iOS is Apple’s operating system for the iPhone and iPad. It’s also the basis for tvOS for the Apple TV and watchOS for the Apple Watch. It’s even beginning to infiltrate the Mac in some ways. Apple has worked hard to keep iOS private and secure, and it has a huge ecosystem of apps via its official App Store. Some have argued that it is too locked down, but the trade-off is that it’s fast and stable for most users.
Google is adding Meet’s automatic conference room detection feature to the Meet and Gmail mobile apps. First launched on laptops last year, it uses silent ultrasound signals that are picked up by your phone’s mic to automatically check you into your conference room and prompt you to join Meet calls with your device in Companion mode, avoiding annoying feedback or other problems.
The iOS 26.3 beta introduces a new “Notification Forwarding” setting that you can use to forward alerts to non-Apple watches, according to MacRumors. The feature comes in response to an order from the EU, and is still a bit limited, as it only forwards notifications to one device at a time.
The new feature was recently announced by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps’ senior product manager, as spotted by 9to5Google. You’ll need to first connect your iPhone to your car through USB, Bluetooth, or CarPlay, but when you’re done driving Google Maps will automatically save your vehicle’s location for 48 hours, or until you start driving again.
After a ten-month investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority has designated Apple and Google’s mobile platforms with “strategic market status,” describing them as having “substantial, entrenched market power.” The companies now face extra anti-competition regulations in the UK, following a similar ruling for Google Search.
The newest iOS 26.1 developer beta forces you to slide to stop the alarm instead of mashing a button. This makes a lot of sense to me and I hope Apple keeps it in the final release, though I may regret saying that when I want to sleep more.
The free iOS app is now available to download worldwide today, following its announcement earlier this month, bringing Premiere Pro editing features to mobile devices. An Android version is also in development, but Adobe hasn’t said when it will arrive.
There are fixes for bugs that some new iPhone 17 / Pro / Air owners have noticed, like wonky Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios, as well as camera artifacts experienced “under certain lighting conditions.”
One iOS 26 issue addressed is blank custom tinted icons, plus one security flaw for a “maliciously crafted font.”
Apple has updated its iOS 26 website to say that a planned feature that lets you make a digital ID using your US passport will arrive sometime this year, MacRumors reports.
Android users can finally (it only took them 17 years!!!) mark emails as read directly from the Gmail notification, clearing the alert at the same time. Meanwhile iPhone notifications now include the sender’s picture, another bafflingly basic feature Gmail hasn’t offered until now.
But most people should buy the regular iPhone 17.
With the launch of iOS 26, Apple planned to let you create a digital ID with your US passport and store it in its Wallet app, allowing you to pass through TSA checkpoints while traveling within the country. Now, Apple says this feature will be “available in a software update,” as spotted by MacRumors.
Apple’s new cross-platform design system is created for a world we don’t live in.
