation, and AutoMix (for seamless DJ-style transitions) aim to enrich the listening experience.
- Apple Maps Improvements: A new “Visited Places” feature will privately log locations users have visited, alongside smarter route suggestions based on daily routines and real-time traffic updates.
- Apple Wallet Additions: Support for installment payments, refreshed boarding passes with Live Activities, and improved integration with Maps and Find My for enhanced travel support.
- New Apple Games App: A dedicated app will serve as a central hub for discovering, playing, and tracking games across iPhone, including Apple Arcade titles.
- AirPods Versatility: New features for studio-quality audio recording and camera remote control via stem gestures. Voice Isolation further enhances call clarity in noisy environments.
- iPhone Mirroring to Mac: A highly anticipated feature allowing users to mirror their iPhone screen directly onto their Mac.
Privacy and Accessibility:
Apple continues its commitment to user privacy and accessibility:
- Enhanced Privacy Controls: Advanced fingerprinting protection for Safari Browse is extended to all Browse by default. Communication Limits also get enhancements, including parental approvals for contact requests from kids and blurring sensitive content in FaceTime calls and Shared Albums.
- Accessibility Features: New tools like Accessibility Reader (a system-wide customized reading experience) and Braille Access (a new interface for iPhones with connected braille displays) are introduced, alongside improvements to existing accessibility features.
Device Compatibility and Apple Intelligence Limitations:
iOS 26 will support a wide range of iPhones, from the iPhone 11 series (and later models, including the iPhone SE 2nd generation and newer) all the way up to the upcoming iPhone 17 series. However, it’s crucial to note that not all iPhones will support the full suite of Apple Intelligence features. These AI-powered functionalities, especially those requiring significant processing power, will be exclusive to:
- iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
- All iPhone 16 models (iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max)
- All iPhone 17 models (iPhone 17, 17 Air, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max)
This means while older iPhones will get the visual refresh and many core updates, they won’t experience the full breadth of Apple’s AI advancements.
iOS 26 represents a pivotal moment for Apple’s software. With its “Liquid Glass” design, a revamped user experience, and a deeper integration of AI, it aims to deliver a more intuitive, powerful, and visually appealing iPhone experience. The public eagerly awaits the stable release in September, ready to dive into the future of iOS.