iOS 26 Public Beta Now Available: New Design, Smarter Apps, and More

by Emily Clarke July 25, 2025

Apple has officially released the iOS 26 public beta, and it’s a big one. With a completely refreshed design, new AI-powered features, and major updates to core apps, iOS 26 marks a bold new direction for iPhone software.

A New Era: Why iOS 26?

You’re not imagining things—Apple jumped from iOS 18 to iOS 26. This rebrand aligns all Apple operating systems with the year they’re designed for. So, iOS 26 will power iPhones throughout 2026.

Device Compatibility

iOS 26 supports a wide range of iPhones, going back to the iPhone 11 and the iPhone SE (2nd gen and later).

Liquid Glass Redesign

iOS 26 introduces Apple’s biggest visual overhaul in a decade with its new Liquid Glass design:

Transparent layers and fluid animations
Refreshed icons, menus, and buttons
More immersive interaction across the system

Phone App Upgrades

The Phone app gets smarter and more useful:

Unified view for Favorites, Recents, and Voicemail
Call Screening answers unknown calls and summarizes who’s calling
Hold Assist notifies you when a real person returns to the line
Voicemail summaries and SharePlay support also included

Messages App Gets Personal

Messages sees several major improvements:
Custom backgrounds for conversations
Polls with live voting
Smarter spam filtering and upgraded search
Typing indicators in group chats, Apple Cash support, and improved media organization

Smarter Camera and Photos

Camera gets a cleaner UI, lens-cleaning hints, and new AirPods shutter support
Photos now has a two-tab layout, event insights, and spatial viewing enhancements

Apple Music Upgrades

AutoMix for seamless transitions between songs
Lyrics translation and pronunciation
Pin favorites to the top of your Music Library

CarPlay: Widgets, Live Activities, and More

New widget screen for quick access to Calendar, Weather, and more
Live Activities now on CarPlay
Compact banners for incoming calls, and better message replies

New “Apple Games” App

iOS 26 introduces a dedicated Apple Games app for organizing all your App Store games, challenges, and leaderboards.

Maps Improvements

Preferred Routes learns your routines
Visited Places shows your history with easy sharing and full privacy controls

Apple Intelligence: Smarter Than Ever

Visual Intelligence turns screenshots into smart actions
Live Translation in Phone, FaceTime, and Messages
Genmoji and Image Playground updates, now with ChatGPT integration
Shortcuts enhanced with AI-driven actions

Final Thoughts

iOS 26 is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious iPhone updates in years. From stunning design changes to smarter features powered by Apple Intelligence, this update touches every corner of the iOS experience.

Stay tuned for more updates as Apple refines iOS 26 ahead of its final release later this year.