MacRumors

The rumor was true: iOS 26 introduces an option to view full-screen animated album art on the iPhone's Lock Screen for certain Apple Music songs.

iOS 26 Lock Screen Full Screen Album Art
To enter the full-screen mode, simply tap on the album art in the Lock Screen's music player for the song that is currently playing, and the artwork will expand and become animated, which contributes to a more immersive listening experience.

Animated album art was already visible in the Apple Music app for many popular songs, and now it has come to the Lock Screen for the first time.

Not all songs have animated artwork, but the selection is growing.

This is a nice touch that complements the new Liquid Glass design, which allows background content to shine through the interface elements.

iOS 26 is available now in developer beta, with a public beta to follow next month. The update will be released later this year for the iPhone 11 and newer.

The upcoming macOS Tahoe update that Apple previewed this week gives the Mac more personality, with several new customization options.

macOS Tahoe Tinted App Icons
iOS 18 introduced Dark and Tinted options for iPhone app icons, and macOS Tahoe extends those options to the Mac for the first time.

Just like on iOS 26, macOS Tahoe also offers a Clear option for app icons, which pairs nicely with the new Liquid Glass design.

macOS Tahoe Clear App Icons
Second, macOS Tahoe brings the iPhone's customizable Control Center layout to the Mac, allowing you to easily add and rearrange controls.

macOS Tahoe Control Center
Third, macOS Tahoe makes it easy to change the colors of folder icons, and you can add a symbol or emoji to them for a unique flair.

macOS Tahoe Folders
macOS Tahoe is available now in developer beta, with a public beta to follow next month. The update will be released later this year.

Related Roundup: macOS 26 Tahoe

Apple at WWDC previewed a bunch of new features coming in its updated operating systems, but certain changes will have been met with dismay by third-party developers who already offer apps with equivalent or similar features. In other words, their product has been "sherlocked" by Apple.

apple beta 26 lineup
When Apple creates an app or a feature that has functionality found in a third-party app, it is referred to as sherlocking. The name dates back to a "Sherlock" search tool in OS X that Apple enhanced with features that were cribbed from a third-party app called Watson. Watson's developers accused Apple of copying the product without compensation, and from then on, sherlocking has been used to describe apps that are supplanted by Apple.

Here are the features in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and watchOS 26 that, to various extents, sherlock popular existing apps.

Apple's Sherlocking New Features

  • Enhanced Spotlight with Actions – Provides suggested apps, commands, and custom shortcuts with the ability to perform actions like creating calendar events or making GIFs directly from search. Sherlocks Raycast and LaunchBar.
  • Call Assist with Screening – Takes calls from unknown numbers silently, captures the caller's name and reason for calling, then lets you choose to accept or reject with typed responses. Sherlocks Robokiller and Truecaller.
  • Parcel Tracking in Wallet – Uses Apple Intelligence to automatically track and summarize order status by analyzing emails from merchants and delivery services. Sherlocks various package tracking apps.
  • Flight Tracking via Live Activities – Allows users to track and share flight status through Live Activities in Wallet, plus airport navigation with gate and amenity information in Maps. Sherlocks Flighty.
  • AI Model Integration in Xcode – Makes ChatGPT the default assistant for Xcode 26 and allows developers to connect other AI models using API keys for coding assistance. Sherlocks Alex for Xcode.
  • Local Capture for iPad – Enables creators to record videos locally using any video calling app and share recordings with others for podcast creation. Sherlocks Riverside.
  • Notes App for Apple Watch – Brings the official Notes app to Apple Watch with watchOS 26, allowing users to take notes directly on their wrist. Sherlocks various note-taking apps for Apple Watch.
  • Allow in the Menu Bar – In macOS Tahoe's System Settings, you can now control which third-party apps are allowed to display menu bar items. Sherlocks Bartender and Ice.
  • Spotlight Clipboard Search – In macOS Tahoe, Spotlight users can search and view previously copied content in their clipboard history – including both text and images – making it easy to retrieve items copied earlier. Sherlocks Paste and Pastebot.

Of course, some of these apps may still offer additional functionality beyond what Apple has implemented, and developers of sherlocked apps sometimes find ways to improve their apps to differentiate them from Apple, so there's hopefully life left in many of them yet.

Do you know of any other new features not listed here that potentially sherlock existing third-party apps? Let us know in the comments.

Amazon this week is discounting a collection of Beats headphones and speakers, including an all-time low price on the Powerbeats Pro 2. You can get this new 2025 model for $199.95 in four colors, down from $249.99. This deal on the Powerbeats Pro 2 is being matched at Best Buy, along with a few other Beats deals.

powerbeats pro 2 greenNote: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

This sale also includes major discounts on products like the Beats Pill, which has hit $99.00 on Amazon, down from $149.95. This discount is available in three colors of the Bluetooth speaker.

Additionally, Amazon has the Beats Studio Buds+ for $99.95, down from $169.95. These have up to 9 hours of playback (up to 36 hours with charging case), USB-C, active noise cancellation, transparency mode, and an IPX4 rating for sweat and water resistance.

You'll also find a few steep discounts on over-ear headphones, like the Beats Studio Pro at $169.95, down from $349.99. Many of these deals are matches for the record low price on each pair of headphones.

Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.


Deals Newsletter

Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find in 2025? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season!

Related Roundup: Apple Deals

Many of Apple's announcements during its WWDC 2025 keynote this week were leaked ahead of time, but there were also a few rumors that proved to be inaccurate.

WWDC25 Rumor Report Card 3
In this WWDC 2025 edition of our Rumor Report Card, we have reflected on some of the bigger hits and misses leading into Apple's annual developer conference.

The grades that we have assigned to each rumor below are just for fun.

A+

We give full marks to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who accurately leaked a wide range of software details ahead of WWDC 2025, including the new naming convention for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and so forth, the Liquid Glass design, iPads getting several Mac-like features, several new Phone and Messages app features, new preinstalled Games and Preview apps on iOS 26, live translation of calls and texts, and much more.

9to5Mac also accurately leaked several details, ranging from the Messages app getting polls to a full-screen album artwork option on the iPhone's Lock Screen.

B

Jon Prosser was first to report that iOS 26 would feature a new translucent design. In videos on his YouTube channel Front Page Tech, he accurately leaked several iOS 26 design elements, including the new floating tab bar within apps. However, at one point he incorrectly said that Home Screen app icons would be round.

The leaker @MajinBuOfficial accurately claimed that iPadOS 26 would feature a Mac-like menu bar at the top of the screen. However, he wrongly said that the menu bar might only appear when the iPad is connected to a Magic Keyboard.

C-

Ahead of the WWDC 2025 keynote, 9to5Mac and MacRumors reported on homeOS trademark activity that was potentially linked to Apple. homeOS could end up being the name of the operating system that powers Apple's rumored smart home hub, but neither the software platform nor the device were announced at WWDC 2025.

homeOS very well might end up being announced in the future, but speculation that it might be unveiled at WWDC 2025 proved to be inaccurate.

F

@MajinBuOfficial claimed that iOS 26 would enable Stage Manager on iPhones with a USB-C port, but no such feature was announced at WWDC 2025.

Related Roundup: WWDC 2025

Amazon this week is providing record low prices on multiple models of the iPad mini 7, starting at $399.99 for the 128GB Wi-Fi tablet, down from $499.00. Colors on sale at this price include Purple, Space Gray, and Blue.

ipad mini 7 feature red and blueNote: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Compared to past sales, this is a match of the best price we've ever tracked on the tablet. You can also get the 512GB Wi-Fi iPad mini 7 for $699.99, which is another $99 discount and available in multiple colors.


This time around, we aren't tracking any all-time low prices on the 256GB Wi-Fi model, and there's just one low price available for the cellular models. You can get the 512GB cellular iPad mini 7 for $849.00, down from $949.00, which is a match for the best price we've ever tracked on this tablet.

Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.


Deals Newsletter

Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find in 2025? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season!

Related Roundup: Apple Deals

Apple has released updated design resources for developers and designers working on projects for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe 26, following the company's introduction of its new "Liquid Glass" design language at WWDC 2025.

iOS26 Sketch Library small 2x
The updated files, available on the Apple Design Resources website, include iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe 26 Sketch Library and App Icon Templates (available for Sketch, Photoshop, and Illustrator).

Liquid Glass is Apple's new translucent material that reflects and refracts its surroundings, while dynamically transforming to help bring greater focus to content across system controls, navigation elements, app icons, and widgets. The design represents the most significant visual overhaul since iOS 7.

The resource library includes UI elements ranging from action sheets and keyboards to the redesigned tab bars that shrink when scrolling to maintain content focus. Apple's macOS Tahoe 26 resources feature updated elements like arrow buttons, color wells, and redesigned window controls that complement the translucent aesthetic. Apple has not yet released resources for tvOS 26, visionOS 26, or watchOS 26.

WhatsApp plans to support Apple in its ongoing legal battle with the UK Home Office over user data privacy, the messaging platform's boss Will Cathcart has told the BBC.

iCloud Versus UK Key Feature
The Meta-owned service warned that the case "could set a dangerous precedent" by encouraging other governments to demand access to encrypted communications.

Apple launched legal action after receiving a secret government notice earlier this year demanding backdoor access to encrypted iCloud data worldwide. The UK used its Investigatory Powers Act to require Apple to compromise its Advanced Data Protection feature, which encrypts user photos, notes, messages, and device backups.

Rather than comply, Apple pulled the encryption feature from UK users entirely in February.

"WhatsApp would challenge any law or government request that seeks to weaken the encryption of our services," Cathcart said. The company vowed to continue defending users' "right to a private conversation online."

The encryption controversy has drawn criticism from American politicians, with some calling it a "dangerous attack on US cybersecurity." Tulsi Gabbard, director of US National Intelligence, described the UK's demands as an "egregious violation" of US citizens' privacy.

A UK court rejected the government's attempt to keep details of Apple's legal challenge secret. Judges ruled that conducting hearings entirely in private would be "truly extraordinary."

The Home Office has defended its position, saying the government's "first priority" is keeping people safe while protecting privacy. Officials argue the powers help investigate serious crimes including terrorism and child abuse.

Apple maintains that creating backdoors would inevitably compromise security for all users, making them vulnerable to malicious actors.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple has released a unique haptic trailer for its upcoming "F1" movie starring Brad Pitt, available exclusively in the TV app on iPhone.

f1 trailer haptic
The trailer uses the iPhone's Taptic Engine to create vibrations that sync with the on-screen action. When F1 cars roar around the track, you can physically feel the engine vibrations in your hands. The haptic effects match the intensity of what's happening on screen, ramping up as engines rev and providing subtle feedback for smaller actions like a bouncing ping pong ball.

To experience the trailer, iPhone users need iOS 18.4 or later and can find it featured in the TV+ tab of the TV app.

In the film, Brad Pitt stars as an F1 driver who was an up-and-coming talent in the 1990s, until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Thirty years later, Pitt is invited to join a former teammate's struggling F1 team, in a last-shot bid to save the team and become the best in the world. It looks to be a classic underdog story.

The haptic trailer is Apple's latest marketing push for F1, which hits U.S. theaters on June 27. The film will eventually stream on Apple TV+ after its theatrical run, which could be Apple's last effort at big-money theatrical releases for the foreseeable future.

Now in the hands of developers, macOS Tahoe introduces a long list of new features – some were showcased at Apple's WWDC keynote, while others were quietly added behind the scenes. We've rounded up a selection of smaller but still useful changes you'll find in the update.

macos tahoe

  • Volume/brightness overlays – The traditional large overlays that appear when you adjust volume and brightness are gone, and have been replaced with smaller, oblong overlays that appear in the top-right of the screen under the menu bar, notification-style.
  • Background apps – macOS now notifies you via a new popup when apps attempt to run a daemon after they have been closed. You can "Always Allow" the background process to run or you can deny it permission.
  • Unified Safari URL Bar – Safari no longer offers the option to unify the tab bar and the address bar (the Compact tab layout setting), perhaps because it wasn't popular with users. Apple could always reinstate it in a later beta version.
  • Spotlight Clipboard Access – Spotlight can now search clipboard history, including items from Universal Clipboard.
  • Finder icon – Apple has flipped the color of the classic Finder icon in Tahoe. The blue is now on the right side of the face instead of the left, and it has been given a glassy cast in the Liquid Glass style.
  • Clear Look – Apple has added a third "Clear" system appearance to go alongside the existing Dark mode and Light mode options. Clear Look adds a glassy translucent appearance to app icons and widgets. There are also colorful new light and dark tint options for icons and widgets, similar to iOS.
  • Menu bar items – Users now have more granular control over which apps can add menu bar items, with toggles in settings to turn off menu bar items for individual apps.
  • Games App – Apple's new Games app lists all the games installed on your Mac, even if they weren't downloaded from the App Store.
  • PS5 controller options – A new Game Controllers settings menu lets you remap and customize PlayStation controllers, right down to the level of haptic feedback and even the lightbar color.
  • Lock Screen Clock – In Wallpaper settings, you can now change the style of the Lock Screen clock, just like in iOS 18.
  • Control Center – Like iOS, you can now customize the layout of Control Center, with the ability to add third-party app controls, including apps installed on your iPhone (which launch iPhone Mirroring when clicked). These controls can also appear in the menu bar.
  • Safari – Safari now has a transparent address bar, and colors from webpages shine through the browser's main toolbar.
  • Spotlight – Suggested apps listed in Spotlight include iPhone apps, which are opened with iPhone Mirroring. Spotlight can also now search through an active app's menu bar items.
  • Live Activities – macOS Tahoe can display an iPhone's Live Activities directly in the menu bar.
  • Game app – The new Game app comes with a Game Overlay that appears onscreen while you play. The overlay offers social features like friend invites and chat, along with quick access to system settings such as Low Power Mode.
  • Image Playground – Image Playground can now use ChatGPT to create more realistic pictures based on your prompts.
  • Folder icon customization – You can now customize the look of individual folders with the use of emojis and other select glyphs.
  • Quick Keys – You can assign Quick Keys to individual actions, allowing you to add a reminder by typing "ar" into Spotlight, for example.

Currently only developers have access to an early version of macOS Tahoe – although anyone can technically install the developer beta. Apple is planning to provide a public beta in July. macOS Tahoe will see a public launch in September.

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

Apple introduced a new, compact design for Safari in iOS 26 that serves as the default layout, but there are two other design options available if you don't like it.

ios 26 safari options
In the Safari section of the Settings app, you can select Compact (the default), Bottom, or Top. The latter two are the options in iOS 18, so ‌iOS 26‌ uses that same layout, but with a tweaked design to match the Liquid Glass aesthetic.

ios 26 safari design light modeThe three Safari Tab options in ‌iOS 26‌, Light Mode

Functionally, the Bottom and Top Tabs operate in the same way as the Safari Tab bars in ‌iOS 18‌, so you don't need to change anything about how you use Safari. The Compact option hides the share, bookmark, and tab settings behind the three-dot button on the left of the URL bar.

ios 18 safari designSafari in ‌iOS 18‌

The Liquid Glass translucent design blends the URL bar and buttons into the background of the webpage you're looking at regardless of what layout you choose. The effect is similar in both Light and Dark mode, with the color of the bar determined by the webpage's content.

ios 26 safari design dark modeThe three Safari Tab options in ‌iOS 26‌, Dark Mode

When you scroll down with any of the Tab settings, the URL bar and buttons collapse down into a single, small bar with just the webpage address listed. The collapsible bar allows you to see more of the webpage without distractions.

ios 26 safari menu collapsedCollapsed Tab Bar in ‌iOS 26‌

Back when iOS 15 was in beta testing, Apple changed the design of Safari and did not initially provide different layout options for the URL bar. Apple received negative feedback throughout the beta testing process, and ultimately implemented options to revert to the original design. This time around, Apple has learned its lesson, and has provided users with more choice for the Safari layout.

safariThe iOS 15 Safari Tab Bar

Apple has actually offered design choices for several of the ‌iOS 26‌ design updates that could be controversial. The Phone app offers a unified view, for example, but by default, it's not implemented. There are also glass-like icons that can be selected, but they're also not the default option.

Tag: Safari

Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi and marketing chief Greg Joswiak are on a media tour this week, following the WWDC 2025 keynote.

iOS 18 Siri Personal Context
The latest interview comes from The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern, who sat down with Federighi and Joswiak to discuss Apple's delayed personalized Siri features.

Stern asked the executives if Apple had a working version of the more personalized Siri when the company demonstrated the features during its WWDC 2024 keynote.

According to Federighi, it did.

"We were filming real working software, with a real large language model, with real semantic search, that's what you saw," said Federighi.

"There's this narrative out there that it was demoware only," added Joswiak. "No."


Federighi also gave the same answer about why the personalized Siri features were delayed as he did in another interview. In short, there were quality issues, and Apple is shifting to a newer underlying architecture for Siri to overcome that.

Apple first announced the personalized Siri features during its WWDC 2024 keynote. The new capabilities will include better understanding of a user's personal context, on-screen awareness, and deeper per-app controls. For example, Apple showed an iPhone user asking Siri about their mother's flight and lunch reservation plans based on info from the Mail and Messages apps. Apple said it currently plans to release the features in 2026.

Related Roundup: WWDC 2025

Apple is integrating Apple Intelligence in the Wallet app in iOS 26, with the aim of powering a new package tracking feature. Apple Wallet will be able to automatically scan your emails to find messages from merchants or delivery carriers, and tracking numbers will be added to the Wallet app so you can keep an eye on upcoming deliveries.

ios 26 wallet order tracking
Package tracking is already a feature in the Wallet app, but at the current time, it only works with purchases made using Apple Pay. Going forward, you won't need to buy something with ‌Apple Pay‌ for it to show up in the order tracking section of the Wallet app.

If you're running ‌iOS 26‌, package tracking can be enabled by opening up the Wallet and ‌Apple Pay‌ section of the Settings app, tapping on ‌Apple Pay‌ Defaults, selecting Order Tracking, and toggling on Orders Found in Mail. Note that the feature has a beta label, which means Apple is still working out bugs.

‌iOS 26‌ is limited to developers right now, but Apple plans to release a public beta in July. The update will launch to the public in September alongside new iPhone models.

At its WWDC 2024 keynote last year, Apple previewed a more personalized version of Siri that has since been delayed until next year. Subsequently, Apple was hit with class action lawsuits that accuse the company of false advertising, and well-known Apple commentator John Gruber strongly criticized the company over the situation.

WWDC 2025 Apple Logo
Apple also missed its promised 2024 timeframe for launching next-generation CarPlay, which it first announced all the way back at WWDC 2022. The company finally announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra last month, with the software system rolling out in high-end Aston Martin vehicles in the U.S. and Canada to start.

It appears that Apple learned a valuable lesson.

During its WWDC 2025 keynote, there was a noticeable lack of new software features that Apple promised as coming later this year. The company did say that Apple Intelligence will be gaining support for additional languages later this year, but most of those languages had already been announced months ago. Over the past several years, on the other hand, there were typically quite a few "later this year" labels on Apple's software pages.

Still, not every new feature announced at WWDC 2025 is available in the first betas of Apple's latest software releases. The lack of "later this year" phrasing suggests that those features will be ready by time iOS 26 and the other updates are released in September, however, as opposed to subsequent versions like iOS 26.1 or iOS 26.2.

Overall, it is clear that Apple is being more cautious, as was expected. In a report last month about Apple's artificial intelligence shortcomings, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett cited sources who said that Apple planned to mostly stop announcing new features more than a few months before they are ready to launch. Based on the WWDC 2025 keynote, that does appear to be the company's approach for now.

Related Roundup: WWDC 2025

If you've seen the anime-style Studio Ghibli images that people have been making with ChatGPT, you might be interested to know that Apple has integrated this feature into Image Playground in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe.

ios 26 anime image playground styleChatGPT's anime-style output in ‌Image Playground‌

‌Image Playground‌ doesn't add new art styles designed by Apple, but it does support several ChatGPT Styles. Options include oil painting, watercolor, vector, anime, and print, which complement the existing Apple-created Animation, Illustration, and Sketch styles.

ios 26 image playground styles set 1Anime, oil painting, and water color styles in ‌Image Playground‌

The ChatGPT options are similar to what you can get if you use ChatGPT 4o for image creation, and the anime style in particular is one that's been popular on social media. In ChatGPT, you can type in any style you want, and Apple has a similar feature with the "Any Style" option. You can select "Any Style" and then add the descriptors that you want, even asking for a realistic image.

ios 26 image playground realistic imageThis was an image of a cat, and ChatGPT was asked to add a bird and make it realistic.

You can create images based on text descriptions, or you can upload a photo to have it converted into the style of your choice. When using the ChatGPT option, you will need to give the okay for your iPhone to send the image to ChatGPT.

ios 26 image playground styles set 2Vector, print, and any styles (specified as Van Gogh) in ‌Image Playground‌

As with standard ‌Image Playground‌ image generation, you can add in additional phrases to tweak the result that you get from ChatGPT. ChatGPT is fairly slow compared to Apple's own on-device image generation capabilities in ‌Image Playground‌, so expect to wait for the end result.

ios 26 image playground text comboA photo combined with a text-based request

Unlike Apple's ‌Image Playground‌ default styles, ChatGPT has no problem with copyrighted content. It will make an image that uses the Studio Ghibli style, or that features Elmo. You're also welcome to include violence, so Elmo can be bloody and hold a knife. Technically, ChatGPT isn't supposed to make violent images featuring children's characters either, but there are simple wording tricks to get around that. Apple does warn before sending any images to ChatGPT, and it is made clear that it's ChatGPT creating the images. ChatGPT has far fewer guardrails than Apple's standard ‌Image Playground‌ tools, which is something to be aware of.

ios 26 chatgpt image playground copyright
It is worth noting that creating images with ChatGPT uses up tokens, and if you have a free account, you won't be able to create more than one or two. You'll need a paid account to use the feature more frequently.

chatgpt limit ios 26 image playground
There is no limit on the number of images that you can generate using the built-in ‌Image Playground‌ options, and it is worth noting that Apple has one other new feature you can use, and that's the "Genmoji" option. You can combine multiple emoji into a single ‌Genmoji‌, a feature that's new in ‌iOS 26‌, or describe an emoji character to create something new. ‌Genmoji‌ does not work with photos, and it is a description-only setting. The ‌Genmoji‌ that you create can be added to your emoji keyboard so you can use them in Messages.

ios 26 genmoji
‌iOS 26‌ is available for developers right now, but Apple plans to release a public beta in July. The software will see a public launch in September alongside new ‌iPhone‌ models.

In a WWDC interview with Tom's Guide editor-in-chief Mark Spoonauer, and TechRadar editor-at-large Lance Ulanoff, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi explained why the more personalized version of Siri has still yet to launch.

iOS 18 Siri Personal Context
Federighi admitted that the first-generation architecture that Apple was developing for the personalized Siri features was too limited, which prevented the features from reaching the company's high quality standards. By spring 2025, Apple decided that it needed to fully shift Siri to a second-generation architecture that it had been planning, in order for the personalized features to reach a quality level that meets customer expectations. That decision led Apple to delay the features for up to another year.

Even with the second-generation architecture, Federighi said that Apple is still working to perfect the Siri features. In the interview, Apple's marketing chief Greg Joswiak confirmed that the "coming year" refers to 2026, so it is likely that the company is currently planning to launch the features as part of iOS 26.4 next spring.


Multiple class action lawsuits were filed against Apple in the U.S. and Canada over the delayed Siri features, which were heavily advertised by the company last year.

Apple first announced the personalized Siri features during its WWDC 2024 keynote. Specifically, Apple said that Siri would gain improved understanding of a user's personal context, on-screen awareness, and deeper per-app controls. For example, Apple showed an iPhone user asking Siri about their mother's flight and lunch reservation plans based on info from the Mail and Messages apps. At the time, Apple said that the capabilities would be available within a year, but evidently it was overconfident and had to return to the drawing board.

With iPadOS 26, Apple is introducing major changes to the way that multitasking works, and part of that update will see the removal of Split View and Slide Over, two multitasking interface options that have long existed on the iPad.

ipados 26 multitasking
iPadOS 26 allows for multiple app windows, each of which can be resized freely on the display. The feature works on all ‌iPad‌ models able to run iPadOS 26, though there are limitations on how many apps can be open at once. On older iPads, for example, you're limited to four apps. Newer iPads can have more open app windows.

You can change the size of ‌iPad‌ app windows, move them on top of each other, and rearrange them as desired, much like on the Mac. There are also tiling options so that you can see two to four apps side-by-side, a feature that's similar to Split View.

Windows retain their positions even when you shut off your ‌iPad‌ or close an app, and you can see all of your open apps with a swipe up gesture that activates an Exposé-style view.

‌iPad‌ app windows feature the Mac traffic-light controls, and these can be used for resizing and closing apps. ‌iPad‌ apps also have Mac-style menu bars for tweaking settings, and there's a feature for running system-intensive tasks in the background.

The new multitasking feature that replaces Slide Over and Split View is much more robust, so it is unlikely that most ‌iPad‌ users are going to miss these options.

Apple has removed several Apple Watch faces that are options in watchOS 11, nixing the Fire/Water, Gradient, Liquid Metal, Vapor, and Toy Story watch faces, according to a post on Reddit.

watchos 26 removed faces
Apple tends to quietly remove some watch face options when it launches a new version of iOS, so it is not a huge surprise to see these go missing. It is not clear why Apple picked these watch faces in particular, but it could be because they were used less often.

Apple didn't add new watch faces with watchOS 26, but some watch faces have new Liquid Glass-inspired design options.

Related Roundup: watchOS 11
Related Forum: Apple Watch