The iPhone 17 event last Tuesday revealed the latest Phone 17 lineup — including the ultra-thin iPhone Air. (You can catch up on everything Apple announced or rewatch the full iPhone 17 launch.) The company rounded out its announcements with three new Apple Watch models, as well as the all-new AirPods Pro 3.
The even better news is that many of us sticking with older iPhones will finally be able to install iOS 26 in just a few days: It arrives Monday, September 15, alongside all of Apple’s other new operating systems. But you don’t have to wait to test out the new features, since you can download and install the newly released iOS 26 RC (release candidate) if you’ve been using the public or developer betas. (See our preview of the iOS 26 public beta release for more info.) The first thing you’ll notice is a new clear design language Apple dubs Liquid Glass. The translucent look can be found within apps as well as your lock and home screens. The overhaul is one of several big changes coming to iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and the rest of Apple’s software suite.
After overpromising on AI plans last year, Apple kept its iOS roadmap focused more on basic quality of life improvements with iOS 26. There are multiple useful additions coming to the Phone and Messages apps, for instance: Apple execs outlined the ability to weed out spam texts or unknown senders and an option to hold your spot on a phone call when you’ve been waiting for a representative to pick up.
It seems like additional new improvements are popping up (or at least hinted at) with each beta, such as an AirPods live translation feature, which Apple talked about during the event. We also noticed a new bouncy animation on the passcode screen and in the Control Center. Most newer iPhone models are eligible to download iOS 26 (both the betas and final version). We’ve rounded up a full list of new features coming this fall below.
What is iOS 26?
The current iPhone operating system is iOS 18, which Apple is still actively updating — version 18.6.1 was released last month, for example, to restore Apple Watch blood oxygen monitoring functionality for certain users in the US. More recently, Apple released iOS 18.6.2 to address a vulnerability related to image processing.
But don’t expect to ever see an iOS 19. Instead, Apple is skipping its naming convention ahead to iOS 26. (Apple is also expected to release iOS 18.7 at the same time, per MacRumors, to address security issues.) The company has decided to…