iOS 26 is here — overview, Liquid Glass, new features & device compatibility
Apple has released iOS 26 to the public (Sept 15). The update brings a major visual overhaul called Liquid Glass — a translucent, adaptive design across lock/home screens and apps — plus a long list of new features across iPhone, iPad and AirPods.
Top highlights
- Liquid Glass: Translucent UI, new floating buttons, adaptive to light/dark modes. You can reduce transparency via Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Reduce Transparency, and lower motion in Motion settings.
- Phone & Call features: Redesigned Phone app with combined contacts/recent/voicemail screen and Hold Assist (notify you when an agent picks up).
- Live Translation: Real-time translation in Phone, FaceTime and Messages using Apple Intelligence.
- Messages: Polls in group chats and filtering unknown senders to a separate folder.
- Visual Intelligence: Search what’s in screenshots (similar to reverse image search).
- Camera & Photos: Easier Camera UI, lens-clean reminders, and restored Photos tabs (Library/Collections).
- AirPods updates: Studio-quality audio recording, camera remote control, Live Translation (on supported AirPods), and the new AirPods Pro 3 with heart-rate monitoring.
- Other: New Preview app for PDFs, customizable lock screens, adjustable alarm snooze (1–15 min), screenshot search tools, and a FaceTime communication-safety feature for nudity detection (on-device).
Compatibility
Most iPhones from 2019 onward are supported (iPhone 11 series and newer). Notable excluded models include iPhone XR/XS/XS Max. For device details, see Apple’s iPhone 17 page: https://www.apple.com/iphone-17/
AirPods purchase/search
If you want to look for the new AirPods Pro 3 on Amazon, here’s a search link (affiliate): AirPods Pro 3 on Amazon. (Availability may vary by region.)
Should you update?
Apple also released iOS 18.7 alongside iOS 26 for devices that aren’t compatible with the new OS or that prefer security-only updates. If you want the latest features now, update to iOS 26; if you prefer stability, wait a few days for early bug fixes.
Notes
- All external links to news RSS sources have been omitted per request.
- Apple official pages used for product details: iPhone 17.
What are you most excited to try in iOS 26? Reply below — I’ll share tips for the top-requested features.