Apple Unveils New iOS 26, Introduces Liquid Glass
This marks a bold new era for the tech giant with what it calls its “broadest software design update ever.”
Courtesy of Apple
Announced during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 keynote on Tuesday, June 9 (PH Time), Apple has officially introduced iOS 26, marking a new era with the all-new Liquid Glass redesign, offering a refined look that enhances usability while preserving the familiar iOS feel.
Liquid Glass is a translucent, responsive material inspired by the depth of visionOS, that reacts to light and motion. It now appears system-wide, from buttons and sliders to tab bars, sidebars, and entire app layouts, adding dimensionality and context-aware visuals across Apple’s iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS.
Core apps like Camera, Photos, Safari, Music, News, and Podcasts have been redesigned to emphasize content, with toolbars and controls that float and adapt based on user interaction. App icons and widgets are now customizable with new clear, dark, and light tints that fluidly adapt to system themes. Additionally, the Lock Screen time display is also now integrated with Liquid Glass and dynamically adjusts to match wallpapers.
iOS 26 HOME SCREEN: Courtesy of Apple
Apple Intelligence brings major enhancements to productivity and communication, including Live Translation for real-time voice and text translation, Visual Intelligence for screen interaction, Genmoji and Image Playground for creating personalized emoji and images, and Smart Summaries that pull delivery details from emails or suggest polls in Messages.
APPLE GAMES: Courtesy of Apple
APPLE MUSIC LYRICS TRANSLATION: Courtesy of Apple
APPLE INTELLIGENCE: Courtesy of Apple
The Phone app now has a unified layout with new features like Call Screening and Hold Assist. In Messages, unknown senders are filtered separately. CarPlay features a sleeker interface with pinned chats, compact call notifications, and widget support for a more seamless driving experience.
Maps, on the other hand, introduces “Visited Places” with route suggestions, while Wallet adds support for in-store installment payments and live boarding pass tracking.
For the music lovers out there, Apple Music now includes AutoMix, their answer to SpotifySpotifyA digital music, podcast, and audiobook streaming platform that lets users listen to millions of tracks and shows on demand across multiple devices.’s AI DJ, which seamlessly blends songs with crossfading and beat matching. On the other hand, Lyrics Translation and Pronunciation help users sing along to translated lyrics naturally.
AirPods now come with advanced features like studio-quality audio recording, tap-to-trigger camera control, and improved voice isolation.
Meanwhile, Apple Games debuts as a unified hub combining App Store games, Apple Arcade titles, and Game Center features. It includes a full library of downloaded or purchased games, easy access to Apple Arcade, and Game Center functionalities under one roof.
The devices that will support iOS 26 when it releases include:
- iPhone 11 and newer
- Apple Watch Series 6 and newer, 2nd-gen Watch SE, and all Watch Ultra models
- iPads: iPad Pro (M4), 12.9″ Pro (3rd gen+), 11″ Pro (1st gen+), iPad Air (3rd gen+), iPad (8th gen+), and iPad mini (5th gen+), including models with A16 and A17 Pro chips
This marks the first major iOS release not to include the four iPhone models: iPhone SE (2nd Gen), XR, XS, and XS Max.
No official release date for iOS 26 has been revealed, however, if it follows previous iOS rollouts, a target launch around September is likely.
