Apple’s iOS 26: A Major Leap in Design and Intelligence

A slightly open mac laptop with a iphone on its touch mouse pad in a dimly lit room on a dark colored table. — **iOS 26 will be released soon, with a dynamic and fluid new design that will be aligned across all Apple products**

Apple is gearing up to release iOS 26, the next and latest version of iOS that is going to focus on improved productivity and intelligence. In this guide, I will give you the inside scoop on what you can expect with iOS 26.

First, though, why iOS 26? Wasn’t the last version iOS 18? The answer is yes! However, Apple is skipping from iOS 18 to iOS 26 so that, in the future, the iOS version is aligned with the year it is being released.

VisionOS-Inspired Redesign for iOS 26

Apple is releasing a new software design, which it calls Liquid Glass, that will align Apple’s different products. This translucent, fluid design, inspired by the depth and dimensionality of visionOS, will be dynamic and responsive, with reflective elements that adapt to its surroundings.

Features like depth-based effects and dynamic blur will be introduced. In addition, app designs and elements such as buttons and app icons will be entirely transformed with a pleasant, new look.

The lock screen will also get a breath of fresh air. When you move your phone, your lock screen photo will come to life with a 3D design.

Smarter Siri Powered by Generative AI

**AI will enhance and transform the iOS experience**

Siri is going to be upgraded with an infusion of artificial intelligence, allowing the voice assistant to help you recognize objects, answer questions about items, browse the web, analyze documents, and do other complex tasks while harnessing the power of AI.

Apple’s own language model, Apple Intelligence, will be integrated into more parts of your iPhone, allowing you to do things like generate AI images and emojis, create workflows and shortcuts to increase productivity, and search across your apps.

Apple Intelligence will also be able to create reminders and even grocery lists based on chat conversations and emails.

Real-Time Language Translation

Another feature that will be powered by Apple Intelligence is live translation. Live translation will be available in several ways.

You can get live translations of text messages, for example, but that’s not all! You can also get live AI-generated translated captions of FaceTime calls and even get spoken translations for calls in the Phone app. Furthermore, you will be able to get live translations of lyrics while listening to your favorite foreign language songs.

**Live language translation will be available across multiple iPhone apps**

Installing the iOS 26 Beta the Right Way

If you want to install the beta version of iOS 26, you will first need to create a free Apple Developer account, which you can do here. Once that is done, you will be able to download beta software versions.

First, though, you will need to enable the beta on your device. To do that, go to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates. Select the beta you want to enable, such as the iOS 26 beta. Then, go back to Software Update, and you will find that you are able to download and install iOS 16 beta.

Before doing so, I recommend backing up your device, so you don’t lose anything by accident.

Final Thoughts: Should You Upgrade to iOS 26?

Yes, you should! What I mentioned is just a taste of what iOS 26 has to offer. Other cool features include better call hold handling, improved screening of spam calls and messages, fewer interruptions, an improved digital wallet, and more.

However, it’s still in beta mode, which means that certain features may sometimes have bugs. Therefore, I recommend most users to wait until it’s officially released (which is expected to be in September 2025) so that you can seamlessly use all the new Apple iOS 26 features without any issues.