iOS 26: All the Little Changes

There are a long list of new features in iOS 26, some of which Apple highlighted at today's keynote event, and some of which were quietly added. We've rounded up some of the smaller changes but still useful changes that have been introduced in the update.

iOS 26 Feature

  • Home bar - The Home bar that's meant to remind you that you can swipe up to get to the Home Screen has been removed from apps, for the most part. When you open an app, it shows briefly, but then it disappears.
  • Satellite Weather - In iOS 26, you can get Weather updates over a satellite connection when you don't have a cellular or Wi-Fi signal available. This doesn't appear to be live in the beta yet, but it seems to be coming.
  • Alarms - You can customize the snooze length for your alarms.
  • Camera - If your camera lens is dirty, your iPhone can detect it and suggest that you clean it.
  • Dictation - When you're dictating something using the Dictation feature, you can now spell a word or a name if needed.
  • Messages - You can now select partial text in a text message bubble, rather than having to select the whole thing.
  • Group Texts - There are typing indicators in group chats, plus there's an add a contact button if there's someone in the group text that you don't know.
  • Messages Filtering - If you have the Screen Unknown Senders option turned on, there are new filtering options. You can allow Time Sensitive alerts, Personal messages from businesses or organizations, Transactions like order receipts, or Promotions. There are toggles for each category.
  • Blocked Contacts - You can see a list of people that you've blocked in the Privacy and Security section of the Settings app.
  • AutoFill Payments - You can now see and manage your AutoFill cards in the Wallet app. There are options for adding a new payment, or changing details like expiration date for an existing payment method.
  • Reminders - There's a Reminders Control Center button.
  • Notes - You can export a note into a Markdown file.
  • Apple Music - Apple Music has an option to create playlist folders.
  • Files - In the Files app, when you select Browse, you'll now see a list of folders with an option to tap it to expand nested folders. Before, you had to tap into the folder entirely to see what was in it.
  • Late Night Mode - Under Sounds and Haptics in Settings, Apple added a "Late Night Mode."
  • Microphone Selection - In Sounds and Haptics, you can select a microphone if you have a Bluetooth mic connected.
  • Battery - Your iPhone will tell you if you're using more battery than normal at any given point in the day, and it flags apps that are using more power. You can also see time to charge in the Battery section of the Settings app and on the Lock Screen.
  • Stage Manager - This is technically iPadOS 26, but older iPads can now use Stage Manager.
  • Turn Off Transparency - Hate the new glass look? There is an option to turn it off in Accessibility settings with the Reduce Transparency option.
  • Background Sounds - There are many more Background Sounds options like airplane, rain on roof, quiet night, fire, and more.

As of right now, only developers have access to an early version of iOS 26, but Apple is planning to provide a public beta in July. iOS 26 will see a public launch in September alongside new iPhones.

Found something new that we didn't include here? Let us know in the comments below.

Popular Stories

M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:07 am PDT by
Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models. In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB. Like...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips. The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new iPad Pro to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing ...
apple oct 2024 mac tease

Apple Expected to Announce These Two to Three Products 'This Week'

Sunday October 12, 2025 7:05 am PDT by
Apple plans to announce new products "this week," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple's "Mac Your Calendars" teaser last October In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the products set to be updated this week include the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, and "likely" the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, with all three likely to receive a spec bump with Apple's next-generation M5 chip. Gurman...
maxresdefault

Here's Everything Apple Announced Today

Wednesday October 15, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We didn't get a second fall event this year, but Apple did unveil updated products with a series of press releases that went out today. The M5 chip made an appearance in new MacBook Pro, Vision Pro, and iPad Pro models. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up our coverage and highlighted the main feature changes for each device below. MacBook Pro M5...
joz macbook tease

Apple Teases Upcoming M5 MacBook Pro Launch: 'Something Powerful is Coming'

Tuesday October 14, 2025 11:59 am PDT by
Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak today teased the launch of an upcoming product, saying "something powerful is coming" on social media. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. A short animation accompanying Joswiak's teaser reveals a brief glimpse of a MacBook Pro along with the words "coming soon." The shape of the MacBook Pro is a V, which is the Roman numeral...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday October 14, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version? According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier...
Vision Pro M5 Announcement

Apple Updates Vision Pro With M5 Chip, Dual Knit Band, and 120Hz Support

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:14 am PDT by
Apple today updated the Vision Pro headset with its next-generation M5 chip for faster performance, and a more comfortable Dual Knit Band. The M5 chip has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, and a 16-core Neural Engine, and we have confirmed the Vision Pro still has 16GB of RAM. With the M5 chip, the Vision Pro offers faster performance and longer battery life compared...
macbook pro blue

Apple's M5 MacBook Pro Imminent: What to Expect

Tuesday October 14, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is going to launch a new version of the MacBook Pro as soon as tomorrow, so we thought we'd go over what to expect from Apple's upcoming Mac. M5 Chip The MacBook Pro will be one of the first new devices to use the next-generation M5 chip, which will replace the M4 chip. The M5 is built on TSMC's more advanced 3-nanometer process, and it will bring speed and efficiency improvements. ...
MacBook Pro M5 Screen

New MacBook Pro Does Not Include a Charger in the Box in Europe

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:59 am PDT by
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip does not include a charger in the box in European countries, including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and others, according to Apple's online store. In the U.S. and all other countries outside of Europe, the new MacBook Pro comes with Apple's 70W USB-C Power Adapter, but European customers miss out....
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...

Top Rated Comments

iceqube33 Avatar
18 weeks ago

I do wish Apple would get rid of the back and refresh button. We could just pull from the top to refresh and swipe from left to go back.
No. You can’t skip back a few pages directly if there is no back button.

The refresh button is helpful when a page hangs and the pull action does nothing.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bobbyjack Avatar
18 weeks ago


* Home bar - The Home bar that's meant to remind you that you can swipe up to get to the Home Screen has been removed from apps, for the most part. When you open an app, it shows briefly, but then it disappears.

Apple was once intuitive and user-friendly before iOS. Now it’s confusing. New users and elderly people will struggle to return to the home page and get stuck in apps.

There are no indications that notifications require swiping from the top left, Control Center from the top right, going back by swiping up, last app by tapping tiny top-left text, or undo by shaking the phone. The watch is worse, forcing clicks everywhere with thousands of possible combinations, you have to guess how to navigate. It may be simple for Apple superfans, but not everyone is a technophile. The system needs a full overhaul, it’s cluttered, overcomplicated, a mess
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jeremyw013 Avatar
18 weeks ago

People crying about the floating address bar in Safari two iOS's ago are going to be very sad to see that it's come back ?

The iOS 15 address bar that so many complained about that it got pulled and the new iOS 26 address bar:


I liked it back then and like it even more now.
because i already know people will complain about this: IT CAN BE CHANGED.

Attachment Image
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
18 weeks ago
Thoughts from Dev land



Attachment Image
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
18 weeks ago
People crying about the floating address bar in Safari two iOS's ago are going to be very sad to see that it's come back ?

The iOS 15 address bar that so many complained about that it got pulled and the new iOS 26 address bar:


I liked it back then and like it even more now.

Attachment Image

Attachment Image
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
newtestleper Avatar
18 weeks ago
You've linked to an article on Night Mode when mentioning Late-Night Mode.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)