During its WWDC keynote on June 9, Apple confirmed that iOS 26 would be coming later this year. Since then, we’ve seen both Developer and Public Betas of the upcoming software made available for testing, giving us greater insight into what to expect from the next iPhone operating system.

We’re now just weeks away from the public release of iOS 26. Apple’s big September event in which it will announce iPhone 17, Apple Watch Series 11 and, oh yes, iOS 26, will likely happen on September 9, and iPhone users could get their hands on iOS 26 as soon as September 15.

For those of you who were expecting an iOS 19 announcement, know that there’s lots more than a new naming convention to get excited about in iOS 26: not only does it bring the biggest design change we’ve seen since 2013, when iOS 7 dropped the skeuomorphic design in favor of flat icons, it also puts the phone back in iPhone, with several call enhancements–from Voice Mail Summaries and Hold Assist to Live Translations–that will make it feel almost like you have a personal receptionist at your service.

Digital security is top of mind for most of us these days–or should be. A focus for Apple is on-device spam filtering. iPhone will be able to screen calls before connecting you, while Messages will also filter out all types of scams and spam.

There are dozens of tweaks and improvements throughout iOS. Efforts have been made to clean up and simplify menus, including in the Camera app and brand-new Games app, while Visual Intelligence, Genmoji and Image Playground that were all introduced in iOS 18 have new functionality that makes them simpler to use and smarter than ever. Small but significant, one of our favorite tweaks is quite simply the ability to copy just part of a message rather than the whole thing.

In this article we will cover everything you need to know about iOS 26–when it’s coming, which iPhones are supported, how you can get iOS 26 now, what changes can be expected, and more. Read on to see what’s in store for iPhone (11 and later) users this September.

At a glance: What to expect from iOS 26

Here are just some of the new features you will find in iOS 26, with more detailed further down this article:

• Liquid Glass graphical user interface: A new translucent effect that mimics glass, with elements reflecting background content, and resizing to fit around onscreen items. Apple says Liquid Glass will blur the lines between hardware and software, and feel more like interactions in the physical world, with elements dynamically reacting to your touch.





• Updated Phone app: New to this core iPhone app are Apple Intelligence-generated Voice Mail text summaries, Call Screening for spam calls, Hold Assist for connecting you only when you are #1 in the queue, and Live Translations for real-time audible translations in English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish (also available for FaceTime with translated live captions, Messages with auto-translated texts, and Apple Music with lyrics converted to your native language).





• Apple Intelligence updates: Spanning Visual Intelligence, which now supports screenshots, and lets you ask ChatGPT for more information about the information and products shown in the picture, Genmoji, in which you can edit existing emoji, combine emojis and Stickers, and even change emoji expressions, and Image Playground, with support for ChatGPT styles and prompts.





• Camera app overhaul: As with many iOS apps, the currently cramped Camera interface is getting simplified, with many of the less frequently used shooting modes and options tucked away. Plus, you can now add 3D effects to photos.





• New Games app: A Home tab puts games Apple thinks you’ll like at your fingertips; a Library tab shows all games you’ve ever downloaded; and a Play Together tab shows you what your friends are playing, compare scores, and even challenge them. iOS 26 brings a standard set of touch controls for buttons, thumbsticks, dpads, throttles, and touchpads, too.





• Some of the more overlooked new features in iOS 26 that are set to make a big difference include the ability to (finally!) create your own ringtone, an intelligent Adaptive Power mode that makes performance adjustments based on how you actually use your phone, and the ability to use AirPods as a high-definition microphone when shooting video.

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-tiktok wp-block-embed-tiktok"></figure>