iOS 26

iOS 26
Version of the iOS operating system
iOS 26 Beta 1 running on an iPhone 16 Pro
DeveloperApple
Written inC, C++, Objective-C, Swift, assembly language
OS familyiOS
Source modelClosed with open-source components
General
availability		September 2025; 3 months' time (2025-09)
Latest preview26.0 beta 1[1] (June 9, 2025; 3 days ago (2025-06-09)) [±]
Available in42 languages[2]
List of languages
Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional (Hong Kong), Chinese Traditional (Taiwan), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (Australia), English (United Kingdom), English (United States), Finnish, French (Canada), French (France), German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian (iOS 18), Spanish, Lithuanian, (Latin America), Spanish (Spain), Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
PlatformsiPhone
Default
user interface		Liquid Glass
Preceded byiOS 18
Official websiteapple.com/os/ios
Support status
In Developer Beta, with Public Beta later. Drops support for iPhones with the A12 Bionic SoC, including the iPhone XS/XS Max and iPhone XR.

iOS 26 is the nineteenth and the next major release of Apple's iOS operating system for the iPhone. It was announced on June 9, 2025, at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC),[3] and is expected to be released in September.

It is the direct successor to iOS 18; its version number was brought forward to 26 due to a newly-announced policy of unified version numbers for Apple operating systems, which are now based on the year that follows their release (similarly to vehicle model years).[4][5]

System features

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User interface

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iOS 26 introduces a new unified design language across all Apple platforms known as Liquid Glass. Influenced by visionOS, the design replaces the flat design language introduced in iOS 7 to utilize rounded, translucent elements with the "optical qualities of glass" (including refraction), which would react to motion, content, and inputs. It also comes with the return of skeuomorphism from iOS 6 and earlier, most notable in the Camera app's new icon (which resembles the icon from iOS 6 and earlier). Multiple apps (including the camera and Safari among others) have redesigned user interfaces to reflect the new design language.[6][7]

Apple Intelligence

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Main article: Apple Intelligence

iOS 26 introduces new Apple Intelligence features; Apple Intelligence models were made more efficient and support additional languages.[8] It will support live translation of voice and text conversations using on-device models, while Genmoji can now be invoked to merge existing emojis together rather than needing to use a prompt.[9][7] The Shortcuts app will support the integration of AI actions.[9] Visual Intelligence and Image Playground will also feature additional ChatGPT integration[9], however, rumored integration with Google Gemini did not appear.

The new Foundation Models framework will allow Apple Intelligence features to be integrated into third-party apps; Apple stated that a Swift app can implement the framework in as little as three lines of code.[8]

Settings

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The battery menu in the Settings app has been updated, adding comparison displays for battery usage on a daily basis. A new "adaptive power" mode is also introduced, which automatically performs optimizations (such as screen brightness adjustments and throttling) to improve battery life when device usage is higher than normal.[10][11]

App features

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Messages

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The Messages app will support adding backgrounds to conversations, polls, end to end encryption with RCS messaging, typing indicators for group chats, sending money through Apple Cash in group chats, and directing messages from unknown senders to a dedicated folder for screening.[7][12]

Apple Music

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Apple Music includes several new features, including "AutoMix"—a playback mode that will automatically generate transitions between songs using Apple Intelligence, the ability to view inline translations and pronunciation guides for song lyrics, and integration with the Apple Music Sing karaoke feature on the tvOS Apple Music app (including the ability to use an iPhone as a microphone, and for participants to control karaoke from their devices[Notes 1]).[13]

Home

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Home only supports the redesigned Apple Home architecture introduced in iOS 16 and ends support for the legacy architecture.[14]

Games

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A new Games app provides an interface to games from App Store and Apple Arcade, as well as Game Center social features.[7][15]

Photos

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Amid negative user reception to its redesign on iOS 18, the user interface of the Photos app reverted back to a tab-based interface, though now only with separate "Library" and "Collections" areas. It also adds the ability for photos to be converted to "spatial photos" with a parallax-like effect.[16][17]

Notes

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The Notes app can record and transcribe calls into notes, while Markdown is added as a new export option.[18]

Maps

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Maps will use "on-device Intelligence" to determine a user's most commonly–travelled commutes (such as travelling from home to work), allowing them to be automatically recalled, and the user to receive notifications of potential delays and alternate routes. It also adds a new "Visited Places" menu leveraging the user's location history.[19]

Apple Wallet

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The Apple Wallet app adds additional functions for boarding passes, including the ability to display interior maps of the respective airport, and real-time flight information as a Live Activity. Users in the United States will also be able to add their digital passport to Wallet.[20][21]

Accessibility

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iOS 26 includes new accessibility features, such as Accessibility Reader for systemwide narration, Braille Access, which allows connection to braille displays, as well as updates to Live Listen, Background Sounds, Personal Voice, and more.[22]

Shortcuts

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Supported devices

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iOS 26 requires a device with an Apple A13 Bionic processor or newer, thus dropping support for the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR.[23][24] Apple Intelligence requires an Apple A17 Pro processor or newer.[25][26]

Device Supported Apple Intelligence support
iPhone 11 Yes No
iPhone 11 Pro & 11 Pro Max Yes No
iPhone SE (2nd generation) Yes No
iPhone 12 & 12 Mini Yes No
iPhone 12 Pro & 12 Pro Max Yes No
iPhone 13 & 13 Mini Yes No
iPhone 13 Pro & 13 Pro Max Yes No
iPhone SE (3rd generation) Yes No
iPhone 14 & 14 Plus Yes No
iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max Yes No
iPhone 15 & 15 Plus Yes No
iPhone 15 Pro & Pro Max Yes Yes
iPhone 16 & 16 Plus Yes Yes
iPhone 16 Pro & 16 Pro Max Yes Yes
iPhone 16e Yes Yes

Release history

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The first developer beta of iOS 26 has been released as of June 9, 2025.

Previous release Current release Current beta release Security response
iOS 26 Releases
Version Build Release date Notes
26.0 beta 1 23A5260n June 9, 2025 Developer beta only

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Only available on Apple TV 4K devices.

References

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  1. ^ Clover, Juli (June 9, 2025). "Apple Seeds First Developer Betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe and More". MacRumors. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  2. ^ "iOS and iPadOS – Feature Availability". Apple Inc. Archived from the original on May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  3. ^ "iOS 26 at WWDC 2025: Apple's major visual overhaul, AI battery features and more - CNBC TV18". CNBCTV18. 2025-06-02. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  4. ^ "iOS 26 is official: Apple changes from version numbers to years for its OS names". Engadget. 2025-06-09. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  5. ^ Pandey, Rajesh (2025-06-09). "Goodbye iOS 19, hello iOS 26: Apple switches to year-based names". Cult of Mac. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  6. ^ Perez, Sarah (2025-06-09). "Apple redesigns its operatings systems with 'Liquid Glass'". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  7. ^ a b c d Peters, Jay (2025-06-09). "Apple announces iOS 26 with Liquid Glass redesign". The Verge. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  8. ^ a b "Apple Intelligence opened up to all developers with Foundation Models Framework". AppleInsider. 2025-06-09. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  9. ^ a b c "Apple Intelligence at WWDC: Everything Apple announced for iOS, macOS and more". Engadget. 2025-06-09. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  10. ^ Roth, Emma (2025-06-09). "iOS 26's new 'adaptive power' mode dials back performance to save battery". The Verge. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  11. ^ "iOS 26 Features Battery Settings Overhaul". MacRumors. 2025-06-09. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  12. ^ "Here's What's New in Messages on iOS 26: Polls, Backgrounds, and More". MacRumors. 2025-06-09. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  13. ^ Mehta, Ivan (2025-06-09). "Apple Music adds lyrics translation and pronunciation features in iOS 26". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  14. ^ Christoffel, Ryan (2025-05-12). "Apple confirms iOS 19 will end support for legacy Home app system - 9to5Mac". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on 2025-05-16. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  15. ^ Mayo, Benjamin (9 June 2025). "Apple unveils new Apple Games app". 9to5Mac. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  16. ^ Perez, Sarah (2025-06-09). "Apple brings back tabs to the Photos app in iOS 26". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  17. ^ Perry, Alex (2025-06-09). "WWDC 2025: Apple's iOS 26 brings much-needed updates to Photos, Camera apps". Mashable. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  18. ^ "Four New Features Coming to Apple Reminders and Notes". MacRumors. 2025-06-09. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  19. ^ Marcin, Tim (2025-06-09). "iOS 26 gives Apple Maps a new look and 'Visited Places' tool". Mashable. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  20. ^ "iOS 26 brings big changes to Music, Maps, and Wallet". AppleInsider. 2025-06-09. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  21. ^ Chant, Tim De (2025-06-09). "Apple Wallet gains new travel-friendly features in iOS 26". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  22. ^ "Apple elevates the iPhone experience with iOS 26". Apple Newsroom. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  23. ^ Cunningham, Andrew (2025-06-09). "Apple drops support for just three iPhone and iPad models from iOS and iPadOS 26". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  24. ^ "iOS 26, iPadOS 26 Are Compatible With These iPhone and iPad Models". Gadgets 360. 2025-06-10. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  25. ^ Prospero, Mike (June 10, 2024). "Here are the devices that will support Apple Intelligence — no older iPhones allowed". Tom's Guide. Archived from the original on June 11, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  26. ^ "iOS 18 Preview". Apple. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
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