Apple has once again revealed whatโs been cooking in their Cupertino-based labs at Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) โ an annual event solely rivalled by its consistently anticipated iPhone launch โ and in 2025, itโs all about the iOS 26 (dubbed โLiquid Glassโ).
With a gorgeous new design, intelligent experiences, enhancements to the apps we get plenty of mileage out of, plus heightened privacy, the objective is to deliver a more โexpressive and delightful experience across the system,โ while retaining the familiarity of iOS we know/love.
โiOS 26 shines with the gorgeous new design and meaningful improvements to the features users rely on every day, making iPhone even more helpful,โ said Craig Federighi, Appleโs Senior VP of Software Engineering.
โExperiences are more expressive and personal, from the Lock Screen and Home Screen, to new capabilities across Phone and Messages that help users focus on the connections that matter most. And with powerful new Apple Intelligence capabilities integrated across the system, users can get things done easier than ever.โ
iOS 26 also introduces new features in CarPlay, Apple Music, Maps, and Wallet, as well as Apple Games โ a recently-unveiled app that serves as a single destination for your games.
Hereโs what you need to know.
New look, who this?
Appleโs latest aesthetic flex comes in the form of Liquid Glass โ a translucent UI material that makes your iPhone look like itโs been dipped in designer serum. Icons, widgets, even the Lock Screen clock all glisten with this subtly refractive sheen. A pas de deux of form and function with updated Home and Lock Screens that shift and shimmer in response to your wallpaper and environment.
The Camera app layout, on the other hand, has been streamlined. Photos now organise your chaos into โLibraryโ and โCollections.โ Safari glides from top to bottom. Apple Music, News, and Podcastsโ tab bar elegantly floats over your content, dynamically adjusting its size depending on what youโre doing. And everything just feelsโฆ more intentional.
Even developers can tap into the new gloss with APIs to bring Liquid Glass into third-party apps. Itโs an aesthetically coherent dialogue, meets custom flair.
Apple Intelligence improves its IQ
AI done Cupertinoโs way: private, seamless, and almost creepily clever.
Real-time Live Translation now works in Messages, FaceTime, and Phone, allowing cross-language convos to happen like subtitles in your life. On the same note, Visual Intelligence lets you interact with content on your screen โ from asking ChatGPT for context to auto-filling calendar events from invites.
Expression gets a glow-up too with Genmoji and Image Playground: create new emojis and visuals using prompts and mashups. And the new AI-enhanced Shortcuts will save you hours of tapping and swiping with intelligent automations.
Bonus: Apple Intelligence will also scan your inbox for delivery updates and order confirmations โ even if you didnโt use Apple Pay โ and collate it into one tidy hub.
Eliminate the time wasters
Call Screening is here, building upon Live Voicemail, and itโs the no-nonsense virtual receptionist weโve all been waiting for. Essentially, when someone rings, your iPhone can now pick up, ask who they are/what they want, and present a written summary so you can decide whether itโs actually worth your time.
Hold Assist will wait in the phone queue for you and tap your shoulder when a real human finally answers.
As for Messages, it welcomes filters for unknown senders, custom AI-generated chat backgrounds, polls, and in the US, new Apple Cash options for group chats to settle those group dining bills, along with typing indicators. Standby for when the latter two lands in Australia.
CarPlay
With iOS 26, CarPlay now offers a compact caller ID banner that doesnโt bulldoze your navigation screen. Tapbacks, pinned chats, widgets, as well as Live Activities all make their way in, while CarPlay Ultra brings full dashboard integration for supported cars.
Play, pay, & finding your way
Lyrics Translation and Pronunciation in Apple Music means Kpoppers can get a little closer to your idols; whereas AutoMix lets the app blend tracks like a bedroom DJ with some help from machine learning (transitions, beat matching, and all).
Maps gets Visited Places โ a private, end-to-end encrypted log of your IRL escapades โ and smarter routing that adapts to your habits. Notifications for delays and alternate pathways are also on the cards.
Finally, Wallet gets in-store instalments and reward payments, plus refreshed boarding passes that track flight updates live, Find My to track items/report missing bags, and even maps for navigating airports, to make navigating the physical world easier.
Additional iOS 26 Features
Apple Games is a sleek new app that pulls all your gaming activity โ across Arcade and third-party titles โ into one dopamine-rich hub.
AirPods now support studio-quality audio recording and a clever new camera remote. Just squeeze the stem to snap a photo or start a video (influencer-grade utility).
Parents can also enjoy increased control with Child Accounts, enhanced Communication Limits, and blurred sensitive content in FaceTime and Shared Albums.
Safari steps up its anti-tracking game with fingerprinting protection; and Accessibility upgrades with Accessibility Reader and Braille Access.
When can you expect it?
iOS 26 is available for developers starting from today, with a public beta next month. The official rollout is scheduled for later this year during US spring (Q3/Q4) โ free as a software update for iPhone 11 and later.
As for Apple Intelligence? Thatโs strictly for the elite: iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro/Max, iPad mini (A17 Pro), alongside iPad and Mac models with M1 and later (Apple Intelligence enabled + Siri + device set to supported language).
Check out the entirety of Appleโs WWDC 2025 presentation below.
