Apple has officially released the iOS 26 public beta, following its debut at WWDC 2025.
iOS 26 Public Beta
The update brings a major visual overhaul with a new Liquid Glass design, app redesigns, Apple Intelligence upgrades, and more across the iPhone experience.
Liquid Glass Redesign
With Liquid Glass, iOS now features updated icons, menus, and a new animation style that feels faster, smoother, and more connected to your touch.
Phone App Enhancements
The Phone app gets a complete makeover with a unified layout combining Favorites, Recents, and Voicemail into one streamlined interface, while retaining an option to revert to the classic design. New tools include:
- Call Screening: Automatically answers unknown calls, asking callers for their name and reason. You decide whether to pick up or ignore.
- Hold Assist: Detects when a human picks up during hold, so you’re not stuck listening to hold music.
- Additional features: Unknown caller filtering, SharePlay support during calls, and voicemail summaries powered by Apple Intelligence.
Messages Upgrades
iOS 26 lets you personalize Messages chats with backgrounds from default options, your own photos, or AI-generated designs using Image Playgrounds. You can now create polls with live results and smart input from Apple Intelligence.
The app also improves spam control, adds group typing indicators, Apple Cash support, and a simple “Add Contact” feature. Search, selection tools, and the info panel have also been redesigned for better usability.
Camera App Overhaul
The Camera app focuses on faster access to photo and video capture without losing any features, which remain accessible via intuitive swipes. New tools include a lens cleaning reminder and the ability to snap photos or record video by pressing your AirPods stem.
Photos App Redesign
Responding to user feedback, Photos returns to a two-tab layout separating “Library” and “Collections.” You can now customize the Collections view density and layout, explore photos with new depth effects in spatial scenes, and view detailed event information.
Music App Features
Apple Music introduces AutoMix, an AI-driven feature that blends songs seamlessly, offering a DJ-like listening experience.
- Lyrics support now includes translations for foreign languages and a pronunciation guide to help you sing along.
- Favorite tracks, playlists, and artists can be pinned atop your Library tab for quick access.
CarPlay Updates
The CarPlay interface now features the Liquid Glass redesign with updated icons and visuals.
- You can add widgets from your iPhone, including Calendar and Weather.
- Live Activities are supported, and calls now show as banners.
CarPlay also introduces Smart Display Zoom, Tapback for Messages, potential video playback (if adopted), and support for AirPods handoff.
New Apple Games App
iOS 26 introduces Apple Games, a hub for all your App Store games, leaderboards, and challenges, conveniently accessible from your Home Screen.
Apple Maps Enhancements
Maps gains Preferred Routes, learning your regular travel patterns and notifying you about delays with alternate routes, even without active navigation. Visited Places tracks locations like restaurants or stores you visit, letting you quickly view or share them privately.
Apple Intelligence Improvements
Apple Intelligence grows more powerful with:
- Visual Intelligence: Analyze screenshots to create events, search Google or apps, or send content to ChatGPT.
- Live Translation: On-device translation for Messages, Phone, and FaceTime, translating audio and text in real time to break language barriers while keeping data private.
- Shortcuts: New intelligent actions, including a “Use Model” command to interact with Apple’s AI models or ChatGPT, enabling complex, private automations like comparing lecture transcripts with notes.
- Updates to Genmoji (combine emojis, add expressions, customize features) and Image Playground (add expressions, change styles, integrated ChatGPT support for varied image creation options).
Additional Apple Intelligence features include new order tracking in Wallet, background and poll generation in Messages, and improved reminders categorization.
Availability
The iOS 26 public beta is available through the Apple Beta Software Program for iPhone 11 and later. The full release is set for this fall.
- Apple Intelligence features require newer devices like iPhone 16, iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max, iPad mini with A17 Pro, or Macs/iPads with M1 or later chips.
- Supported languages include English, French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese, with more languages coming by the end of 2025.