TLDR;
This video provides an in-depth look at the new features in iOS 26, highlighting the liquid glass redesign, clear app icons, dynamic lock screen, and visual intelligence enhancements. It also covers improvements to messaging, including polls, typing indicators, and background customization, as well as new functionalities in the phone app like call screening and hold assist. Additionally, the video explores updates to the music app, such as auto mix and lyric translation, the introduction of the preview and games apps, and enhancements to AirPods functionality.
- Liquid Glass Redesign with transparency effects across the UI.
- Enhanced Visual Intelligence with quick actions and intelligent suggestions.
- New Messaging Features including polls, group typing indicators and customizable backgrounds.
- Improved media experiences with animated album artwork, auto mix in music, and lyric translation.
- New Apps and Tools such as Preview app, Games app, and advanced spam filtering.
Introduction [0:00]
iOS 26 introduces numerous new features, including a liquid glass redesign and various other enhancements. The video provides an in-depth walkthrough of these major updates. The video is sponsored by Imeazing 3, which offers scalable tools for managing Apple mobile devices across personal, educational, and enterprise contexts. It allows users to browse and restore from backup snapshots, transfer data, and access utilities for device diagnostics and app management.
Liquid Glass Redesign [1:17]
iOS 26 features a liquid glass redesign, which is the first major UI overhaul since iOS 7. This design emphasizes transparency and glass-like effects throughout the user interface. The tab bar at the bottom allows swiping between tabs, with the glass effect refracting and distorting light as you move across them. The copy-paste menu expands for quick access to options, and button options appear directly where you tap. The address bar in Safari dynamically adjusts size while scrolling and changes color based on the content underneath.
Clear app icons [3:27]
iOS 26 introduces clear app icons that complement the liquid glass design. Users can customize their home screen with these clear icons, choosing between dark and light modes. The light and colors from the wallpaper shine through these icons, enhancing the overall aesthetic.
Dynamic Lock Screen [4:11]
The dynamic lock screen in iOS 26 features a clock that automatically adjusts, stretching or compressing based on the wallpaper content. Users can manually edit the lock screen, choosing different clock styles and switching between solid and glass appearances. The font weight can also be adjusted using a slider. The new iOS 26 wallpaper has multi-layers of glass, similar to the icons, with both light and dark versions available.
Animated album artwork [6:20]
The lock screen now supports animated album artwork, a feature previously available only in the music app. The time and date move out of the way to provide an unobstructed view of the animated artwork, enhancing the lock screen's vibrancy.
Visual Intelligence on screen content [6:50]
Visual intelligence is enhanced in iOS 26, now accessible via the screenshot interface. After taking a screenshot, users can access options like Chat GPT and Google Image Search. The system can identify objects in the image, and users can ask questions or search for related images inline. For example, taking a screenshot of a concert announcement automatically provides a link to the website and an option to add the event to the calendar. The highlight to search feature allows users to focus on a specific area of the screen by drawing a circle around it, prompting an image search for the selected item.
Intelligent Actions [8:45]
Intelligent actions in the shortcuts app allow users to directly access large language models (LLMs). Users can access private cloud models or use extensions like Chat GPT. This feature enables the creation of shortcuts that tap into the power of these models, allowing for complex and customized actions.
Mixed emoji [9:39]
iOS 26 introduces the ability to mix emojis, combining two different emojis using an image playground interface. Users can select two emojis, and the system will combine them, with results varying. Text can also be combined with emojis.
ChatGPT Image Playgrounds styles [10:27]
The image playgrounds feature includes new Chat GPT styles. The image playgrounds icon has been updated. Users can create recipes and choose styles like Genoji or Chat GPT styles, including options like oil painting and watercolor.
Polls in Messages [10:59]
The Messages app now supports polls. Users can add a poll to a message, providing multiple choices for recipients to vote on. Additional choices can be added, and poll details, including stats, can be viewed.
Typing indicators for groups [11:52]
Typing indicators are now available for group messages, allowing users to see when others are typing. The feature displays typing indicators within the message thread.
Messages backgrounds [12:13]
The Messages app in iOS 26 allows users to change the background of a chat. All participants in the chat can see the changed background, which can be animated. Users can choose from suggested backgrounds, use photos from their library, or generate backgrounds using image playgrounds.
Live Translation [13:14]
Live translation is available in the Messages app. Users can enable automatic translation and choose a language. Messages are automatically translated for the recipient, and incoming messages in a different language are translated back to the user's language. Live translation also works in the phone app.
Call Screening [14:18]
iOS 26 introduces a call screening feature. Calls from unknown numbers are screened, requiring callers to provide their name and reason for calling before the phone rings. Users can view the caller's details and decide whether to answer the call.
Messages Screening [15:34]
Advanced spam filtering is added to the Messages app. Text messages are automatically sorted into categories like time-sensitive, personal, transactions, and promotional. Users can enable these filters, and messages will be categorized accordingly.
Hold Assist [16:36]
The hold assist feature allows users to go about their business while on hold during a phone call. Users will be notified when it's time to pick the call back up, saving time and allowing them to use their phone for other tasks.
Auto Mix in Music [17:19]
Auto mix in the music app builds on the transition feature, beat matching and changing the tempo of songs to match like a DJ when switching between songs.
Lyric Translation [17:39]
Lyric translation is a new feature in the music app. Users can view the pronunciation of lyrics in romanized English and see translations of lyrics in other languages, displayed directly below the original lyrics.
Preview app [18:38]
The preview app comes to iOS 26, allowing users to preview images, PDFs, and other types of content. Users can mark up images, rotate them, adjust their size, and more. The app also allows users to create new images and use disclosure triangles when viewing folders as a list in the files app.
Games app [19:56]
A new games app combines Apple Arcade and Game Center into one location. Users can view their library, download additional games, and access Apple Arcade titles. The app provides an allencompassing area for games, allowing users to start playing directly from the app. A new game overlay provides details about the game and options to change display, sound, and connect to a controller.
HD recording via AirPods [21:12]
AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 gain HD recording capabilities. Users can use their AirPods as an audio input, providing better quality at a distance compared to the built-in microphone on the iPhone.
AirPods camera remote [21:41]
AirPods can now be used as a camera remote. Users can press and hold or press once to initiate the shutter or start a video. This feature overrides media controls or listening mode controls.
Spatial Scenes in Photos [23:34]
Spatial scenes are available within the photos app. iOS can generate a spatial scene from regular photos, creating a 3D image when the phone is moved around. This feature does not require special hardware or cameras.
Photos app brings back tabs [24:23]
The photos app brings back tabs, with separate tabs for library and collections. This makes it easier to separate library content from collections content. Users can reorder collections and filter their library.
Multiple journals [25:10]
The journals app now supports multiple journals. Users can create separate journals for different topics, keeping them distinct from each other. The journal app is also now available on the iPad.
Clock snooze options [25:41]
The clock app now offers more snooze options. Users can choose a snooze duration between 1 minute and 15 minutes.
Automatic categorization for Reminders [25:57]
Reminders now features automatic categorization. Using Apple intelligence, the app can automatically categorize reminders by animals, food, video games, and more.