At its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025, Apple introduced iOS 26, marking the biggest visual overhaul of the iPhone’s operating system since iOS 7 in 2013. This update brings a fresh design language dubbed “Liquid Glass,” alongside a host of new features aimed at enhancing usability, communication, and integration across Apple’s ecosystem.
Unified Naming Across Apple’s Platforms
One of the first changes Apple announced is a new naming convention for its operating systems. Instead of incremental version numbers like iOS 19 or macOS 16, Apple will now align all its OS versions with the year following their release. Hence, this year’s update is iOS 26, with corresponding updates for iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS all sharing the “26” suffix. The Mac remains an exception, with the new macOS named “Tahoe,” continuing Apple’s tradition of California-inspired names.
This shift simplifies understanding which software version is current, making it easier for users and developers to stay on the latest releases.
The “Liquid Glass” Design: Transparency Meets Depth
The hallmark of iOS 26 is its “Liquid Glass” design, inspired by the interface of Apple’s Vision Pro spatial computing headset. This design introduces translucent, frosted-glass elements throughout the system UI, including buttons, menus, and toolbars. The effect creates a sense of depth and layering, allowing background content to subtly show through interface elements.
Key UI components such as the lock screen clock dynamically adjust their size and opacity to blend seamlessly with wallpapers, creating a more immersive and personalized experience. The Safari browser now features a transparent address bar that fades as you scroll, maximizing screen real estate for content.
While the design is visually striking, Apple has balanced aesthetics with usability by incorporating subtle lighting and shadow effects to maintain clarity and legibility.
Core App Updates: Simplicity and Functionality
Apple has revamped several core apps to align with the new design and improve user experience:
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Camera App: The interface is streamlined to focus on the essentials — users can quickly switch between photo and video modes with a swipe, while advanced settings are tucked away but easily accessible. This minimalistic approach aims to reduce clutter and help users concentrate on capturing moments.
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Phone App: The app now consolidates favorites, recent calls, and voicemails into a single unified tab, simplifying navigation. New call screening features automatically answer unknown callers, asking for their identity and purpose before deciding whether to alert the user. Additionally, the innovative “Hold Assist” feature detects when you’re on hold with a live agent, allowing you to pause the call and resume exactly where you left off without listening to hold music.
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Messages: Group chats gain customizable backgrounds that sync across devices, polls for easy decision-making, and typing indicators to see who’s responding. Messages from unknown senders are filtered into a separate folder, helping users avoid spam without missing important communications.
Live Translation Powered by On-Device AI
One of the most compelling additions is the integration of live translation across Messages, FaceTime, and Phone calls. Powered by Apple’s on-device AI models, this feature translates conversations in real-time without requiring an internet connection, preserving privacy and responsiveness.
Supported languages include English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, and simplified Chinese for text, with a slightly narrower set for FaceTime. This breakthrough enables seamless communication across language barriers, whether texting, video calling, or speaking on the phone.
iPadOS 26: Bringing Mac-Like Multitasking to the Tablet
iPadOS 26 receives a major upgrade that brings it closer to a full-fledged laptop experience. The new windowing system allows users to resize, move, and tile multiple app windows freely, with windows retaining their size and position even after being minimized or closed.
A new menu bar, reminiscent of macOS, provides quick access to app commands, while the pointer becomes more precise when using a trackpad or mouse. The Files app gains enhanced organization tools, including customizable folders with colors and icons, making file management more intuitive.
Additionally, the Mac’s Preview app is now available on iPad, enabling users to annotate PDFs and images with Apple Pencil support.
macOS Tahoe: Smarter Spotlight and Continuity
macOS Tahoe embraces the Liquid Glass aesthetic and introduces a smarter Spotlight search that not only finds files and apps but also allows users to perform actions directly from the search bar, such as sending emails or creating notes.
Continuity features are enhanced, enabling users to handle phone calls and view live activities (like food delivery status) from their Mac, bridging the gap between devices.
watchOS 26: AI-Powered Fitness and New Gestures
The Apple Watch update includes the Liquid Glass design and introduces “Workout Buddy,” an AI-driven fitness coach that provides personalized encouragement based on your workout history. A new “wrist flick” gesture lets users quickly dismiss notifications or silence calls with a simple flick of the wrist.
Live translation features from iOS 26 also come to the watch, supporting communication on the go.
visionOS 26: Enhanced Spatial Experiences
For Vision Pro users, visionOS 26 adds spatial widgets that remain anchored in your environment, improved 3D photo rendering, and support for PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers, expanding gaming possibilities. The system also offers more lifelike “Personas” for virtual avatars, enhancing presence during calls.
Other Noteworthy Features
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Apple Music: Now supports lyric translations and pronunciation guides, helping users sing along in multiple languages. The new AutoMix feature creates seamless DJ-style transitions between songs.
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Games App: A new centralized hub for Apple Arcade and other games, featuring leaderboards, challenges, and social features to connect with friends across devices.
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CarPlay: Redesigned to keep navigation front and center, with compact call notifications and support for widgets and live activities.
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AirPods: Firmware updates enable studio-quality vocal recording and new camera controls, such as taking photos or videos by tapping the AirPods stem.
Availability and Beta Access
Developer betas for iOS 26 and other OS updates are available immediately, with public betas expected next month. The official releases will roll out in the fall, likely alongside new hardware announcements.
Conclusion
While iOS 26 may not revolutionize the iPhone experience overnight, Apple’s “Liquid Glass” design breathes new life into its software ecosystem, creating a cohesive and modern aesthetic across devices. The integration of live translation and AI-powered features marks meaningful progress in making Apple devices more accessible and intelligent.
The most transformative update arguably comes to iPadOS, which finally delivers the multitasking and window management capabilities users have long awaited, positioning the iPad as a more viable laptop alternative.
As Apple continues to refine its AI offerings and expand developer access to on-device intelligence, the coming year promises further enhancements that could reshape how we interact with our devices.
Stay tuned for hands-on reviews as the betas become available and the full versions launch later this year.
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