iPhone's Phone App Is Getting a Major Upgrade, Including a Smarter Way to Wait on Hold
Apple's Phone app is finally getting a major glow-up. If you've ever been stuck on hold with customer service, you'll appreciate one of the biggest changes coming with iOS 26.
At its WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a sweeping redesign of the Phone app aimed at making one of the iPhone's most-used features feel more intelligent, streamlined and helpful. The centerpiece is a new Hold Assist feature that uses on-device intelligence to recognize when you're stuck listening to hold music and offers to wait in line for you. In essence, you will no need to keep the phone to your ear while the minutes tick by. When the call finally reaches a real human, you'll get an alert letting you know it's time to pick up.
Hold Assist is just the beginning, though. The refreshed Phone app also brings a unified design that folds together your recent calls, voicemails and favorites into a single scrollable view, reducing the need to bounce between tabs.
The Phone app will now be a unified hub that keeps your favorites pinned at the top, while recents and voicemails fold into one scroll.
Apple/Screenshot by Joe Maldonado/CNET
Apple is also introducing Call Screening, a feature that leverages Siri and Apple Intelligence to silently answer unknown calls on your behalf. Instead of sending suspicious numbers straight to voicemail, the system will answer quietly in the background, gather information and display a summary so you can decide if the call's worth taking. Essentially, it's a smarter evolution of call filtering, with no extra apps or silencing tricks needed.
Voicemails are also getting a glow-up thanks to Apple Intelligence. The Phone app will now offer AI-generated summaries of both voicemails and voice notes, so you can quickly catch up on missed calls without having to listen to every second of the recording.
The Phone app redesign marks one of the biggest updates to the iPhone's Phone app in years. It's also a clear sign that Apple is continuing to doubledown on integrating AI across its core apps in ways that attempt to solve everyday annoyances.
The new Phone app experience will roll out with iOS 19 later this year.
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