Features, New Design, Compatible iPhones & More

On June 9, 2025, Apple announced iOS 26. The company jumped from iOS 18 to iOS 26 as a way to unify all of its software platforms. Despite iOS 26 launching in 2025, Apple is using 2026 as the number because it’ll launch for everyone in September.

iOS 26 brought in a new unifying design that was inspired by visionOS. This is part of Apple unifying all of its platforms under the same name and design. This makes 2025 a huge year for Apple, with a redesign of all of its platforms.

In this article, we’ll be going over everything you need to know about iOS 26. From the iOS 26 Release date, to features, to betas, and everything in between.

iOS 26 Beta Schedule

Unlike Google, Apple does not make public how many betas there will be before the stable version launches. Apple typically launches a new beta about every 2-4 weeks, depending on issues that arise during the betas.

So far, here is the beta schedule for iOS 26:

• iOS 26 Developer Beta 1 – June 9, 2025
• iOS 26 Public Beta 1 – July 2025

Here’s a look at iOS 18’s beta cycle from last year, to give you an idea of how Apple typically does these beta launches:

• iOS 18 Developer Beta 1 – Released on June 10, 2024
• iOS 18 Developer Beta 2 – Released on June 24, 2024
• iOS 18 Developer Beta 3 – Released on July 8, 2024
• iOS 18 Developer Beta 3 Re-Release – Released on July 15, 2024
• iOS 18 Developer Beta 4 – Released on July 23, 2024
• iOS 18 Developer Beta 5 – Released on August 5, 2024
• iOS 18 Developer Beta 6 – released on August 12, 2024
• iOS 18 Developer Beta 7 – Released on August 19, 2024
• iOS 18 Developer Beta 8 – Released on August 28, 2024
• iOS 18 Final Release – Released on September 16, 2024

iOS 26 Release Date

While Apple does not mention a specific date (or even a specific month) other than just “this Fall”, we do kind of know when the iOS 26 Release Date is going to be.

Typically, Apple releases the next version of iOS on the Monday following the iPhone announcement. Which is typically the second week of September, so theoretically, we could see iOS 26 launch the week of September 15 or possibly the week of September 22.

Which iPhones support iOS 26?

Apple does not promise a specific number of updates or number of years for updates for the iPhone. But they do typically support them for quite a long time. In fact, iOS 18 supported iPhones all the way back to the iPhone Xs, which was released in 2018.

Here’s the complete list of iPhones that will get iOS 26 this fall.

• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 Mini
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 Mini
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 15
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 16
• iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16 Pro
• iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 16e

iOS 26 Features

iOS 26 brings in a brand new design, for the first time in over a decade, which Apple is referring to as “Liquid Glass”. This is a pretty stunning new design for iOS and the rest of Apple’s platforms. With that, there’s not a ton of new features for iOS, but there’s still a handful available.

Liquid Glass

Liquid Glass is a new universal design language, a first for Apple. This is inspired by visionOS and is layered throughout the system. Featuring rounded corners that match the rounded corners of the iPhone and iPad. It behaves just like glass in the real world and morphs when you need more options or move between views.

New Visual Intelligence Features

Last year, with the release of the iPhone 16 and its new Camera Control button, Apple debuted Visual Intelligence. This is similar to Google Lens, where you can press the Camera Control button to find out more info about something. Now, Visual Intelligence can see what’s on your screen. Think of this as Apple’s own Circle to Search feature.

Now when you take a screenshot, you’ll see the usual mark up tools at the top, but at the bottom are new buttons for Visual Intelligence. So you can find out what that person’s wearing in that post on Instagram.

New Calling Features

Apple also added a handful of features that Google Pixel users will find familiar. Like Call Screening. This works with Live Voicemail, so all unknown numbers are automatically screened, asking the caller why they’re calling, and then the phone will ring telling you why that person is calling.

Apple is also making hold times much more enjoyable. iOS 26 can identify hold music, and hold the call for you. So you can go about your day. And when the customer service agent comes online, your phone will ring so you can come back to the phone and talk to them.

Anti-spam features in Messages

Spam has been a huge problem with messages on iOS, even more so than on Android. And Apple is finally doing something about it. Users can now screen messages from unknown senders in iOS 26. Messages from unknown senders will appear in a dedicated folder where users can then mark the number as known, ask for information, or delete it. The messages will remain silenced until a user accepts them.

That’s not all for Messages. Apple is also adding the ability to change the background, as well as adding polls into group chats.

CarPlay gets the new design

CarPlay also gets the new liquid glass design, but that’s not all. Apple is also bringing Widgets and Live Activities to CarPlay. It also brings Tapbacks and pinned conversations to Messages in CarPlay.

There’s plenty more available in iOS 26, which you can check out on the Apple iOS 26 webpage.

Download iOS 26 Beta

The first developer beta for iOS 26 was made available on June 9, 2025. The first public beta coming in July. The launch of iOS 26 will come this Fall, shortly after the new iPhone launch.

If you want to try out the beta today, here’s how to download iOS 26 Beta.

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