Apple unveiled iOS 26 at WWDC 2025, introducing a sweeping range of enhancements and user-focused features. The most significant update is the debut of a new visual design language called Liquid Glass, accompanied by a version number change—now iOS 26—to better align Apple’s OS naming across platforms.
Here’s a summary of the standout updates discovered so far in the iOS 26 developer beta.
🧰 Utility Enhancements #
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Custom Alarm Snoozing: You can now define how long alarms snooze for—between 1 to 15 minutes. Just tap an alarm and select “Snooze Duration.”
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AI Integration in Shortcuts: Choose between on-device and cloud-based models for AI tasks like summarization within Shortcuts.
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Safari Bookmark Gesture: Quickly double-tap the three-dot menu in Safari to bookmark the current page.
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Smarter Screenshot Menu: A redesigned interface lets you interact with content using visual intelligence—for example, summarizing text or reading it aloud.
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Volume Sliders Upgrade: You can now adjust output-specific volume directly in the audio source picker.
📞 Phone Improvements #
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Call List Filters: Filter by All, Missed, Voicemails, Unknown, or Spam.
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Focus Mode by SIM: Assign distinct Focus modes to each SIM card.
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Updated Call Interface: Includes an overflow menu for quick access to call assist, recordings, and live translations.
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Detailed Call History: View a complete call log per contact with a simple tap.
🔋 Battery Enhancements #
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Performance View Redesign: Combines daily and weekly views with visual indicators of increased or reduced usage.
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App-Specific Battery Use Insights: See background activity and unusual consumption patterns.
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Battery Charging Estimates: Displays estimated time to full charge and lets you override charge limits when needed.
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Adaptive Power Mode: Dynamically adjusts system behavior—like screen brightness or app performance—to conserve power when needed.
📋 Reminders #
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Auto-Categorization: Automatically sorts different types of to-dos.
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Share to Reminders: Add reminders directly from shared content (like recipes), with contextual suggestions.
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Swipe to Remind: Swipe a call entry to create a callback reminder.
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Partial Message Selection: Highlight specific text in Messages for easier task creation.
🎵 Apple Music #
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Playlist Folders: Organize your playlists into folders.
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Transition Effects: Choose crossfade or automix (tempo-based) transitions between songs.
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Lock Screen Animation: Enjoy new visual effects for album covers.
📷 Camera Features #
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Lens Clean Alert: Get a notification if the lens is dirty (can be disabled).
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Indicator Toggles: Customize visibility for Flash, Live Photo, and other settings.
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Camera Adjustments Panel: Central location to modify or disable various camera controls.
🌐 Language Support #
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Language Suggestions: Based on your usage, iOS suggests adding keyboards or adjusting preferences—for instance, suggesting Arabic if you often read or type in it.
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New Keyboards: Includes native Arabic transliteration and 24-key Thai layouts.
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Bilingual Suggestions: The keyboard can now suggest words in both Latin and local scripts in 10 languages.
🎙️ Podcasts #
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Playback Speed Control: Options now range from 0.5x to 3x.
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Voice Enhancement: Enable dialog enhancement per episode to improve vocal clarity.
We’ll continue updating this guide as new iOS 26 features are discovered in upcoming betas and the public release.
