iOS 26: Here are Apple’s full release notes

Apple has just shipped the RC versions of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe, and more. The major new software updates will launch to the public next week on Monday, September 15. Here are the full release notes for iOS 26, the next big iPhone update.

iOS 26 releases on Monday, September 15

Today following the conclusion of its ‘Awe dropping’ event, Apple shipped the RC (release candidate) version of iOS 26 to beta testers.

Along with the RC build, Apple has shared its full release notes for iOS 26.

These notes don’t technically include every single new feature coming in the release, but they do provide a great overview of what to expect when iOS 26 launches on September 15.

Apple’s full release notes for iOS 26

Design

Liquid Glass makes interactions across iOS more delightful, refracts and reflects content in real time, and brings even more focus to what you’re viewing on your screen
Adaptive time on the Lock Screen fluidly resizes to the available space on your Lock Screen, complementing the subjects of your photos and adapting as notifications and Live Activities appear
Spatial scenes let you add a new 3D effect to your photo wallpapers, bringing them to life when you move your iPhone
App icons get a fresh new look with Liquid Glass, and there are more ways to customize them with updated light or dark appearances, new color-tinted icons, and a new clear look
Animated album art makes music playback more immersive, with full screen artist-designed animations on supported albums

Apple Intelligence

Visual Intelligence
- Learn more about the content in any app by pressing the same buttons you use to take a screenshot
- Highlight to search for something specific on your screen
- Jump into Google search results based on the content on your screen, find related items from your most-used third-party apps, or ask ChatGPT about what you’re looking at
Live Translation
- In Messages, automatically translate incoming texts, including group messages, and send a response in your preferred language — it’ll be translated when it’s delivered
- In FaceTime, live translated captions appear on screen during the call
- In Phone, audio is translated and spoken out loud in real time, and you can follow along with a transcription when the call is on speaker
- With AirPods, hear a translation hands-free when someone nearby speaks to you in a different language
Shortcuts
- Intelligent actions let you take advantage of Writing Tools, Image Playground, and other Apple Intelligence features within your shortcut
- “Use model” is a new action that lets you tap directly into Apple Intelligence models to get responses that feed into the rest of your shortcut, or use ChatGPT if you want to tap into its broad world knowledge and expertise
Genmoji & Image Playground
- Make Genmoji by mixing two emoji together, or by combining an emoji with a description to create what you have in mind
- Choose expressions for your Genmoji of people, making characters look happy, shocked, and more
- Personal attributes like hairstyle and facial hair can be modified for the Genmoji that are inspired by people from your Photos library
- More styles with ChatGPT lets you explore additional styles like Oil Painting and Anime, or you can tap Any Style to describe the image and style you want

Camera

Streamlined design makes it even easier to access the Photo and Video capture modes, with other modes still just a swipe away
Lens cleaning hints alert you when your lens is smudged so you can capture the clearest possible photo (iPhone 15 and later)
New AirPods gesture lets you take a photo or start recording video just by pressing the stem on AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 and later

Photos

Separate tabs for Library and Collections offers easier navigation, and you can access Search in every view
Collections view can be customized with three different layout options, and it’s easy to collapse and reorder the collections
Recognition for events like concerts and sports lets you see the details of an event and access related content

Phone

New unified layout option brings together your Favorites, Recents, and Voicemails
Call Screening lets you screen incoming calls from unknown numbers, getting you the caller’s name and reason for the call before the phone rings
Screened calls from unknown numbers can be placed in a new area of your call list so they’re out of your way
Hold Assist keeps your spot in line while you wait to speak to a live agent, and rings you to return to the call when the live agent is there

Messages

Screening for unknown senders helps you to stay in control of who can reach you, and puts screened messages in a new area of your conversation list so they’re out of your way
Backgrounds can be added to conversations to make them more personal, with the option to use built-in backgrounds, your own photos, or images made with Image Playground
Polls can help you find out everyone’s availability for an upcoming dinner plan or decide on a group gift
Typing indicators in groups make it easy to know exactly who is about to chime in

CarPlay

A new design with Liquid Glass helps make each interaction area of the Dashboard distinct, and provides a new tab bar design for easy navigation in apps
Compact design for incoming calls makes it easy to keep your eyes on the upcoming turn in your favorite navigation app
Tapbacks in Messages gives you a simple way to react to messages while driving, like with a thumbs up or a heart
Pinned conversations appear at the top of Messages, making it easy to get to your most frequent conversations
Widgets stacks can be found to the left of the Dashboard, so you can stay on top of your favorite apps at a glance
Live Activities appear automatically on the Dashboard, making it easy to keep track of real time events on the go

Maps

Visited Places gives you the option to allow your iPhone to detect the places you visit, like a restaurant or shop, so you can easily find them again in the Maps library and share them easily
Preferred routes improve your frequent drives by learning the routes you take between places you regularly visit, like your commute from home to work

Music

Lyrics Translation and Pronunciation help you understand the meaning behind your favorite songs and makes it easy to sing along, even if you don’t know the language
AutoMix transitions one song into the next like a DJ does, time stretching and beatmatching to deliver a continuous playback experience
Pin songs, albums, playlists, and more at the top of Library for quick, easy playback

Wallet

Updated boarding passes give you more access to timely and relevant information about your flights and airports, as well as quick access to airline app features
Order tracking (beta) uses Apple Intelligence to find emails sent by either merchants or delivery carriers and brings your full order details, progress notifications, and more into one place in the Wallet app
Installment financing options from your bank or card provider for your credit and debit card purchases are accessible when you pay with Apple Pay in-store on iPhone

Apple Games

New app is the all-in-one destination for gaming on your iPhone, helping you jump back into the games you love, discover new favorites, and play with friends in new ways
Challenge friends, track scores in real time, and see what else your friends are playing
Access your entire game library, including new and past downloads from the App Store and Apple Arcade, and launch when you are ready to play
Recommendations for new games are based on the games you love to play

Protecting Kids Online

Communication Requests give kids the ability to send requests to their parents when there are new phone numbers they want to be able to communicate with
Convert existing accounts to Child Accounts easily to take full advantage of all available child safety protections
Age-appropriate experiences in apps gives parents the option to enable kids to share their age range with third-party apps, so they can access content and features suited to their age group
Communication Safety expands to intervene when nudity is detected on live FaceTime calls, and to blur out nudity in Shared Albums in Photos

Accessibility

Accessibility Nutrition Labels in App Store product pages tell you if accessibility features like VoiceOver, Voice Control, and Captions are available within apps and games before you download them
Accessibility Reader makes text in any app easier to read by giving you new ways to customize text with extensive options for font, color, and spacing, as well as support for Spoken Content
Braille Access helps you take notes, read documents, access Live Captions, launch apps, and perform various other tasks effortlessly with your connected braille display

Other

Preview is a new app on iPhone dedicated to viewing and editing PDFs, with powerful features like AutoFill, a document scanner, and export options
FaceTime has a reimagined landing page that features personalized Contact Posters for your recent callers and video messages that play as you scroll
Reminder Suggestions use Apple Intelligence to identify relevant tasks when you share an email, website, note, or other text to the Reminders app
Local capture records the high-quality audio and video from your iPhone while on any video conferencing call, letting you produce an interview or podcast with the clearest recordings
Audio input picker in Control Center makes it easy to choose the right microphone for each app, including on the web
Estimated time to charge lets you know how long it will take for your iPhone to charge
Adaptive power learns your typical battery usage and, on higher usage days, makes automatic adjustments to help you extend your battery life throughout the day (iPhone 15 Pro and later)
Blood pressure logging experience in the Health app can send you reminders to measure your blood pressure using a third-party cuff and create a PDF report for your healthcare provider
New Workout tab in the Fitness app brings workout tracking, so you can track metrics like pace and distance, and even more if you have a compatible heart rate monitor like AirPods Pro 3. If you have an Apple Watch, you can take advantage of the larger screen while using features like building a Custom Workout
Adaptive Temperature automatically adjusts your thermostat to your preferred temperature when you’re on your way home, and adjusts to save energy when you leave for the day or go on vacation
Custom snooze options let you adjust how long you can snooze when your alarm goes off, with options between 1 and 15 minutes
Password History provides a timeline of changes you’ve made to an account in Passwords, including a history of past passwords and generated strong passwords
Notes lets you import and export Markdown formatted files

For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit: https://support.apple.com/100100

Some features may not be available in all regions or on all iPhone models. To learn more, please visit: https://www.apple.com/ios/feature-availability