iOS 26: All the new features coming to your iPhone
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Apple is gearing up to reveal iOS 26 (or iOS 19, if the name-change rumors are inaccurate) at WWDC 2025.
While a potential name change is interesting, what'll make or break the company's next significant OS update are the new features. Apple needs to offer something compelling with iOS 26, as the last few updates have been relatively minor (Apple Intelligence being the most significant new feature, which has been plagued with problems).
Thankfully, the rumor mill has been churning out potential new iOS 26 features regularly, and it sounds exciting. Here are the most significant new features we expect to see when Apple launches iOS 26 at WWDC 25.
The centerpiece of the next version of iOS is reportedly a massive visual overhaul. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple has three key focuses for the new interface: simpler to use, faster to navigate and easier to learn.
"The big thing with this redesign is consistent controls, icons, buttons, user interface dynamics and mechanisms across both iOS and macOS," said Gurman in a report.
The alleged codename for this new interface design is Solarium, and it will reportedly be consistent across all of Apple's new software and borrow the look of visionOS.
A big look at what iOS 26 could look like came from a Jon Prosser video. This isn't a final look at the OS, as it's leaked mockups, but it could give us a strong indication of what to expect from the new design.
This is expected to be the biggest shakeup to the iOS look and feel since iOS 7, which launched 12 years ago. That's a long time for a popular OS to remain relatively stagnant, so I'm very excited to see what Apple does.
Apple has to knock it out of the park with Apple Intelligence. Whether the company calls it Apple Intelligence 2.0 or something else entirely, the original launch wasn't good. Apple typically doesn't launch a half-baked product, but that's precisely what happened with the company's race to catch up in the AI space.
Some new changes expected to arrive on iOS 26 include: Siri's AI upgrades, new third-party AI integrations, iPhone battery improvements and expanding AI into more apps.
Siri in particular is way behind Google Gemini Live and ChatGPT. Apple isn't rumored to have a true competitor that can handle live conversations and multi-modal support for audio and video until next year. But we could could get other promised upgrades like personal context awareness (think emails, photos, and calendar), on-screen awareness, and deeper app integration in iOS 26. It just might not happen right away.
The biggest thing Apple needs to do is make Apple Intelligence good. As the main selling point of iOS 18, it underdelivered. The company has another chance to make a good impression, as users want the AI built into their phone to work well. However, if Apple drops the ball again, it might be tough to win users over.
While this might seem like a minor change, knowing how long it'll take your phone to charge is a helpful feature when you're in a hurry. And this should be an iOS 26 feature.
According to some reputable leakers, you'll be able to look at your iPhone's lock screen and see how long you must wait for a full charge. Knowledge is power, and this feature is most definitely a powerful one that's worth getting excited about.
According to a report in 9to5Mac, there are two notable upgrades coming to Messages in iOS 26. The first is polls. So, for example, you could insert a poll in a text thread about possible restaurant options. Apple may even suggest and format polls based on the context of the conversation.
The second upgrade is more niche. Apparently Apple is working on automatic translation for incoming and outgoing messages if you happen to be texting someone who speaks a different language.
Apple is reportedly going to add Markdown support to the Apple Notes app. This would enable users to more easily export notes, as Markdown is a plain text format. It would presumable make keyboard-driven formatting easier and make it simpler to switch to other note-taking apps.
If you happen to use Apple Music, you'll be happy to know that Apple may be bringing full-screen animated album art to your lock screen on the iPhone. This could look pretty slick, and I hope Spotify is allowed to do the same thing, as it makes listening to music part of the OS experience.
Apple CarPlay could be getting a major facelift with iOS 26, as it's rumored to mirror the same Solarium AI overhaul as the iPhone itself. Not much else is known at this point, but for people who use their iPhone with their car, this could be a big deal.
According to Apple, the Accessibility Nutrition Labels will bring a new section to App Store product pages that highlight accessibility features within apps and games. Basically, you can use this these labels to find out if an app is accessible or if it won't be.
Like any major OS update, Apple is expected to add numerous accessibility features to iOS 26. Some of these features will only be useful for specific individuals, but others can significantly speed up workflows for everyone.
Apple announced that it will add a system-wide Reader mode and more.
Here's the complete list of features coming to the accessibility side of things:
Accessibility nutrition labels on the App Store
All-New magnifier for Mac
New braille experience
Accessibility reader
Live captions on Apple Watch
Enhanced view with Apple Vision Pro
Background sounds
Faster personal voice
Vehicle motion cues come to Mac
Eye Tracking on iOS improved switch control
Improved head tracking
Support Switch Control for Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) on iOS, iPadOS and visionOS
Assistive Access adds a new custom Apple TV app
Music Haptics on iPhone becomes more customizable
Sound Recognition adds Name Recognition
Voice Control introduces a new programming mode in Xcode
Live Captions adds new languages
CarPlay gets support for Large Text
CarPlay sound recognition gets new sounds
Share Accessibility Settings lets users share accessibility settings with another iPhone or iPad
We've also heard rumblings that Apple will introduce new first-party apps and make significant updates to some existing ones.
There will be a new Apple Games app, according to reports. Essentially, it will replace the often-forgotten Game Center app and add new functionality that was previously unavailable. For mobile gamers, this alone is worth getting excited about, as it signals that Apple still considers games an essential part of iOS.
Other rumored updates include live translation in the Translate app, allowing it to further compete with Google Translate (which can now be made the default on iOS).
Apple is also expected to enhance the Health App with Apple Health+. Features include food logging, educational videos, and AI coaching are on the table.
Finally, Messages is expected to play better with RCS, further bridging the divide between Android and iOS.
Here's a rundown of other small tweaks you might expect to see on iOS 19:
Stage Manager on external display
Captive Wi-Fi sync to make connecting easier
Background Sounds enhancements
eSIM transfer to Android
WWDC 2025 is make or break for Apple Intelligence — here's why
Apple could announce a dedicated gaming app at WWDC 2025
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The only ‘Made in America' smartphone maker has a message for Apple about manufacturing in the Trump tariff era
Todd Weaver has an important message for Apple as it faces growing demands by President Donald Trump to reshore some of its smartphone production: Don't listen to the conventional wisdom. Experts have long said that manufacturing iPhones in the U.S., rather than Asia, as Apple does, would be logistically impossible and ridiculously expensive. But Weaver argues companies can indeed do it successfully, and at a similar or only slightly higher cost—if given several years to navigate the inevitable complications. Weaver should know: His startup, Purism, is among the few, if not the only business, that assembles smartphones in the U.S. In fact, the U.S. pedigree is the main selling point of his company's Made in America device, the Liberty Phone. 'It is challenging to do this in the U.S.,' Weaver acknowledges. 'It's probably the reason I'm the only one.' 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Apple reportedly ditching its OS naming system for something more... confusing?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Quick Summary Apple is set to rip up the copybook when it comes to the names of its new OS updates. Industry sources claim the next iOS will be called iOS 26. Apple's other operating systems will follow suit, it is said. If you own an Apple device you'll likely be au fait with the company's OS naming system. We're currently on variants of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, tvOS 18, etc, and iOS 19 and we're fully expecting iOS 19 and its equivalents to be announced during WWDC in a couple of weeks. However, it turns out we could be very wrong. It is claimed that Apple is set to shake-up the naming convention for the software coming to its best iPhones and other devices. And rather than simplify things, it could be more baffling than ever. Bloomberg's resident Apple expert, Mark Gurman, has reported that Apple will switch to yearly identifiers from this year's OS updates. However, much like EA does with its annual EA Sports games, it'll opt for the forthcoming year, not the current one. According to "people with knowledge of the matter", that means we'll get iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26 and visionOS 26 this year, while next year will see iOS 27 release, and so on. The software will be the same as the rumoured iOS 19, etc, but the name will be different. Of course, once we get into the swing of it, it'll make sense. And we get why Apple would want to use the proceeding year rather than current one, considering each OS is likely to release towards the end of 2025 (in September). However, it could make it particularly confusing when scanning through app compatibility, for example. The jump from 19 to 26 leaves quite a gap for the uninitiated. It's also been pointed out just how Samsung this all seems. Samsung has, since 2020, named its flagship Android phones after years – although as they launch in February or March, they use the current date. The Samsung Galaxy S25 family is the latest, therefore. It doesn't do so with its software though, with One UI 8 (based on Android 16) set to be its next big phone OS release. We'll find out more about the new naming structure on 9 June during during Apple's WWDC 25 opening keynote (or should that be 26?).
