Dhu Bhutani / Android Authority
The WWDC was the largest resonance in 2025 with Apple’s growing new liquid glass interface. From the united year -based name for its platforms, what could be the most wide visual over hall for iOS in the years, the iOS 26 indicates a significant change in Apple’s software approach.
But is there any substance below the discriminatory brightness? I made a pigeon in the developer son to try him.
Let me say that this first son is too young, and I will not recommend installing it on your basic phone. Still, if you want to find it, just go to the “software update” section under the settings and select “beta updates”. That’s all it takes. Since last year, Apple has made the beta sign -up process dramatically easier. Regardless, I will recommend waiting next month’s public son before installing the update. At the same time, there are some significant addition to iOS 26.
Liquid Glass: Most dramatic design restoration after iOS 7
Dhu Bhutani / Android Authority
This year, Apple’s biggest change is a new design language introduction called liquid glass. If you are keen on design or experience in web design, you will be familiar with glass shape. Liquid glass consists of this aesthetic and uses transparency and widespread elements. More importantly, it re -design is spread on every Apple platform from iPhone to iPad, Mac, Watch, TV, and even Vision Pro. Apple is the first real attempt to unite the visual language throughout its entire ecosystem.
Dhu Bhutani / Android Authority
In practice, liquid glass means prophetic colors, soft reflection and depth layers that you interact with your device. It is a living heart, dramatic and clearly apple – for better or worse. The home screen shows it the best. The icons of the app appear like digital glass, background -based shine. You will see UI elements like a photo app, fitness app, and even in the camera. In the lock screen and the control center, most flat backgrounds are now propagating layers. It is a subtle but effective change that makes everything feel that it floats instead of sitting on your wallpaper.
The ability to read is under all these transparency – especially in the control center.
In daily use, not everything works at all. Transparency can damage the ability to read, especially at the Control Center when it overlaps busy apps such as music player. The lock screen has similar problems. Some dynamic images also feel contradictory.
Interface opportunities continue on the browser, where you now find a close screen view of the webpage in which glass -affected elements pop out. Like the rest of the interface, there is enough reason to worry about reading ability (especially for people who have access requirements), and your experience is completely dependent on the background. Nevertheless, this is an early beta area, and Apple usually improves it at the time of public release.
Despite a mixed public consensus, I like the general direction I take here. The interface looks future for an error, such as something out of an Apple TV science fiction show, and I’m personally here for it. But even in this early stages, it is clear that many pain points need to be focused on this September before the public rollout.
New camera experience
Dhu Bhutani / Android Authority
The camera app also found a large, and very important, over -hall. In fact, this is the first time in the years that Apple has regained the camera UI from the groundup. Although the basics are the same, Apple has improved the sequence to provide faster access to control. Refreshted interface makes it easy to swipe with a single swipe with the same swipe with videos, portraits, and more like the bottom edge. It feels intuitive and more useful when composing shots.
Dhu Bhutani / Android Authority
Similarly, a subtle but welcome touch is how Apple now puts the level of adjustment. In some ways, the camera app has finally achieved the “Pro” mode that users are waiting. Features such as switching between different recording settings, log video, and camera resolution. Are infinite more straightforward.
Although it is nowhere closer to the level of pro mode features in the best Android camera phones or dedicated third -party camera apps, it is a good compromise for casual fans who want more control without sacrificing simplicity. One side effect of these changes is that the interface of the dynamic images and the floating elements feels more slowly, with only half a second longer in everything. I cannot say that Apple Tin Dowan will allow dynamic images, but as it stands, the UI’s float feeling wears you very fast.
Apple Intelligence everywhere
It is worth saying that Apple’s initial AI push has been somewhat influenced. When Apple Intelligence was announced last year, behind the competition, it distinguished itself with a strong promise of privacy. A year later, a large part of the promised features of the previous year is still unavailable, making Apple’s 2025 claims difficult to take completely seriously. Regardless, one of the newly announced features is a deep integration with the entire sweetener of device communication apps. Moreover, this year, Apple is opening access to its on -device LLM for third -party developers. It is obliged to open some very interesting and modern use issues.
In messages, facetime and phone app, direct translation enables both text and audio to translate the real -time language. It works in the message threads and during calls, provides immediate response to the need to leave without an app. I couldn’t find a way to activate the feature in the beta.
The Apple Intelligence System is still behind the effective player of widespread integration.
Similarly, visual intelligence is now on your screen and can level the level of related results, links or suggestions. For example, if someone sends you a product image, you can ask the device to ask the web to show the same items from the web or pull information about it without leaving the thread. Think about working on Apple’s “Circle Two Search” but taking advantage of Apple’s on -device LLM and Chat GPT’s strength. This is one of the most interesting features of iOS 26, but once again, it is not yet available in the developer beta.
The field of genital and image play is also part of this AI layer. Now you can combine emoji, images and descriptive phrases to produce custom stickers and photos. Although these tools feel like a entertainment party tricks for now, their real power is deeply integrated. This feature works exactly as you imagine and allow you to combine existing emojis, photos and text -based indicators to make customs emojis. The results are very good, as you can see in the screenshot above. This is not really something I often use, but better device image and emoji generation are effectively table stacks, so a better experience is very welcome.
Dhu Bhutani / Android Authority
The second feature that I felt interesting was the AI’s deep integration in Apple’s on -device scripting service. Apple Intelligence is now available for shortcuts app, which enables you to make better automation. This means that you can integrate Apple’s on -device LLM or even chat GPT into a shortcut and use it to analyze data before transferring it to another app. I can imagine use issues such as distributing the tab immediately or summarizing any content on the screen, such as Instagram Post. In fact, it took me minutes to get a shortcut and after passing through the on -device LLM, a note based on a joint Instagram post automatically made a note. It is very good.
A smart battery dashboard
Talking about the features of everyday use, Apple has finally restored the battery section in settings. The new interface changes 24 hours and 10 days of ideas with a high digestive weekly error. Then it compares your average battery consumption by using your daily use, highlighting which apps are using electricity and why. Taping at any day shows the distribution between active screen time and useless background use. This is very similar to the battery insight available for Android users and is a welcome addition.
Dig deep, and you will also find a new adaptive power mode. Unlike static low power mode, adaptation is adjusted in adaptive time, based on the extent to which you are aggressively using your phone. It can reduce the screen or backbackback backbackback backbackback backback backback backback backbackback backbackbackback works without the user’s input requirement. You still get the manual 80 Charge charge lemmer and battery health matrix, but the focus here is on smart defaults.
Settings, keyboards, messages, and other subtle corrections
In addition to great achievements, many of the small quality improvement of life is sprayed throughout the OS. The keyboard feels more and more precise, with better hepatic opinions. A new preview app that facilitates you to perform a wide range of file -based functions, including previewing files. Settings app have a minor organization. Although there is no radical shift, the app feels clean and faster to navigate with font sizing and caring. In the messages, you can now set up a custom background in every conversation, which can include some other personality in the threads. Apple has also added a pool feature for group chats, which should have been present a few years ago.
The phone app has also received some attention. Now it combines the Nerctic, Favorite and Voice Mails tabs in the same, smooth interface. The most important increase is the call screening. It screen the context and screen unknown callers and offer options for responding or dismissing without an answer. Hold Assist is another helper tool. If you are stuck in a call line with customer support, your iPhone can now wait for you on the hold and when a person is finally joined the line, you can inform you.
IOS 26 has also introduced a dedicated app for Apple Games. It works as the central center for gaming everything on your device, which serves as a light but a real but real useful game center change. The app draws into your installed games, offers personal recommendations, and allows you to see what your friends are playing. The feat, leader boards, and the invitations of the game center are now clean. Apple is clearly trying to feel iOS gaming like a platform and is once less like a series of downloads, but it remains to be seen if the important is adopted.
So, is iOS 26 is worth hype?
Dhu Bhutani / Android Authority
It is difficult to say in this early stage. There is no doubt that the liquid glass gives a bold new face to iOS, and the latest features of Apple Intelligence feel like the beginning of a truly useful thing. But right now, it’s mostly capacity.
IOS 26 is playful, dramatic, and clearly apple for better or worse.
Many features are small or half baked, and even the improvements in the camera app require more polish. To be fair, he is a developer son. I will reserve the decision by the end of this year by the end of this year, but what is undeniable is that Apple is the most expensive update that has been sent in the years.
