iOS 26 Announced with New Liquid Glass Interface

Apple has announced iOS 26, the next version of system software for iPhone. And yes you read that correctly, it’s iOS 26 – twenty six – jumping way ahead from iOS 18, to follow year numbers.

It’s not just iOS that is facing the numerical versioning change, it turns out that Apple is labeling all future versions of system software together with year numbers. This means you’ll see MacOS 26 (macOS Tahoe), iOS 26, iPadOS 26, tvOS 26, watchOS 26, and visionOS 26.

The most notable change to iOS 26, other than the new versioning number system, is the inclusion of a new interface style, which Apple is calling Liquid Glass. Liquid Glass is a nice modern update to the interface, but it’s not dramatically different. It’s basically just a slightly more transparent version of their existing user interface but instead of being glaringly bright white it’ll have more transparency here and there. There’s also updated Liquid Glass look to icons and home screen widgets, which have a bit more dimension and shine than the flat bleached look that has graced the iPhone display since iOS 7. The lock screen has also been revamped with larger fonts and more transparency.

Other new features included with iOS 26 include a redesigned Camera app with simplified controls, Messages app gains some changes to make it look more like WhatsApp along with new features like custom backgrounds and improvements to Group Chats, a convenient Hold Assist feature for when you’re stuck on hold when calling a corporation or government office, and there’s also improvements to Apple Intelligence, new features in CarPlay, and more.

The first beta version of iOS 26 will be available to developers today, with public beta versions available next month, and the final version will be released this fall.