The iOS 26 update introduces a major visual overhaul with its Liquid Glass interface, showcased at WWDC 2025. This unified design aims to provide a consistent user experience across all Apple devices. The new interface features spatial wallpapers that make the main subject pop out, icons with soft borders, and translucent menus. The Control Center also receives a translucent makeover, with icon manipulation to distinguish functions. Icon designs are subtly tweaked with shifting gradients. While Apple Intelligence improvements take a backseat, iOS 26 offers new AI capabilities. The Shortcuts app integrates AI-powered automations, and Image Playground gains expression modification and ChatGPT integration. New Genmoji allows users to combine emojis, and Visual Intelligence is enhanced for screenshots, offering features like unimage searches and direct ChatGPT queries.
Translation features include on-the-fly translation in Phone calls, FaceTime (untested), and Messages for iPhone 15 Pro or later. AirPods Pro 3 support live translation, with other models to follow. Supported languages include English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish (calls/FaceTime), and Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean (Messages). The system translates unfiltered language.
Additional features include call screening, Hold Assist, Messages app enhancements (group polls, Apple Cash, typing indicators, and spam filtering), Photos app updates (Library/Collections tabs, event info, spatial photos), new apps (Preview, Games), and enhancements to existing apps like Music (translations, favorites), Reminders (auto-create reminders), Maps (visited places, preferred routes), CarPlay (widgets, notifications), and AirPods (new control features).