The following model of iPhone software program is iOS 26 — and no, that is not a typo. Apple introduced the brand new identify and new Liquid Glass take a look at WWDC 2025 earlier this week. The replace to iOS 26 comes with plenty of options and enhancements that I’ve needed for a while, together with name screening.
Final yr, we acquired Apple Intelligence, and the yr earlier than that, the corporate unveiled the Imaginative and prescient Professional. This yr, Apple renamed all of its software program and made it look extra unified. It may not sound as huge a deal as earlier WWDCs, however if you happen to hoped Apple would discuss extra about software program and fewer about AI, then this was your yr. As an alternative of getting iOS 19, Apple launched iOS 26. Usually, a brand new model of iOS comes out within the fall, however it may possibly obtain smaller updates by means of the next spring and summer time. So iOS 26 is a reference to the truth that it is going to get minor updates by means of 2026.
The most important replace wasn’t the iOS identify change. It was Liquid Glass, a design overhaul that provides transparency and is aimed toward decreasing distraction. Nonetheless, some individuals’s instantaneous response was lower than favorable to the brand new look. I’m fascinated by what I noticed with Liquid Glass and sit up for testing it as a part of the iOS 26 beta model. However Liquid Glass did not get me as hyped as among the different options Apple included in iOS 26, just like the Digicam app redesign.
The theme at this yr’s WWDC is consistency — consistency by way of the general expertise an Apple system proprietor has. iOS 26 is a superb instance of this as a result of it brings a complicated and modern really feel to the iPhone’s software program.
Try my iOS 26 video above, through 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 obtainable now as a developer beta. The general public beta model will likely be accessible 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 working it in your important iPhone.
