Apple announced its latest iOS 26 operating system update for iPhone at the WWDC 2025 developer conference earlier this year. As the company promised last week, the iOS 26 update is now released for iPhone users globally, alongside iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26.
You might have already been running iOS 26 through developer and public beta releases that Apple has pushed over the past few months. You can download the iOS 26 update on your supported iPhone model, which includes the freshly baked iPhone Air and the $2,000 maxed-out iPhone 17 Pro Max. Before installing the update, it"s essential to keep in mind several important things, such as backing up your device.
The latest update brings a truckload of new features and changes to iPhones this year. A major highlight is the Liquid Glass design language that Apple is rolling out across most of its operating systems.
You might have noticed that the Cupertino giant has also jumped all of its operating systems to version 26, and there are a couple of reasons behind it.
Apple describes Liquid Glass as "a new translucent material that reflects and refracts its surroundings, bringing greater focus to content, and delivering a new level of vitality across controls, navigation, app icons, widgets, and more." Rumors of a Glass-like design started floating earlier this year, and Apple ended up suing the leaker, Jon Prosser.
Other than that, you can try out the redesigned Photos app with a two-tab interface, new features in Safari, take HDR screenshots, and new stock wallpapers, among various features and changes. The iOS 26 update brings new AirPods features, such as Live Translation and the ability to turn your AirPods into a wireless camera remote.
Apple has also pushed updates to the Mobile Device Management (MDM) framework on iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26. Microsoft highlighted that the improved MDM Migration capability makes it easier to move devices between different MDM solutions like Microsoft Intune, without the need for factory resets or manual enrollment.
While Apple Intelligence powers new features like Live Translation, people are still waiting to try out an upgraded version of Siri that Apple promised them last year.
You can download and install iOS 26 on your device by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Here, you can choose whether to receive the update automatically or install it at your convenience after it"s downloaded.
Tell us what you think about iOS 26?