How To Explore the Exciting New Features in iOS 26

Apple just dropped iOS 26, and honestly, it’s got a lot going on. Lots of shiny new stuff, redesigns, smarter features — basically trying to make the iPhone feel fresh without making your head spin too much. If you’ve updated, you might have noticed some of this already, but new updates often come with weird quirks, so here’s a rundown that might help if things seem wonky.

Stunning Design Overhaul

First, the look—wow. The UI now looks like “liquid glass” — kind of weird, but it actually reflects your surroundings? You get dynamic wallpapers, and the lock screen resizing and repositioning the time (if you fiddle with wallpaper) can be a bit hit or miss. Also, the 3D spatial effects that shift as you tilt? Super cool, but mostly fun until it gets laggy on older devices. Anyway, the camera and Safari apps got a facelift too, with Safari going full edge-to-edge and the Camera app simplifying stuff to, well, just focus on capturing.

Pro tip: To check out the new UI, go to Settings > Wallpaper and try playing around with the dynamic options. Sometimes it glitches initially, but after a restart, it sticks better.

Apple Intelligence Enhancements

This is where it gets fun—live translation on iMessage, FaceTime, and Phone. Basically, your device now translates text or speech on the fly, all on-device, which is kinda nuts because sometimes cloud-based stuff isn’t as quick as it should be. You’ll notice it mostly in conversations where language barrier was more of a pain. Expect real-time translations that pop up as overlays, making chats feel more seamless.

Also, the visual intelligence stuff — taking a screenshot might now suggest shopping links or calendar entries. Seems random, but it’s supposed to help save time. I’ve had mixed results — on some setups it works instantly, on others, not so much. Guess that’s just Apple fitting in more AI features for fun.

Note: If you’re into shortcuts or automation, the new Shortcuts app feels more intuitive, but don’t be surprised if some actions don’t run properly the first few tries. Restarting the device sometimes helps clear the cache of these AI suggestions.

Revamped Phone App

Yes, the Phone app got a Mafia-style facelift. It’s cleaner, with favorites, recent, and voicemail all in one place. The new call screening is kinda weird—calls from unknown numbers get auto-screened and if the info from the caller ID suggests spam, it hopefully blocks or flags them. The Hold Assist is nice, especially if you’re tired of holding music or waiting on hold forever — it’ll alert you when a live agent comes on. But beware—sometimes these features don’t activate immediately or need a toggle tweak in Settings.

Path to find it: Settings > Phone. Make sure Call Blocking & Identification or Call Screening is enabled to enjoy the full suite.

Message Improvements

Messages are now a little smarter. Unknown senders fall into their own folder — which is good for avoiding spam. You can customize chat backgrounds, and create polls within messages — kinda fun for group chats if nobody’s talking to each other anymore. Typing indicators show up for everyone now, which makes group chats feel less ghostly. Sending or requesting Apple Cash within conversations is even easier, so paying buddies back without jumping between apps is a plus.

Keep in mind: Sometimes, message filters or background customization might lag or stop working if your device’s memory is tight. Restarting or closing the Messages app usually clears things up.

Exciting App Updates

Apple Music, Maps, Wallet — all got updates. Apple Music now supports lyric translation and pronunciation, which helps belting out songs in other languages a little easier. Maps added a “Visited Places” section, which shows your favorite spots for quick navigation. Yes, your data is still encrypted, but paranoid folks might want to check the privacy settings in Map’s menu if things seem weird. Wallet is now more flexible — you can split payments with Apple Pay or redeem rewards faster. Boarding passes finally have real-time flight updates and work with Maps for airport navigation, which is handy if your flights are last-minute chaos.

Just a heads-up: some of these features might not sync properly right after an update, so a reboot can do wonders for things like wallet or flight info.

New Gaming App

There’s also this new gaming hub. Not sure why it’s there, but now you can discover new games, join events, and maybe even compete with friends across the ecosystem. It’s an attempt to keep gamers glued—whether it works or not depends on how much you care about game updates.

Potential Drawbacks

All these shiny features come with a caveat — some folks are reporting lag, especially on older iPhones. The live translation and AI features can be slow or hang if your internet connection isiffy, and the new UI tweaks might take some getting used to. Also, expect some apps or features to crash unexpectedly, at least until a few patches roll out.

Pro tip: If a feature acts up, try toggling it off/on in Settings first, or a quick restart. Apple’s new stuff isn’t perfect yet, but it’s a step forward.

All in all, it’s a big update, and while it has quirks, it’s pretty clear Apple is pushing the AI and design aspect quite hard. Users should just be prepared for a few surprises along the way.