With iOS 26, Apple has made a key strategy shift: it’s no longer pre-announcing major new features that won’t be available for months to come.
Here’s why I think that’s a great decision by Apple, and why it could make for an exciting 12 months.
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Apple Maps continues to get better each year, with the variety of new iOS 26 features keeping that trend going. And according to new discoveries in iOS beta code, it seems Apple may have a couple additional Maps features on the way. [Update: See note at the bottom of the article on feature availability.]
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Sorry or you’re welcome? Apple’s new Liquid Glass visual element is getting any icy design change in some places before it reaches customers. iOS 26 developer beta 3, which will likely be iOS 26 public beta 1 later this month, reduces the transparency effect in a number of places like navigation bars in certain apps. In the example above, the top shows beta 2 while the bottom shows the current look in beta 3.
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iOS 26 beta 3 is out now for iPhones on the developer beta. Below we’re collecting all of the iOS 26 beta 3 changes compared to the previous version.
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iOS 26 is launching to all users this fall, but during the summer Apple is continually refining the update through a beta process. Today, iOS 26 beta 3 arrived, and one change is an expanded array of color options for the new default wallpaper.
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Four weeks have passed since Apple unveiled iOS 26 and the major software redesign coming for iPhone. Now it’s time to start testing the third developer beta preview and see how performance and polish have improved. iOS 26 also includes loads of new features and functionality in addition to the new Liquid Glass-inspired look and feel.
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Apple’s Messages app got a lot of new features last year, but iOS 26 continues the trend of big upgrades, including a handy solution for all those unwanted spam texts you keep getting.
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iPhones and Android smartphones started to play more nicely together after Apple finally opted to support the Rich Communication Services (RCS) standard. Prior to this, messages between the two platforms had to use the ancient and insecure text messaging service.
Not all RCS features are supported as yet, with the all-important strong encryption waiting for RCS 3.0 support in iOS 26. Another RCS 3.0 feature is the ability to edit outgoing messages after sending them, and that one has started a limited one-way rollout …
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iOS 26 is a packed update for iPhone users thanks to the new Liquid Glass design and major updates for Messages, Wallet, CarPlay, and more. But another new feature was just discovered in the iOS 26 beta: FaceTime will now freeze your call’s video and audio if someone starts undressing.
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Apple has a new Liquid Glass design coming to iOS 26, macOS 26, and every other software platform. And whether you love it, hate it, or are indifferent, Apple’s new design seems like a major win in several key ways.
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Earlier this month Apple unveiled iOS 26 and the host of changes it introduces. But now the company has confirmed that, due to regulatory concerns, iOS 26 will ship without certain features enabled for EU users.
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According to the Power On newsletter from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple still has a few more iOS 26 features in the pipeline. These features weren’t announced at WWDC, though they were heavily rumored, and they should still arrive in the coming months.
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Update 6/25/2025: Eight days later, version 36.10.1 on the App Store restores iOS 26 support.
Fortnite returned to the U.S. App Store last month after a five year hiatus over litigation between Epic Games and Apple. As of today, however, Fortnite is as good as gone on iPhones and iPads running the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 beta.
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HomePod and HomePod mini may not have achieved the success Apple hoped for, but they nonetheless continue being actively developed, and iOS 26 will bring two new features to the smart speakers.
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iOS 26 is a major software release not only for iPhone, but also adjacent platforms like CarPlay and AirPods. And there’s one AirPods feature in particular that could very well be Apple’s preparation for AirPods Pro 3 gaining cameras.
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Apple was quick to address what was by far one of the biggest complaints from the first iOS 26 developer beta: Control Center contrast. With beta 2, released earlier today, Apple seems to have tweaked it for better visibility.
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Apple just released iOS 26 beta 2, bringing additional refinements and changes to the forthcoming software update. Among various design enhancements and tweaks, beta 2 adds a new Apple Music widget for Live Radio, the third new widget so far in iOS 26.
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iOS 26 beta 2 is out now for iPhones on the developer beta. Below we’re collecting everything that has changed between the original and latest beta.
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Apple has released iOS 26 beta 2. The update replaces iOS 26 beta 1 which arrived on June 9 (followed by an updated build for iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 on June 13).
The second version of the pre-release iPhone software update is available now for developer beta testers. Apple will expand iOS 26 beta testing in July when it adds the major new version to its public beta channel too.
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Apple’s tight grip on local wireless sharing is finally loosening, even if rather reactively. With iOS 26, developers are getting a new API that allows third-party apps to discover and connect nearby devices over Wi-Fi, without needing an internet connection. Here’s how it’ll work.
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Apple unveiled iOS 26 last week at WWDC 2025. While Liquid Glass and iPadOS certainly stole the show, there’s a number of smaller features for iPhone users that I think a lot of people will still enjoy, and I’ll be diving into them here.
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CarPlay’s evolution has in several ways been a disappointment since the “next generation” of CarPlay was first previewed in 2022. But all of a sudden, in the span of a mere month, CarPlay’s future looks brighter than it has in years—in part because of a redefinition of what that future will be.
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We are now in 2025, and there are so many MagSafe battery packs out there. Some are multifunctional, others have software touches, some can charge your phone fast, and they all have differentiators to help you decide. But sometimes you just want a beautiful-looking MagSafe battery pack that does all the main things great, while also looking slim, sleek, and stylish. That is precisely what Pitaka was able to do with their new aramid fiber magnetic power bank. Here is what you should know.
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Apple Intelligence doesn’t (yet) offer an official chatbot mode, but in iOS 26 Apple will let power users get a chatbot-style experience via the Shortcuts app. Here’s how it works.
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