iOS 26

To mark a major redesign planned for the next-generation version of iOS, Apple is changing the way that it names operating systems. Rather than iOS 19 following the current iOS 18 operating system, Apple is swapping to a year-based naming scheme. Because it'll be available in 2025 and 2026, Apple is going to call the next update "iOS 26." Going forward, new versions of iOS that are previewed in June and come out in September will be named for the year ahead. So iOS 26 in 2025, iOS 27 in 2026, iOS 28 in 2027, and so on.

The new year-based number will also apply to other operating systems like iPadOS and macOS, so everything that comes out in a given year will share the same number.

Apple doesn't plan to unveil iOS 26 until the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on June 9, but some details about the next-generation operating system update are already starting to leak out, and there's a major design change that's on the horizon. Apple will update iOS 26's interface, introducing visionOS-like design changes that will also extend to iPadOS 26 and macOS 26.

iOS 18 focused heavily on Apple Intelligence, Apple's version of artificial intelligence, and it should come as no surprise that iOS 26 will further Apple's push into making its devices smarter. iOS 26 was supposed to be focused on new Siri functionality, but some of those features have been delayed and will instead come in iOS 26.

With iOS 18, Apple rolled out AI features over several months and across multiple updates rather than releasing everything at once in the 18.0 update, and it's sounding like Apple will use the same tactic with iOS 26. In fact, rumors suggest that Apple's continued work on iOS 18 features is pushing back development on iOS 26, so we will likely see new iOS 26 capabilities come out on a rolling basis like we did for iOS 18.

This roundup includes all of the iOS 26 tidbits that we've heard so far. As with all iOS updates, iOS 26 will be accompanied by iPadOS 26, a version of iOS with some features that are specific to the larger displays of Apple's iPad lineup.

iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 will "fundamentally change" the look of the operating system, introducing a more consistent cross-platform experience.

Apple will update the style of icons, menus, apps, windows, and system buttons, with plans to simplify navigation and control. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman described the design change as the biggest update to iOS since iOS 7.

iOS 26 is expected to feature a visionOS-like design, adopting design principles adopted with the Vision Pro. visionOS has an emphasis on translucency and UI elements that kind of fade into the background to put the focus on content. iOS 26 could lean heavily into that translucency, with Apple also opting for a floating look for navigation bars, windows, and other parts of the UI.

iOS 26 has been described as having glass effects or as being glossy, with menu elements that can "reflect" light based on iPhone tilt. The "glassy" look involves subtle lighting changes, such as a slight glint for some UI elements when you move the iPhone. The Flashlight and Camera controls on the Lock Screen reportedly have a glass-like sheen that shimmers with movement, for example.

Image via Front Page Tech

Along with a soft, floating look, navigation bars and buttons could have more rounded edges that blend better with the content behind them. In the Photos app, for example, photos could be full screen with controls in a slimmed down menu bar at the bottom rather than a full navigation strip. Haptic Touch menus, Control Center options, and permission prompts apparently have more rounded corners, too.

Image via Front Page Tech

Leaker Jon Prosser says that Apple is going to make the iPhone's icons rounder, though he is unclear if they will be entirely circular or some kind of cross between a circle and the current squircle.

Image via Front Page Tech

iOS 26 will overhaul apps with a glassy, floating look that's reminiscent of visionOS, with Apple focusing on a more rounded, translucent design that puts content front and center.

Leaker Jon Prosser shared several mockups based on images of iOS 26 that he allegedly saw, though Gurman says that the mockups are out of date and not representative of what we'll actually see. Still, these could give an early look at the design direction that Apple is planning, if they are in any way accurate.

Prosser showed off a redesigned Camera app, featuring a design that provides more screen space for the photo preview, with translucent pop-out menus that can be swiped through to select various camera modes.

A render of iOS 26's alleged redesigned Camera app, from Front Page Tech

There are separate menus for photo and video categories, and the options change based on what's selected. The menus appear to be similar to the translucent menus that visionOS uses.

Prosser's Messages app mockup shows an interface with rounded, translucent bubble-shaped navigation buttons at the top and softer, rounder corners for the keyboard and word suggestions. The return button, a button for going back to the Messages list, and the FaceTime button have a deeper blue shade that has a bit of a glow about it, but Prosser's mockup does not show fundamental changes to the layout.

Jon Prosser's Messages app mockup

Many apps like the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Photos, Phone, and more have been described as having pill-shaped tab bars at the bottom for accessing controls. There's also less transitioning. Search, for example, doesn't have its own dedicated interface, and instead expands out from the tab bar.

The design of Apple's most recent apps, Invites, Apple Sports, and Apple Playground, could hint at the visionOS-like redesign we could see in iOS 26. The apps have more translucent user interface elements, expanding buttons, and an emphasis on content.

Apple is expected to expand some existing Apple Intelligence features to more of its built-in apps, and introduce new Apple Intelligence capabilities.

AI Battery Management

In iOS 26, Apple is adding an AI-powered battery management option that will analyze how you use your device and make adjustments where possible to cut down on battery usage. Battery management will be an Apple Intelligence feature, and it will be able to limit the power draw of apps and other system features based on device usage. Apple also plans to add a Lock Screen indicator that will show how long it will take an iPhone to charge.

The battery management tool was designed with the upcoming iPhone 17 Air in mind, because it has limited space for a battery, but the AI option will be available for all iPhones that run iOS 26.

Google Gemini

According to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Google could reach a deal with Apple to add Google Gemini to the iPhone in the middle of 2025. That timing suggests the functionality could be added in iOS 26.

Google Gemini would be added as an alternative to ChatGPT for Siri requests.

Apple is developing a standalone multi-platform app for mobile gaming that will let Apple users find and launch games, access in-game achievements, view leaderboards, read editorial content, and communicate with other players.

The app will replace Game Center, and it will house all of the third-party games that are in the Games section of the App Store. Apple will also use the app to promote Apple Arcade. There's no word yet on what Apple will call the new gaming app.

Apple delayed some of the Apple Intelligence Siri features that it expected to release in iOS 18, and now we may be waiting until iOS 26 to get the functionality. Some rumors suggest the Siri features will come in the fall with the launch of iOS 26, though Apple could hold it until an iOS 26 update in 2026. Apple is working on a more personalized version of Siri that will be more capable and more intelligent.

The functionality includes personal context, onscreen awareness, and improved app integration. A quick summary:

Personal Context

With personal context, Siri will be able to keep track of emails, messages, files, photos, and more, learning more about you to help you complete tasks and keep track of what you've been sent.

• Show me the files Eric sent me last week.
• Find the email where Eric mentioned ice skating.
• Find the books that Eric recommended to me.
• Where's the recipe that Eric sent me?
• What's my passport number?

Onscreen Awareness

Onscreen awareness will let Siri see what's on your screen and complete actions involving whatever you're looking at. If someone texts you an address, for example, you can tell Siri to add it to their contact card. Or if you're looking at a photo and want to send it to someone, you can ask Siri to do it for you.

Deeper App Integration

Deeper app integration means that Siri will be able to do more in and across apps, performing actions and completing tasks that are just not possible with the personal assistant right now. We don't have a full picture of what Siri will be capable of, but Apple has provided a few examples of what to expect.

• Moving files from one app to another.
• Editing a photo and then sending it to someone.
• Get directions home and share the ETA with Eric.
• Send the email I drafted to Eric.

Apple may not spend much time discussing Siri at WWDC 2025, with Apple instead planning to focus on other Apple Intelligence features. Apple wants to separate the Apple Intelligence brand from Siri in its marketing, due to the negativity around Siri. The personalized Siri features aren't close to launching and may not come in the launch version of iOS 26, so we may or may not hear about Siri at WWDC.

Apple is working on a feature that will let the AirPods translate in-person conversations from one language to another, and the firmware update will be tied to iOS 26.

The AirPods will be able to provide a simpler translation process for people who are speaking different languages, though the process will rely on the Translate app on the iPhone.

If an English speaker with AirPods is talking to someone who is speaking Spanish, the iPhone will detect the audio, translate the speech, and relay it back in English to the person wearing AirPods. The person speaking English will then be able to respond and have their response translated to Spanish and spoken aloud by the iPhone. Apple's iPhone Translate app can already be used for conversations like this, but having the function included in the AirPods will streamline the exchange.

To go along with the new AirPods feature, Apple is also planning to improve the Translate app in iOS 26.

Apple plans to add a new Wi-Fi feature that will synchronize captive Wi-Fi portal login information across devices. With this option, users can enter login details for captive Wi-Fi networks just once, and then sync that info across all of their devices.

Captive Wi-Fi networks are those that are often found in hotels, airports, and coffee shops.

iOS 19 could make it easier for iPhone users to transfer an eSIM to an Android smartphone. A beta version of the Google SIM Manager references a "Transfer to Android" feature that would include an option for quickly and wirelessly transferring an eSIM from iPhone to Android.

Apple is working on an updated Health app, but it may not come out until the iOS 26.4 update in spring 2026. Apple is planning to introduce new AI-powered health coaching features that will offer users personalized health recommendations.

The coaching will include videos from health experts that inform users about health conditions and ways to make positive lifestyle changes. If the Apple Watch tracks a worsening heart rate trend, for example, Apple might offer a video explaining the risks of heart disease. Apple is also expected to provide videos with fitness-related tips.

Along with coaching, the new Health app could feature food tracking to compete with apps like MyFitnessPal.

Each May, Apple shares details on the new Accessibility features that it plans to add to upcoming versions of its software. This year, Apple detailed several new Accessibility options that will be coming to iOS 26.

App Store Labels

App Store product pages are getting Accessibility Nutrition Labels that highlight accessibility features in apps and games. The labels will let users know if features like VoiceOver, Voice Control, Captions, Reduced Motion, and other accessibility options are supported in apps.

Accessibility Reader

Accessibility Reader is a systemwide reading mode that will make text easier to read for users with a range of disabilities. It includes multiple text customization features with options for adjusting font, color, spacing, and more. Accessibility Reader can be launched from any app and is built into the Magnifier app.

CarPlay

In CarPlay, Apple is adding support for Large Text and new Sound Recognition features that will alert drivers about the sound of a crying baby, along with sounds outside the car like horns and sirens.

Braille Access

Braille Access turns an iPhone or iPad into a braille note taking device integrated in the Apple ecosystem. Users can open any app with Braille Screen Input or a connected braille device, for quick note taking in braille format. Braille Ready Format files can be opened from Braille Access, and an integrated form of Live Captions is supported.

Other New Features

• Background Sounds - Background sounds will be customizable with new EQ settings, the option to stop after a set period of time, and actions for automations in Shortcuts.
• Personal Voice - The Personal Voice feature that lets users preserve their voice is faster, easier, and more powerful. It will be able to take advantage of advances in on-device machine learning to create a smoother, more natural-sounding voice in less than a minute. Apple is also adding support for Spanish.
• Vehicle Motion Cues - Apple is adding new customization options for the animated onscreen dots used by Vehicle Motion Cues.
• Eye Tracking - Eye Tracking will let users choose to use a switch or dwell for making selections. There's also a new keyboard dwell timer for typing and reduced steps when typing with switches.
• Head Tracking - Users will be able to more easily control iPhone and iPad with head movements.
• Brain Computer Interfaces - For users that have Brain Computer Interface devices, Apple is adding a protocol that supports Switch Control, a technology that will let users control their device without physical movement.
• Assistive Access - This setting is getting a custom Apple TV app with a simplified media player.
• Music Haptics - Music Haptics on iPhone will get customization options so haptics can be enabled for a whole song, or just vocals, plus there will be options to adjust the intensity of taps, textures, and vibrations.
• Sound Recognition - Sound Recognition is gaining Name Recognition, so users who are deaf or hard of hearing will know when their name is being called.
• Live Captions - For Live Captions, Apple is adding support for English (India, Australia, UK, Singapore), Mandarin Chinese (Mainland China), Cantonese (Mainland China, Hong Kong), Spanish (Latin America, Spain), French (France, Canada), Japanese, German (Germany), and Korean.
• Sharing - A Share Accessibility Settings option will let users quickly and temporarily share their accessibility settings with another iPhone or iPad, which Apple says is useful for borrowing a friend's device.

iOS 26 could include support for a version of Stage Manager on the iPhone models with a USB-C port, activating when an iPhone is connected to an external display over USB-C.

Stage Manager would allow multiple apps to be open at once, providing a more iPad or Mac like experience when an iPhone is used with a display. Samsung has a feature called DeX that turns a Galaxy smartphone into a computer when it's attached to a display, so Apple could be planning for a competing option.

Apple is planning to allow iPhone users in the European Union to set a voice assistant other than Siri, adopting Alexa, Google Assistant, or another option as the default instead of Siri.

It's not clear when this functionality will be introduced, but Apple often ties EU updates to iOS updates, so it is something that could come in iOS 26 or an update to iOS 26.

After Apple's failure to deliver the more personalized Siri with Apple Intelligence on time, Apple plans to stop announcing new features more than a few months before they are ready to launch. Apple also was not able to get CarPlay Ultra out on time, which is another reason why it is adopting the policy of no longer sharing new features so far in advance.

Apple is developing a much smarter version of Siri that utilizes advanced large language models or LLMs, allowing the personal assistant to better compete with AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT.

An LLM is trained on huge amounts of data, which allows it to understand and generate natural, human-like language, perform tasks, and solve problems. LLMs are the backbone of generative AI, or AI that can create content. LLMs are typically trained on text, art, languages, math, coding, and more.

A chatbot version of Siri would likely be able to hold ongoing conversations with ease and provide the same kind of help and insight as ChatGPT or Google Gemini. Apple is aiming for a Siri that's able to better converse with iPhone, iPad, and Mac users, with Siri responding like a human would.

LLM integration would allow Siri to perform more complex tasks, which the current version of Siri is not capable of. As of right now, Apple has to rely on ChatGPT integration in iOS 18.2 for queries that are beyond Siri's capability. ChatGPT can analyze images, generate images from scratch, answer complex questions, give advice, and more.

Apple is testing the new Siri internally in a separate app on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, but it will eventually replace the current version of Siri. Apple was expected to announce LLM Siri as soon as WWDC 2025, but development on the ChatGPT-style Siri is behind schedule, and it is no longer expected in iOS 26.

Apple believes that the LLM version of Siri is on par with recent versions of ChatGPT, and the company is considering giving Siri the ability to access the internet to gather data from multiple sources like ChatGPT and other chatbots.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that a "larger-than-usual number of features" slated for release in iOS 26 have been postponed until spring 2026. It's possible that the release version of iOS 26 will be light on major new features, with Apple rolling them out over a longer span of time.

Earlier this year, Gurman suggested that Apple is slowly moving away from timed software releases that come on an annual basis, focusing instead on debuting new functionality when it's ready. A more laid back schedule allows Apple to make sure its software is more polished and ready to go without having to rush to meet an annual timeline.

Apple could continue on with what it did for the iOS 18 launch. New features like Apple Intelligence were announced at WWDC, but the capabilities have seen a staggered release. Apple won't finish releasing all of the features previewed at WWDC 2024 until spring 2025 or later, just in time to start gearing up for iOS 26.

iPadOS 26 will also see tablet-specific updates, and rumors suggest that Apple is working on adding features that will make the usage experience closer to using a Mac.

iPadOS 26 could add improved productivity, better multitasking, and expanded window management options.

When connected to a Magic Keyboard, an iPad running iPadOS 26 will have a macOS-like menu bar that will make for a more Mac-like experience.

Apple Pencil

Apple will introduce a new reed calligraphy pen for Apple Pencil users that will be available for writing in Arabic script.

Over on our forums, MacRumors readers have a discussion thread on features that they hope to see introduced in iOS 26.

• What's On Your iOS 26 Wishlist?

Feel free to join in, and let us know what you want Apple to add or change in iOS 26.

iOS 26 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, but it will run on all other iPhones that support iOS 18.

• iPhone 16e
• iPhone 16
• iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16 Pro
• iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 15
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)

While these iPhones will support iOS 26, advanced features may be limited to newer iPhones with faster processors. Apple Intelligence in iOS 18, for example, only runs on the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 16 models.

Apple will preview iOS 26 at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2025. After WWDC, iOS 26 will be made available to developers for testing purposes, and then Apple will roll out a public beta later in the summer.

Following the beta testing period, iOS 26 will launch in September 2025 alongside new iPhones, but not all planned iOS 26 features are likely to be available right at launch.

Instead, Apple will have a staggered rollout, much like it did for the iOS 18 Apple Intelligence features.