5 impactful iOS 26 modifications you might have missed throughout Apple’s WWDC keynote

At WWDC 2025, Apple unveiled its new iOS replace arriving later this yr: iOS 26.

That is proper, the rumors had been true. Apple is renaming all its working methods to be primarily based on the yr as an alternative of by model quantity. Nonetheless, the brand new naming scheme is not what stole the present. It was Liquid Glass, the overarching central theme of iOS 26, which provides a brand new glass-like translucent impact to a lot of the iPhone’s person interface parts.

Liquid Glass serves to unify the design of all Apple’s working methods, together with iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS. With Liquid Glass, Apple is introducing the largest redesign of iOS since iOS 7 in 2013. Apple touts Liquid Glass as “bringing larger focus to content material, and delivering a brand new degree of vitality throughout controls, navigation, app icons, widgets, and extra.” It additionally seems rather a lot like Microsoft’s ill-fated Windows Vista-era Aero design language.

Along with the brand new Liquid Glass design for iOS 26 (which you’ll be able to see within the picture above), Apple launched tons of recent options that its numerous apps will obtain, all geared toward making utilizing the iPhone day by day higher. Listed here are 5 impactful iOS 26 changes you might have missed throughout Apple’s hour-and-a-half-long WWDC keynote.

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5

Redesigned Cellphone app

Calling your pals is even simpler with iOS 26

Apple

The Cellphone app is without doubt one of the necessary apps on the iPhone, and with iOS 26, Apple is giving it a much-needed redesign together with new options that will help you display screen calls and handle being on maintain. To start out, the Cellphone app has a brand new “unified” design structure, combining your favourite contacts and up to date calls all on one web page. It is possible for you to to see all of your pinned contacts proper on the prime, so in case you’re making an attempt to make a name rapidly, you possibly can faucet certainly one of your contacts on the prime of the display screen to succeed in them quicker. Under that, you may discover all of your latest calls and voicemails with readouts.

Along with its redesign, Apple launched two brand-new options for the Cellphone app: Name Screening and Maintain Help. Name Screening robotically solutions calls from unknown numbers and screens the decision so that you can decide if it is value answering.

Maintain Help robotically detects when you find yourself on maintain along with your iPhone, by recognizing maintain music that performs whilst you wait. Maintain Help retains your place in line whilst you await a stay agent to change into obtainable. When you join with an agent, Maintain Help will warn you to return to the decision. I’ve spent hours on maintain with buyer help earlier than, so Maintain Help would possibly simply be certainly one of iOS 26’s most useful new additions.

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4

CarPlay is extra seamless with iOS 26

Receiving telephone calls will not take up your complete display screen

Apple

With iOS 26, Apple CarPlay is present process a big makeover, including new options that improve ease of use. Firstly, my favourite new addition to CarPlay is a compact design for telephone calls. At the moment, while you obtain a name, CarPlay occupies your entire display screen whilst you wait to reply or decline. Now, with iOS 26, telephone calls seem as notifications on the backside of the display screen, permitting you to nonetheless see content material on the show, equivalent to your map and instructions.

Subsequent, messages in CarPlay will now show your pinned conversations, letting you simply hear or reply to them with Siri. Widgets are additionally being launched to CarPlay, enabling you to verify the climate, view your calendar, management sensible house options, and extra instantly out of your automobile’s dashboard. All the knowledge is designed to be glanceable, minimizing distractions whereas driving. Stay actions are additionally being built-in into CarPlay, enabling you to view your flight standing or your favourite staff’s rating instantly out of your automobile’s display screen. All these modifications can even be obtainable on CarPlay Extremely with iOS 26.

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3

Enhanced expertise within the Messages app

Texting your group chat will look completely different with iOS 26

Apple

Apple did not overlook concerning the Messages app with iOS 26, and it is including a few new options to make it extra aggressive with different messaging apps like WhatsApp and Snapchat. Firstly, it’s introducing a brand new backgrounds function for Messages, permitting you and a contact to set a picture because the background to your dialog. Do you usually speak to your good friend a few sure film or artist? Now you can set a picture associated to that as your messaging background whereas discussing it. Backgrounds work for each one-on-one conversations and group chats.

Talking of group chats, Apple is including a brand new polling function that allows you to survey your pals on concepts in group chats. So in case you’re making an attempt to find out which evening works finest for everybody to hang around, or which restaurant to go to, now you can ship a ballot to your group chat and rapidly hear again from your pals to see what fits everybody. Anybody within the group can even contribute new concepts to the ballot.

Typing indicators are additionally coming to group chats, permitting you to see who’s typing a response. Lastly, Apple is introducing a brand new screening instrument for messages to filter out spam textual content messages from unknown senders within the Messages app.

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2

Stay Translation is coming to interrupt down language limitations

iOS 26 helps you to translate calls, messages, and FaceTime in real-time

Apple

For those who usually talk with individuals who do not share the identical first language as you, notably whereas working or finding out overseas, Apple’s new Stay Translation function in iOS 26 goals to interrupt down language limitations. Stay Translation is built-in into the Cellphone app, Messages, and FaceTime. In Messages, it robotically interprets texts you ship and obtain into your contact’s most popular language. After they reply, it is immediately translated, permitting you to learn their responses in your most popular language.

In FaceTime, Stay Translation offers real-time captions, enabling you to learn a translation of what your good friend or member of the family is saying in a unique language instantly. Lastly, within the Cellphone app throughout a name, Stay Translation interprets your speech in real-time and vocalizes it for the recipient within the chosen translated language. For instance, in case you’re calling a lodge whereas vacationing in France, you possibly can converse in English, and Stay Translation will translate your phrases and articulate them in French for you. Stay Translation is run completely on the system utilizing Apple’s fashions, so all of your conversations will stay safe and personal.

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1

Visible Intelligence is getting an improve

You’ll seek for content material in your display screen with Visible Intelligence

Apple

Apple did not have a lot to say about Apple Intelligence at WWDC, which isn’t any shock given the delays we have been listening to about for months. Nonetheless, Apple did unveil a brand new performance for Visual Intelligence, extending its capabilities to your iPhone’s display screen. At the moment obtainable in iOS 18, Visible Intelligence permits you to find out about objects and locations in the true world by pointing your digicam at them and urgent the Motion Button or Digital camera Management Button.

With iOS 26, Visible Intelligence will allow you to do the identical with content material in your telephone’s display screen. See one thing you want whereas scrolling via social media? Like a jacket or lamp? Once you take a screenshot, you may be offered with new choices, permitting you to ask ChatGPT about what you see within the picture or discover related photos on Google. This carefully resembles Google’s Circle to Search, however is Apple’s personal take utilizing Visible Intelligence.

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