IOS 26

iOS 26
iOS 26 running on an iPhone 15
Developer	Apple
Written in	C, C++, Objective-C, Swift, assembly language
Source model	Closed with open-source components
General availability	September 15, 2025;25 days ago (2025-09-15)
Latest release	26.0.1 [1] (23A355) [2] (September 29, 2025;11 days ago (2025-09-29)) [±]
Latest preview	26.1 Beta 2 [3] (23B5059e) [4] (October 6, 2025;4 days ago (2025-10-06)) [±]
Available in	54 languages [5]
List of languages Arabic, Basque, Bengali (India), Bhojpuri (India), Bulgarian, Cantonese (Hong Kong), Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch (Belgium), Dutch (Netherlands), English (Australia), English (India), English (Ireland), English (Scotland) English (South Africa), English (United Kingdom), English (United States), Farsi, Finnish, French (Belgium), French (Canada), French (France), Galician, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Kazakh, Korean, Lithuanian, Malay, Mandarin Chinese (China mainland), Mandarin Chinese (Taiwan), Marathi, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Slovakian, Slovenian, Spanish (Argentina), Spanish (Chile), Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Supported platforms	iPhone
Preceded by	iOS 18
Official website	apple.com/os/ios
Tagline	New look. Even more magic.
Support status
Supported. Drops support for all iPhones with an A12 Bionic SoC, including the iPhone XS/XS Max and iPhone XR.
Articles in the series
iPadOS 26 macOS Tahoe visionOS 26 tvOS 26 watchOS 26

iOS 26 ^[6] is the nineteenth and the current major release of Apple's iOS operating system for the iPhone. It was announced on June 9, 2025, at the 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), ^[7] and released on September 15, 2025. ^[8]

It is the direct successor to iOS 18; its version number was brought forward to 26 as Apple changed its version numbering convention for consistency across its operating systems. ^{[9] [10]}

Features

System features

User interface

iOS 26 introduces a unified design language, known as Liquid Glass, across all Apple platforms. Influenced by visionOS, the design replaces the flat design language introduced in iOS 7 to utilize rounded, translucent elements with the "optical qualities of glass" (including refraction), which react to motion, content, and inputs. Multiple apps, including Camera and Safari, have redesigned user interfaces to reflect the new design language. ^{[11] [12]}

Home screen and lock screen

Widgets on the lock screen can now be placed at the bottom of the screen. ^[13]

The height of the time shown on the lock screen is dynamic, and can increase or decrease depending on the objects recognized in the background. ^[13]

In addition to the Dark, Light, and Tinted themes, iOS 26 adds a "Clear" theme that changes the Home Screen to use icons that use the glass-like effects introduced with Liquid Glass. ^[14]

Battery

• A new energy-saving feature called Adaptive Power was introduced for periods of higher device usage. It makes minor adjustments, such as reducing screen brightness and slowing down processes, without blocking background activities like the traditional low-power mode does. The iPhone 15 Pro models and up support it as it requires Apple Intelligence. ^[15]
• The estimated time to full charge is now displayed on the Lock Screen and in Settings. ^[15]
• In the Settings app, daily battery consumption is color-coded: orange for higher usage and blue for lower or typical usage. Each app shows whether it sent more notifications, ran in the background longer, or consumed more battery than usual. ^[15]

Accessibility

• Reader Mode is a system-level reading mode designed to assist users with blindness, low vision, or other reading impairments. ^[16]
• Braille Access turns the user's phone into a full braille note-taking tool, eliminating the need for external devices. It supports braille input (via screen or braille display), Nemeth code for calculations, reading braille files, and app navigation. It also provides real-time conversation transcripts on the braille display. ^[17]
• Head Tracking allows the user to control the pointer on the screen by tracking head movements and perform to customized actions based on facial movements and expressions (e.g. raise eyebrows, open mouth, smile, stick out tongue, eye blink, etc.) ^[17]
• A new audio equalizer with two modes, "Comfort" and "Focus", for automatic frequency adjustment has been added in the Accessibility settings under Audio and Visual Effects.

Apple Intelligence

Main article: Apple Intelligence

iOS 26 introduces new Apple Intelligence features; Apple Intelligence models were made more efficient and support additional languages. ^[18] It supports live translation of voice and text conversations using on-device models, and Genmoji can now be invoked to merge existing emojis together rather than needing to use a prompt. ^{[19] [12]} Visual Intelligence and Image Playground also feature additional ChatGPT integration. ^[19]

The framework allows Apple Intelligence features to be integrated into third-party apps; Apple said that a Swift app can implement the framework with as little as three lines of code. ^[18]

After taking a screenshot, a full-screen preview appears. Users can search for information on the circled area and ask questions using ChatGPT. This functions like Visual Intelligence. ^[19]

Always-On Display (AOD)

Wallpaper Blur for AOD is a setting that lets the user apply a blur effect to the Always-on Display's wallpaper image. ^[20]

Wi-Fi

• Wi-Fi Aware: introduced support for the new Wi-Fi standard that allows a device to discover other nearby devices and communicate with them securely without an internet connection or access point. ^[21]
• Captive Assist: when the user accesses a public Wi-Fi network on an Apple device by filling out a web form, the form information is automatically shared with the other Apple devices, making it easier to connect to the same network. ^[21]

Screenshots and screen recordings

The "General" section of the Settings app has a new section for configuring screenshots.

• Full-screen previews: a screenshot-capture mode that keeps the captured screen in full-screen view instead of minimizing it to an icon in the screen's bottom-left corner. ^[22]
• HDR captures: it is now possible to capture HDR screenshots and screen recordings. ^[22]

eSIM transfer

iOS 26 allows the user to directly transfer an eSIM between an iPhone and an Android phone without a QR code from the mobile carrier. ^[23]

Ringtones

New ringtones have been introduced for the first time since iOS 17, including five variations of the "Reflection" ringtone: "Buoyant", "Dreamer", "Pond, "Pop", "Reflected", and "Surge". ^[24]

App features

Phone

An optional unified layout has been introduced, for those who want to have favorite contacts, recent calls, and voicemail in a single view.

• Call Screening automatically answers calls from unknown numbers to determine whether they are from a real person or spam. It asks the caller to identify themself and state the reason for the call. If the call is deemed legitimate, it is passed through, and the phone rings.
• Hold Assist lets users put a call on hold and notify the caller when they are ready to resume the conversation.
• Tap Recents to Call is a setting that, when disabled, prevents accidental calls by tapping a name or number in the user's call history.
• Live Translations in Calls allows real-time translation of the caller's voice, converting it into the desired language during the call.
• The Phone app provides haptic feedback, vibrating when the call is answered on the other end.
• From the Recent Calls page, it is possible to create a reminder to re-call recently called numbers in an hour, tonight, tomorrow, or later.
• Full per-contact Call History: for each contact, you can now view the full call history, spanning months and years, rather than just the most recent calls.

Messages

The Messages app now supports custom backgrounds, polls, and the user indicator for typing in group chats. The user can also select and copy part of a message instead of the entire message.

• Spam messages from unknown senders are automatically recognized and moved to a separate list.
• Users can activate translation in real time to ensure that everything written in one language is sent as a message written in another.

Music

• The user can pin favorite songs or albums at the top of the library.
• Translation and pronunciation of live lyrics allows users to understand the lyrics of the songs in other languages and to sing (i.e., pronounce) them even if the user person does not know the language.
• AutoMix switches from one song to another using Time Stretching and Beat Matching techniques for a more continuous mix.
• Users can create folders in which to put playlists.
• Live Radio Widget is a widget for the Home screen that allows direct access to 6 radio stations.
• Fullscreen artwork: the album cover of the playing song extends to full screen on the Lock Screen.

Photos

• The Photos app is redesigned to replace its short-lived design from iOS 18 with a layout that reinstates the command bar at the bottom of the screen, though unlike before, it is simplified to allow the user to quickly switch among Library, Collections, and Search selections.
• It is possible to apply a 3D effect to a photo to make it appear that the represented subjects come out of the screen when the phone moves. This is the same VisionOS technology that has been brought to the iPhone.

Camera

The Camera interface is simpler, with two main buttons, "Photo" and "Video", initially visible and placed at the bottom. An expandable and scrollable command bar reveals other shooting modes. Menus are also more intuitive: to access controls like flash, timer, and photo format, the user need only tap the grid-shaped button at the top of the toolbar, without a swipe gesture.

• Lens Cleaning Hints is a setting that displays a suggestion when the camera lens should be cleaned to improve image quality.
• The items in the side menu can now be reordered, allowing the preferred control to be placed in the first position.

Notes

The Notes app can record and transcribe calls into notes, while Markdown is added as an export option. ^[25]

Reminders

A Reminders control can be added to the Control Center, allowing users to quickly create a reminder directly from there.

Maps

• Preferred Routes automatically learns the routes the user takes every day, such as those between home, school, and work, and notifies them in advance of any delays without needing to be checked manually.
• The user can save the favorite places they visit, such as bars or parks, to find them immediately.

Safari

• A third "Compact" (floating) style has been added for tab management alongside the existing "Tab Bar" (bottom) and "Single Tab" (top) styles.
• There is added support for HDR images and SVG icons. ^[26]

Files

• The user can now color folders and assign custom icons for easier identification.
• File Types per App: from the File app, the user can quickly assign the default app needed to open a given file type.
• The user can directly use audio files (e.g., MP3, M4A, etc.) as ringtones by selecting the file, tapping Share, and choosing "Use as Ringtone".

Clock

The "Snooze" duration can be adjusted from 1 to 15 minutes. The buttons to stop or snooze the alarm are displayed in a large size for easier access.

Calculator

Equations in 3 variables and 3D graphs are supported in Math Notes.

Passwords

• Password History allows users to view previous passwords and password change dates.
• Export Passwords allows users to securely export passwords, passkeys, and verification codes to other password manager apps.

Podcasts

Enhance Dialogue: a new option that enhances podcast episode audio by emphasizing speakers' voices and reducing background noise and music. It is located in the menu that appears to adjust the podcast playback speed.

Home

Home supports only the redesigned Apple Home architecture introduced in iOS 16, ending support for the legacy architecture. ^[27]

Games

A new Games app provides an interface for games from the App Store and Apple Arcade, as well as Game Center social features. ^{[12] [28]}

Apple Wallet

The Apple Wallet app adds additional functions for boarding passes, including the ability to display interior maps of the respective airport and real-time flight information as a Live Activity. Users in the United States will also be able to add their digital passport to Wallet. ^{[29] [30]}

Shortcuts

AI Actions enable the user to create commands leveraging AI capabilities. These commands begin with an action that selects an AI model or "engine," such as Cloud (Private Cloud Compute), On-Device, or ChatGPT.

Security and privacy

Wired accessories permission

In the privacy and security settings, a new permission allows or denies the use of accessories connected to the phone via cable when the phone is locked. The options the user can choose are: always ask, ask for new accessories, allow automatically when the phone is unlocked, and always allow.

Blocked contacts

A new section is available in the privacy and security settings that collects all blocked contacts across various apps, such as all unknown phone numbers automatically classified as spam.

Recovery Assistant

Recovery Assistant is a feature that allows the iPhone to automatically attempt to recover if the device fails to start up successfully. ^[31]

Quantum-secure TLS

TLS 1.3 in iOS 26 uses a key exchange based on quantum-secure cryptography, and it is enabled by default since it has already been adopted by the leading service providers. ^[32]

Wallpaper

In iOS 26 Beta 3, Apple introduced new styles for the default iOS 26 wallpaper, including Shadow, Sky, Halo, and Dusk. A new dynamic wallpaper was added in the first public beta.

Supported devices

iOS 26 requires a device with an Apple A13 Bionic processor or newer, thus dropping support for the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR. ^{[33] [34]} Apple Intelligence features require an Apple A17 Pro processor or newer. ^{[35] [36]}

Device	Supported	Apple Intelligence support
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro & 11 Pro Max
iPhone SE (2nd generation)
iPhone 12 & 12 Mini
iPhone 12 Pro & 12 Pro Max
iPhone 13 & 13 Mini
iPhone 13 Pro & 13 Pro Max
iPhone SE (3rd generation)
iPhone 14 & 14 Plus
iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max
iPhone 15 & 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro & 15 Pro Max
iPhone 16 & 16 Plus
iPhone 16 Pro & 16 Pro Max
iPhone 16e
iPhone 17
iPhone 17 Pro & 17 Pro Max
iPhone Air

Release history

iOS 26 release history

Version	Build	Release date	Notes
Unsupported: 26.0	23A330	—	Preinstalled on iPhones 17, 17 Pro, and Air
	23A341	September 15, 2025	Developer release notes Release notes Security content
	23A345	September 18, 2025	iPhone 17 Pro models only
Latest version:26.0.1	23A355	September 29, 2025
Preview version: 26.1 beta 2	23B5059e	October 6, 2025	Developer release notes
Legend: Unsupported Supported Latest version Preview version Future version

See also

• iPadOS 26  – 2025 tablet operating system by Apple
• macOS Tahoe  – 22nd major version of the macOS operating system

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External links

• "Apple elevates the iPhone experience with iOS 26". Apple Newsroom. Retrieved June 9, 2025.