Apple previewed iOS 26, the subsequent model of iPhone software program, at WWDC 2025. And no, you are not studying that flawed. It is acquired a brand new identify, look and much more. The replace to iOS 26 comes with a whole lot of options and enhancements that I’ve wished for a while, together with name screening.
Final 12 months, we acquired Apple Intelligence, and the 12 months earlier than that, the corporate unveiled the Imaginative and prescient Professional. This 12 months, Apple renamed all of its software program and made it look extra unified. It won’t sound as huge a deal as earlier WWDCs, however in case you hoped Apple would discuss extra about software program and fewer about AI, then this was your 12 months. As a substitute of getting iOS 19, Apple launched iOS 26. Usually, a brand new model of iOS comes out within the fall, however it might obtain smaller updates by the next spring and summer season. So iOS 26 is a reference to the truth that it can get minor updates by 2026.
The largest replace wasn’t the iOS identify change. It was Liquid Glass, a design overhaul that provides transparency and is geared toward lowering distraction. Nonetheless, some folks’s instantaneous response was lower than favorable to the brand new look. I’m fascinated by what I noticed with Liquid Glass and look ahead to testing it as a part of the iOS 26 beta model. However Liquid Glass did not get me as hyped as a number of the different options Apple included in iOS 26, just like the Digicam app redesign.
The theme at this 12 months’s WWDC is consistency — consistency when it comes to the general expertise an Apple gadget proprietor has. iOS 26 is a good instance of this as a result of it brings a classy and modern really feel to the iPhone’s software program.
Try my iOS 26 video, by which I stroll you thru all the massive options within the new iOS and present you a few smaller ones (some would possibly discover them mundane) that I am enthusiastic about.
iOS 26 will launch this fall and is offered now as a developer beta. The general public beta model shall be out there in July. You want an iPhone 11 or newer to make use of iOS 26. If you wish to give it a spin earlier than it is launched, I like to recommend ready for the general public beta model and even then not operating it in your fundamental iPhone.