Apple has announced the release date for iOS 26, the next major software update for iPhones: Monday, September 15th.
iOS 26 is out on September 15th
The update adds a whole new look to your iPhone thanks to Apple’s Liquid Glass design language.
The update adds a whole new look to your iPhone thanks to Apple’s Liquid Glass design language.
Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge
is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.
The update’s biggest feature is a new design language called Liquid Glass. The new design adds a glassy sheen to many different parts of the operating system, and things like buttons and search bars have a translucency that lets some elements of what’s under them show through. Liquid Glass isn’t just limited to iOS 26: it’s also heading to iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26.
Over the course of its iOS 26 betas, Apple has tweaked just how glassy Liquid Glass has been. Initially, I found there were some legibility issues, especially with Control Center. With later betas, though, I felt like Apple had really dialed in the look, and I’ve gotten used to it.
In addition to Liquid Glass, iOS 26 adds features like Live Translation powered by Apple Intelligence, a new layout for the Phone app, call screening features, updates to Messages like the ability to create polls and add custom backgrounds to chats, and a new Games app.
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