You can open up a long PDF, ask Siri what it says about a particular subject, and Siri can hand it off to ChatGPT to create a full summary. Apple sees Siri as a steward for AI models and tools, using available resources and presenting you with an answer without the need for multiple apps. Apple partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
AI App Features
With iOS 26, the app uses artificial intelligence to learn a user’s preferred routes, providing updates on delays before a user hits the road, according to the Apple website. Similarly, Messages now filters out texts from unknown senders, putting them in a different view away from your other conversations. The Spatial Scenes feature — which adds 3D effects to any photo you put on your lock screen — requires an iPhone 12 or later, leaving iPhone 11 models and the iPhone SE 2020 on the outside looking in. A number of iOS 26 additions require Apple Intelligence-ready devices, so if you want to take advantage of the new live translation tools Apple’s adding in iOS 26, you’ll need to have an iPhone 15 Pro or later.
After you’ve taken a tour of the new interface in iOS 26 and turned on some key new settings, it’s time to look at what’s new in the updated software. I wouldn’t presume to guess which features are your favorites, but I would suggest three places to get started with, as they have offer of the more interesting iOS 26 additions. Look, I’m going to guess you know if your current iPhone is on the list of the iOS 26-supported devices by now. But in case you weren’t paying attention when Apple announced compatibility at WWDC 2025 in June, what is ios developer you’ll need at least an iPhone 11 or later.
iOS 26.1 Will Change iPhone Security, For The Better
The feature works across millions of songs in the Apple Music catalog and developers can implement it into their apps. You can schedule an iMessage to be sent at a later date and time, with Apple permitting texts to be scheduled up to 14 days in advance. Scheduled messages can be set up by tapping the “+” sign next to the text field, choosing the More option, and selecting Send Later. Controls can be organized into separate pages for favorites, music, home, and connectivity, and more, and you can swipe up and down between the Control Center pages. Tapping into a smaller set of controls like connectivity or music expands it into a full screen view that you can interact with.
A more vibrant Lock Screen.
- While most of the iOS 26 features make their way to the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, some of the devices see unique updates, including a windowing system for the iPad.
- A user wearing AirPods Pro 3 may speak in their native language and then the earbuds will translate to the chosen language via speech or text on the attached iPhone.
- If this does happen, it’s another reason iOS 26 will be more secure than staying on iOS 18.
- You can’t quite put an app icon anywhere you want on the screen, but you can rearrange icons around your wallpaper and have more empty space than before.
- The tech giant also announced the launch of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone Air, three new Apple Watch models and the AirPods Pro 3.
Your incoming notifications are summarized, and the most important are at the top of the stack so you know what to focus on first. Incoming text messages and email messages are summarized so you can see everything that you need to know at a glance. As of iOS 18.3, Apple has removed Notification summaries for news and entertainment apps as the company works on a way to make them more accurate, but the feature will return in the future. Siri is able to tap into a huge database of Apple product knowledge and can tell you about device features and settings, as well as give tutorials on how to complete tasks on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
What It’s About
As of iOS 18.3, Apple Intelligence is enabled automatically on devices that support it, but it can be turned off in the Settings app. One of the most notable features of iOS 26 is Liquid Glass, a new user interface design on Apple devices. For example, with Liquid Glass activated, users can keep their home screen apps as normal or change them to appear translucent, showing off the background image.
Other Messages Features
IOS 26 is the successor of iOS 18, the current widely available operating system for iPhones. Instead of launching iOS 19 sequentially to iOS 18, Apple rebranded its OS versions to match the year when users will use them the most. As mentioned here, the exact bug squishes apply to a bug had been found where Wi-Fi and Bluetooth specifically on the iPhone 17 series and iPhone Air would occasionally disconnect. Though it didn’t apply to everyone, some users were unable to connect to a mobile network once they’d updated to iOS 26. A Camera issue for iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro left unexpected artefacts in some images has also been fixed. Finally, an issue where app icons with custom tints could appear blank has been addressed.
- We don’t anticipate that support for iOS 16 will continue with the arrival of iOS 16.
- Do this and your iPhone will automatically apply the update and bring your software to the latest version.
- The Passwords app supports passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, verification codes, and more.
- As of iOS 18.3, Apple has removed Notification summaries for news and entertainment apps as the company works on a way to make them more accurate, but the feature will return in the future.
- The Spatial Scenes feature — which adds 3D effects to any photo you put on your lock screen — requires an iPhone 12 or later, leaving iPhone 11 models and the iPhone SE 2020 on the outside looking in.
By backing up your phone — and making an archive of that backup — you’re able to reinstall that archive in the unlikely event that the updated software is unusable. It’s an extreme solution, as Apple rolls out software fixes pretty quickly, but it’s good to have that insurance on hand just in case. You should definitely back up your iPhone before jumping to a new version of iOS. The iOS software development kit (SDK) allows for the development of mobile apps that can run on iOS. The version number indicates the year following the year in which the version was introduced; this numbering scheme is now being used for all Apple operating systems, keeping their version numbers synchronized. Another major shift was with iOS 13 in 2019, as it marked the bifurcation of Apple’s mobile operating systems, with iPhones staying on iOS but the newly announced iPadOS powering the new iPads.
Apple iOS 26.0.1 Security
However, this technology never entered into common use, this led Apple to change its opinion, so in October 2007 the SDK for developers was announced, finally released on March 6, 2008. Here’s a breakdown of all the versions of iOS that have been released, when they were released, when they were last updated, and the latest iOS version. IOS 5 was introduced along with the iPhone 4S in 2011, which saw the debut of Siri as a built-in part of the operating system. Sadly, this was the last version of the software to be released when Apple CEO and Founder Steve Jobs was still alive.
Messages via satellite works with emoji, Tapbacks, and all messages features, plus end-to-end encryption for iMessages. Messages via satellite works on the iPhone 14 and newer, and it is initially limited to the United States. In iOS 18, you can send and receive iMessages and SMS text messages using satellite when you don’t have a Wi-Fi or cellular connection. Apple previously introduced an Emergency SOS via satellite option for texting in emergencies, but the new option lets you text anyone even when there’s not an emergency. Apple says that data is not stored and is used only for requests, and to prove that, Apple allows independent experts to inspect the code that runs on Apple silicon servers. Private Cloud Compute cryptographically ensures that the iPhone, iPad, and Mac do not talk to a server unless its software has been publicly logged for inspection.
After debuting a highly anticipated iPhone 17 lineup earlier this month, including the thinnest iPhone ever with the 17 Air, Apple also confirmed that the general release of iOS 26 would happen on Monday, Sept. 15. Another thing to do after installing the software update is to head to the Camera app, which has a dramatically streamlined interface in iOS 26. The controls have been pared down to buttons that let you toggle between photo and video modes — if you want more specialized modes like portrait or pan you scroll left or right. Elements automatically update along with iOS updates, automatically including new interface rules.
