iOS 26 introduces a suite of innovative features and improvements designed to enhance user experience across your iPhone. This release focuses on refining everyday interactions, boosting productivity, and offering greater personalization and control. Discover how these updates streamline your daily tasks, from managing media to capturing moments with your camera.
With iOS 26, controlling your music and personalizing audio is more intuitive than ever. You can now effortlessly change tracks in Apple Music by swiping on the album artwork within the 'Now Playing' screen or even on the mini-player. Additionally, transforming any audio file, such as a voice memo, into a custom ringtone can be done directly from your iPhone using the Share button.
Apple Maps now includes a 'Visited Places (BETA)' feature that automatically logs locations you've searched for or navigated to. This allows you to easily revisit past dining spots, shops, or leisure activities, with filtering options by city, type, and date. In Safari, managing your browsing is more efficient; you can quickly close multiple tabs or move them to Tab Groups by tapping and holding the address bar or swiping on tabs in the tab view.
Setting alarms and calendar events is faster with the new Time Picker, allowing you to type in precise times rather than scrolling. For alarms, you can now customize the snooze duration and revert the 'Slide to Stop' action to a simple tap by enabling Prefer Single-Touch Actions in Accessibility settings. Power management is improved with charging time estimates displayed on the Lock Screen and in Battery settings, and you can disable Adaptive Power to maintain full performance even when your battery is low.
The Camera Control button (Action Button) can now instantly open your camera, or even third-party apps like Instagram, by disabling 'Require Screen On'. You can also access Burst Mode by dragging the shutter button or holding the Volume Up button. A new Dual Capture mode (front and rear cameras simultaneously) is now more accessible via a dedicated icon in the camera app, and any iPhone photo can be transformed into a dynamic Spatial Photo with a 3D depth effect from the Photos app.
Control your audio experience by keeping sound in your AirPods even when connected to car Bluetooth. For improved late-night viewing, enable Reduce White Point to dim your screen even further via Control Center or an Accessibility Shortcut (triple-click the Side Button). Adding reminders is quicker than ever with the new Quick Add Reminder action, accessible from your Lock Screen, Control Center, or as a widget. This allows for rapid entry of reminders with customizable lists, alerts, and notes.
This iOS 26 release significantly enhances daily iPhone use with refined features in media, navigation, and power management. Users will benefit from more efficient camera controls, personalized audio, and streamlined ways to interact with their device, offering a more intuitive and powerful mobile experience.