Early this morning, Apple officially released the first stable versions of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. Today we'll summarize the new features—read on before deciding whether to upgrade.

By the way, where's iOS 19?

Since this year marks the introduction of year-based naming conventions, the suffix 26 is adopted for each system: iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, visionOS 26, macOS 26, and tvOS 26.

 

 

Liquid Glass Style

With the arrival of the new iOS 26 system, it's only natural to start by changing the skin. Apple calls this all-new design language Liquid Glass, and it looks like this:

 

 

Desktop widgets also feature a liquid glass design.

 

 

This liquid glass visual effect will be used across multiple Apple default apps.

When playing movie videos, the buttons become semi-transparent.

 

 

Home Screen Effects

In line with this new liquid glass design, desktop icons feature more pronounced rounded corners and blurred edges, creating a sense of floating above the desktop.

 

 

Lock screen

App notifications on the lock screen can also display a semi-transparent glass effect, instantly creating a more open visual experience.

 

 

When the screen is locked, the time display automatically adjusts its size based on the lock screen wallpaper and can present a 3D stereoscopic effect.

 

 

 

Battery Management

A new set of battery management features has been added. Open Settings > Battery to see the updated interface.

Now, detailed battery usage breakdowns for each app are displayed, showing which apps consume more power.

This includes whether apps run in the background for extended periods, screen-on time is excessive, or too many notifications are sent—all factors that impact battery consumption.

 

 

Photo and Album

The camera interface and operational logic have been redesigned, with the toggle button positioned at the bottom for a cleaner look.

 

 During shooting, the iPhone can automatically detect if the lens is smudged and prompt the user to clean it.

 

The photo album operation logic in iOS 26 aligns with iOS 18, featuring two new buttons at the bottom: “Gallery” and “Highlights,” along with a new “Search” icon in the bottom-right corner.

Overall, all buttons have been adapted to the Liquid Metal style.

 

 

Spirit Island

When your iPhone's battery level drops below 20%, a notification will now appear on the Dynamic Island. Tapping the Dynamic Island will directly activate Low Power Mode.

 

 

More features will be available after the update.