Apple just released ‘Liquid Glass’ iOS26, here’s what you need to know
Apple’s iOS 26, featuring the new Liquid Glass design, offers a minimalist look with customisable transparency, enhanced Phone app features like call filtering and Detect Call Waiting, a visually overhauled Camera app, and improved screenshot options, making it a significant update for iPhone users. Picture: Apple
Image: Apple
The long-awaited new iOS 26 for iPhone was released by Apple on Tuesday, and there are numerous useful improvements to add to the revamped new transparent look.
Firstly, the visual changes are what stand out. It’s a complete overhaul of the look, and it’s called Liquid Glass which is used on all their devices now. As the name suggests, Apple has gone for a more minimalist look, with transparency the main goal. Just how transparent things like the time on your lock screen and your notifications are can all be customised in settings.
While in the previous iOS, the search bar had moved to the bottom of your screen in some apps, it’s now there for all first-party apps. This is particularly useful in the photos and settings themselves, as the uniformity makes it easier to find things quicker purely out of habit.
The ellipsis or three dots at the top right of the screen are still there, but now you can access more options and features. For example, in the Phone app, you can quickly switch between a classic (older) look or the more useful unified look, which gathers all the important calls and displays them in groups.
Phone App Enhancements: Intuitive Settings and Call Management Features
In fact, the Phone app has become considerably more intuitive in general. If you go into the settings app and scroll to the apps-phone, there’s a particularly useful function.
Scroll down to the unknown numbers section, there you can choose how you would prefer to handle unknown calls. My favourite is the call filtering option, which is especially handy if you get a lot of spam calls every day. If you switch the Move to Unknown Callers button to on, it then moves these calls into their own category. It means you won’t have to scroll and scroll if you want to find your last call to a friend or family member.
Another function which could prove extremely handy is the Detect Call Waiting feature. When enabled, the phone will detect when you’ve been placed on hold by recognising that irritating music and give you the option to move away from your phone. When an actual human voice, and not the recordings of one, is detected, your phone will ask the person to please hold and swiftly alert you it’s now your time to shine.
Visual Overhaul of the Camera App and Enhanced Screenshot Features: A Seamless Update
The camera app, though functionally remains the same, has been visually overhauled. There will be two main options here, which are photo and video. Holding the buttons down and scrolling to the side will bring up the different modes.
Another app that has become more powerful is the screenshot app. You have many more options now after taking a screenshot, like choosing where to save the picture, using Apple Intelligence to search for something in the screenshot, adding it to your calendar, or directly searching the image with Google.
There are countless other similar improvements across all of the system apps, but this is one update that already feels like it was done right.