Apple launched the public beta for iOS 26 in the present day. Nonetheless, you in all probability should not set up it with no plan.
The newest version of iOS brings about an enormous new design language, new high quality of life options, new AI tips, and extra. There’s loads to dig into, and this text will not cowl each single new factor you’ll be able to attempt on iOS 26. However as soon as you have put in the general public beta, listed below are a few of the finest new options to take a look at.
The 5 finest new options to attempt within the iOS 26 beta
Once more, this isn’t a full, complete checklist of each single change in iOS 26, as a result of there are a lot. Let’s stick to the largest and finest for now.
Liquid Glass
Credit score: Apple
Credit score: Apple
Launched at WWDC earlier this 12 months, Liquid Glass is an all-encompassing time period for Apple’s new design language being launched with iOS 26.
As its title suggests, Liquid Glass modifications the look of all of your app icons and different UI components so that they resemble, properly, liquid and glass. Whenever you drag one thing round together with your finger, it’s going to animate properly in a liquid-like trend, and every thing has a glassy, considerably clear texture to it. There is not way more to say about this, aside from that it’s best to set up the iOS 26 public beta and see it for your self.
iOS 26 can even can help you personalize the looks of widgets, so in the event you do not love the “all clear” fashion, you’ll be able to tone down Liquid Glass to your liking.
Adjustments to the Cellphone app
Credit score: Apple
One massive factor Apple did with iOS 26 is completely redesign a number of core on a regular basis apps, like Cellphone, Messages, and Photographs. Let’s begin with the Cellphone app.
For starters, issues like Recents, Voicemails, and Favorites all now stay collectively on one display screen moderately than in separate tabs. There’s additionally a brand new name screening characteristic which is able to reply any telephone name for you and ask the caller who they’re and why they’re calling. If the reply is passable, you’ll be able to decide up the telephone. If not, you’ll be able to inform them to take a hike and get on together with your day.
Maintain Help can even free you from the burden of listening to terrible maintain music on customer support calls. You possibly can put the telephone down and look ahead to a notification to pop up, which tells you when a human is on the opposite finish. That sounds beautiful.
Mashable Mild Pace
New Messages options
Credit score: Apple
Messages, the house for all of your texts and group chats, has additionally gotten some new toys to play with.
Certainly one of my favorites is the power to make polls in group chats, which is nominally a characteristic for deciding the place to get dinner, however will actually be a characteristic that is used to settle extremely arcane, nonsensical inside-joke arguments amongst good friend teams. Group chats have additionally gotten the much-needed potential to see who’s typing, plus a brand new characteristic that lets customers set customized backgrounds for his or her chats.
Group chats are about to get so, so foolish.
Photographs app overhaul
Credit score: Apple
One of many extra hotly anticipated iOS 26 modifications will undoubtedly be the overhaul that the at the moment not-especially-good Photographs app is getting.
There are solely two tabs on the underside now, Library and Collections. Certainly one of them (presumably) exhibits you all of the stuff in your telephone, whereas the opposite exhibits every thing you have put into folders. That sounds a lot cleaner and fewer complicated than the present catastrophe of a Photographs app interface. This looks as if a small factor, however contemplating how unhealthy Photographs has gotten with latest updates, I am actually wanting ahead to it.
Dwell translation
Credit score: Apple
The brand new iOS introduces a set of recent Apple Intelligence-powered options, corresponding to information summaries and shortcut actions that might theoretically make advanced duties an automatic breeze. Nonetheless, one in all them stands out above the remaining, not less than to me.
Particularly, Dwell Translation has gotten an enormous energy enhance. It now works within the Messages app, which is cool, however what’s even cooler is that it now interfaces with telephone calls and FaceTime calls. Now you can, in concept, have a dialog with somebody over the telephone with out talking the identical language as them in iOS 26. Apparently, it’s going to even work if the opposite individual does not have an iPhone, which is kinda nuts.
There may be a lot extra to iOS 26 that we’ll be over the following couple of months, however for now, these options are lots to chew on.
Honorable point out: New Genmoji creation instruments, with a lift from ChatGPT
Credit score: Apple
If you wish to benefit from the brand new Apple Intelligence options coming with iOS 26, you may want a comparatively new iPhone. Particularly, iPhone 16 fashions, iPhone 15 Professional, and iPhone 15 Professional Max units (with Apple Intelligence activated).
In iOS 26, you may get new instruments for creating customized Genmoji utilizing ChatGPT. In response to Apple, “Genmoji and Image Playground provide users with even more opportunities for self-expression, including mixing their favorite emoji, Genmoji, and descriptions together to create brand-new images.”
We have lined the new Picture Playground and Genmoji instruments beforehand, however we’ve not tried them out but.
