Apple held off on announcing two iOS 26 features that it still plans to release this year, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Apple did not want to risk repeating WWDC 2024, where it announced an array of features that were ultimately delayed by months or still haven't arrived. As a result, at least two iOS 26 features were not shown at WWDC, but are still apparently scheduled to arrive as part of iOS 26 this year.
The first of these is live translation of conversations using AirPods. If an English speaker with AirPods is talking to someone who is speaking Spanish, the ‌iPhone‌ will detect the audio, translate the speech, and relay it back in English to the person wearing AirPods. The person speaking English will then be able to respond and have their response translated to Spanish and spoken aloud by the ‌iPhone‌.
Apple's ‌iPhone‌ Translate app can already be used for conversations like this, but having the function included in the AirPods will streamline the exchange. Apple announced a wide range of language translation features at WWDC this year, but the widely rumored AirPods live translation feature was noticeably absent.
The second feature is the ability to sync public network login information across devices. The system will allow users to enter login details for captive Wi-Fi networks, commonly found in hotels, airports, and coffee shops, just once, and then automatically sync that information across their iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices. The time-saving feature should eliminate the frustration of repeatedly logging into the same network portal across multiple Apple devices.
"When you go to a new hotel, office building or gym, you're often asked to fill out a web form on all your devices before you can access the internet," Gurman said in May. "This new feature will let you enter that information on one device and have it synched to your other products."
iOS 26 is set to officially release as a free update for the iPhone 11 or newer in the fall.
MacRumors has partnered with Bloomberg to offer our readers a limited-time trial offer for the Bloomberg.com Tech Newsletter bundle, which includes access to Mark Gurman's Power On plus all of Bloomberg's other subscriber-only tech newsletters: Tech In Depth (daily reporting and analysis on tech and AI), Game On (gaming), Soundbite (podcasting and the music industry), and Q&AI (AI). MacRumors readers can get their first month's subscription for $1.99, after which it will be priced at $11.99/month.
