iOS 26 Arrives with Liquid Glass Visuals and New Tools

iOS 26 lands with Liquid Glass and practical upgrades

Apple released iOS 26 today for iPhone 11, iPhone SE (2nd gen) and newer devices. The update is notable for a major visual refresh called Liquid Glass, a system-wide version-number change (jumping from iOS 18 to iOS 26), and a slate of feature upgrades across Phone, Messages, Maps, Camera, and more.

Liquid Glass: a big look and a careful rollout

Liquid Glass applies translucent, Vision Pro–inspired visuals across iOS. Apple adjusted the glassiness through betas to improve readability, but users may need time to adapt and Apple will likely continue tweaking contrast and layout. Designers and developers should expect small UI changes that could affect typography, spacing, and accessible contrast ratios.

Phone and calling get practical upgrades: a unified card-style Phone app (with an option to revert to the classic view), a call screening assistant that asks unknown callers for name and purpose before ringing, and hold/agent notifications to avoid long waits. Voicemail transcription remains uneven across languages, but call screening can cut down unwanted pickups.

• Messages: richer conversation layouts, polls, typing indicators in groups, SMS spam filtering, and unknown senders moved to a separate folder.
• Games app: consolidated view of played titles, Arcade, challenges, achievements, and friend activity.
• Preview app arrives on iPhone for PDF editing and signing; Music adds automixing and translated lyrics; Maps gains preferred routes and a places library.
• Camera and Photos: Liquid Glass mode simplification, restored tabs for Photos, and quicker access to common camera controls.

AI features and visual intelligence

Unlike last year’s large push for Apple Intelligence, iOS 26 is lighter on AI. Key additions include system-wide in-app translation (several European and Brazilian Portuguese languages supported), live translation on supported AirPods, screen-aware visual intelligence that can suggest calendar events, and a Highlight shortcut similar to Circle to Search. Some interactions can be confusing — for example, the visual intelligence shortcut shares the screenshot button — so workflows may need adjustment.

Other useful touches include custom alarm snooze times, a Wallet update for digital IDs and richer boarding passes, selectable audio input and local capture for voice recordings, smarter Reminders that extract grocery lists from recipes, new accessibility "nutrition" labels in the App Store, and tightened parental controls.

To get iOS 26, go to Settings > General > Software Update. Organizations should plan testing cycles for apps that touch the UI, translation, notifications, or background visuals. Expect iterative visual tweaks from Apple over the coming months as it balances the Liquid Glass look with legibility and accessibility needs.

QuarkyByte’s analysts recommend a quick compatibility audit, run focused accessibility checks under the new visual system, and measure feature impacts (call screening, live translation) with real user scenarios. Treat this release as both a visual migration and a functional one: small UX changes can have outsized effects on engagement and support costs.