Apple announces iOS 26 with Liquid Glass redesign

Apple has unveiled 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.

The announcement marks a change in how Apple signifies its major updates to iOS. 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.

This is also 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.