Predictions for the iOS Operating System: Apple’s Big Updates of iOS 26 and their Symbolic Effects in the User Experience
Apple has announced iOS 26, the next version of its iPhone operating system, as part of its suite of announcements at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). It features a complete redesign with Apple’s new “Liquid Glass” design language along with updates to apps across the platform.
The change in how Apple symbolizes its major updates to its mobile operating system is marked by the announcement. Under the previous marketing scheme, this year’s major release would have been iOS 19 — the direct follow-up to iOS 18. But now, Apple’s big iOS updates will be numbered based on the year following their introduction, a little bit like car-makers do with new car releases.
A bunch of parts of the operating system are getting a redesign. The time on your lockscreen can stretch to fill more of the screen. Many of the controls are hidden to make the experience cleaner. The tab bar floats over your content, in the edge-to-edge mode of the browser.
Messages, Languages, Videos, Music, and Maps for an Improved App Store in the ioTeV Era
Apple plans on adding a call screening feature to the phone app that will allow you to answer calls on your behalf and take calls on your behalf when you’re on hold.
Apple is updating Messages to let you change the background of your chats and create polls in group conversations. The ability to see messages from unknown senders is an update, as is the ability to type indicators for group chats.
To make new characters, Apple will allow you to combine the two characters with a text description. And Image Playground is getting a new feature that lets you make images with the help of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Live Translation, powered by Apple Intelligence, can translate conversations in real time. It runs on models that are on-device. The translations can be done in a text thread or phone call. Developers will be able to add Live Translations to their apps with an API, too.
Apple Music gets lyrics translation and pronunciation. A new feature called AutoMix can transition songs from one to another like a DJ. You’ll also be able to pin your favorite artists and playlists to the top of the app.
If there is delays or traffic on the route, Apple Maps will let you know and send a notification. You’ll also be able to check back on your visited places, if you want to more easily share them with your friends.
Starting this fall, in Apple Wallet, you’ll be able to create a digital ID. Boarding passes will allow you to view indoor maps of the airport. Apple Pay will be able to use Apple Intelligence to track your orders made outside of Apple Pay.
Reimagining the App Store: Apple’s Second Major OS Update with Visual Intelligence on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and AirPods
The new Apple Games app will allow you to access all of the games in the Apple Arcade and also discover new ones from a single spot. You can check out the Library tab to view the games you’ve downloaded from the App Store, as well as use the Play Together option to challenge friends.
You can use visual intelligence to see what is on the screen of your phone. In a demo during the keynote, Apple showed an example of seeing a jacket in a photo in a social media app, and by taking a screenshot, the person could use Visual Intelligence to search for that jacket using Google. You can also take a screenshot of an event and use Visual Intelligence to help add it to your calendar. You can use visual intelligence to ask chatg pt about something on your screen.
This is Apple’s second major iOS update following the introduction of the company’s Apple Intelligence AI features. iOS 18 received some basic AI features like tools to improve writing, Genmoji for custom emoji, and integration with ChatGPT. But some big promised upgrades to Siri, like the ability to take action based on what it could see on your phone, were delayed ahead of their expected launch.
Apple gave a bunch of major updates during its Worldwide Developer Conference keynote. During the event, the company showed off the sleek design refresh coming to its operating systems, as well as a mix of new features for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, and more.
Apple is revamping the design across its operating systems. Now they will have a new Liquid Glass theme that adds more transparency to buttons, switches, sliders, text, and media controls throughout their interfaces.
The date, time, notification previews on iOS 26’s lockscreen will also adopt the new look, allowing you to get a clear view of your wallpaper behind all the text.
The Phone app is getting an upgrade, as well, as it will now have a layout that combines favorites, recents, and voicemails into one panel while calls, contacts, and keypad remain on the bottom of the app
Apple is bringing a major update to iPadOS 26 that should make multitasking easier. New windowing capabilities will let you resize app windows, place them around your display, and open more windows at once. It’s also adding a more precise mouse pointer and a new menu bar, allowing you to swipe down on an app to view various options and commands. It looks a lot like a Mac.
The next macOS software update will introduce an upgrade to Spotlight that will make your search results more relevant with personalization and filtering options to help you search for specific files, folders, apps, and messages. It added the ability to take actions, like writing a note or sending an email.
On the Development of Artificial Intelligence for the Apple Vision Pro and Other Visual-Reality Devices: PlayStation VR2 Sense, Workout Buddy, and Voice Isolation
The Apple Vision Pro will support PlayStation’s VR2 Sense controllers in visionOS 26, which will let you play a wider variety of virtual-reality games. It’s also adding a new scrolling feature that lets users navigate apps by looking up or down, in addition to spatial widgets that integrate “seamlessly into a user’s space and reappearing every time they put on Apple Vision Pro.”
Along with the Liquid Glass design language, Apple is bringing a new “wrist flick” gesture to watchOS 26 that you can use to dismiss notifications. The Apple Watch will have a new AI-powered “Workout Buddy,” as well, which will generate personalized advice and encouragements.
An update will allow users to use the stem of their wireless earbuds to take a photo with their device. A new feature is being worked on that will allow users to record their vocals in noisy areas with voice isolation. The features will come to the AirPods 4, AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, and AirPods Pro 2.
The company is letting third-party developers use Apple Intelligence to build tools of their own, which is something they were not allowed to do in the past.