5 impactful iOS 26 adjustments you will 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 have been true. Apple is renaming all its working methods to be based mostly on the yr as a substitute 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 most important redesign of iOS since iOS 7 in 2013. Apple touts Liquid Glass as “bringing better focus to content material, and delivering a brand new degree of vitality throughout controls, navigation, app icons, widgets, and extra.” It additionally seems to be lots 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 latest options that its numerous apps will obtain, all aimed toward making utilizing the iPhone each day higher. Listed here are 5 impactful iOS 26 changes you will have missed throughout Apple’s hour-and-a-half-long WWDC keynote.

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5

Redesigned Cellphone app

Calling your folks is even simpler with iOS 26

Apple

The Cellphone app is likely 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 begin, 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 when you’re making an attempt to make a name shortly, you may faucet considered one of your contacts on the prime of the display screen to succeed in them sooner. Under that, you may discover all of your current 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 mechanically solutions calls from unknown numbers and screens the decision so that you can decide if it is value answering.

Maintain Help mechanically detects when you’re on maintain along with your iPhone, by recognizing maintain music that performs when you wait. Maintain Help retains your place in line when you await a dwell agent to turn out to be accessible. When you join with an agent, Maintain Help will provide you with a warning to return to the decision. I’ve spent hours on maintain with buyer help earlier than, so Maintain Help would possibly simply be considered 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 now 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, if you obtain a name, CarPlay occupies the whole display screen when 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, corresponding 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 examine the climate, view your calendar, management good dwelling options, and extra straight 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 workforce’s rating straight out of your automobile’s display screen. All these adjustments may even be accessible on CarPlay Extremely with iOS 26.

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3

Enhanced expertise within the Messages app

Texting your group chat will look totally 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 in your dialog. Do you typically speak to your pal 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 folks on concepts in group chats. So when you’re making an attempt to find out which evening works greatest for everybody to hang around, or which restaurant to go to, now you can ship a ballot to your group chat and shortly hear again from your folks to see what fits everybody. Anybody within the group may 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 software 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 boundaries

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

Apple

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

In FaceTime, Stay Translation supplies real-time captions, enabling you to learn a translation of what your pal or member of the family is saying in a distinct 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, when you’re calling a lodge whereas vacationing in France, you may converse in English, and Stay Translation will translate your phrases and articulate them in French for you. Stay Translation is run solely on the gadget 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 can 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 accessible in iOS 18, Visible Intelligence permits you to study objects and locations in the actual world by pointing your digital camera at them and urgent the Motion Button or Digicam 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 by means of social media? Like a jacket or lamp? Whenever you take a screenshot, you may be introduced with new choices, permitting you to ask ChatGPT about what you see within the picture or discover related pictures on Google. This carefully resembles Google’s Circle to Search, however is Apple’s personal take utilizing Visible Intelligence.

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