Apple just made some big moves at its Worldwide Developers Conference 2025, and the primary focus has been on iOS 26 and its new features. The company’s change in its naming strategy for its OS was rumored in the weeks leading up to the announcement, but Apple formally confirmed that we weren’t getting iOS 19 but iOS 26 instead. The OS change came with iOS 26’s offer of a new liquid glass design to its interface, along with other quality-of-life changes that make its presence more appealing to users.

Apple’s new software design promises “a more expressive and delightful experience across the system while maintaining the instant familiarity of iOS.” While we wouldn’t necessarily go so far as to call the changes delightful ourselves, we’re certainly interested in the changes and how they will impact users. The iOS 26 developer beta program is now ongoing, with a public beta release scheduled in July. The full release of Apple’s liquid glass interface will come sometime in the Fall, so let’s look at what it has to offer while we wait.

iOS 26 new features

Apple iOS 26 Brings New Features on a Liquid Glass Platter

The WWDC 2025 iOS 26 updates have sparked off a multitude of conversations, some excited and some critical, about what Apple has come up with this time. The OS is inspired by the visionOS interface, and the updated design language is expected to make its way across all of Apple’s many devices, not just the iPhone.

The “gorgeous new design and meaningful improvements,” offered by Apple have been dubbed liquid glass by the company. “It combines the optical qualities of glass with a fluidity only Apple can achieve, as it transforms depending on your content or context,” according to the iPhone maker. 

What Is Apple’s Liquid Glass Interface?

Capitalizing on Apple’s hardware, silicon, and graphics advancements, the new OS showcases a more translucent design aesthetic that pays heed to its surroundings and adapts to the environment very smoothly. Using real-time rendering, it dynamically reacts to make its appearance more appealing to the user. 

All this to say that the interface plays around with transparency more across the device’s many settings, menus, icons, and the many interactive elements within its functions. Apple’s new software design is reflected in every element of the lock screen, home screen, and even within the interface of certain in-built apps. Paired with the improved animations and the more 3D nature of the icons, there’s a perfect balance offered up to everyone. 

Unfortunately, most users seem unimpressed by the design and how it impairs the device and the ability to see and read anything.

Apple’s New Software Design Extends to Its Apps

The iOS 26 liquid glass UI details are more prominent within apps where controls now float slightly above the background, giving users a full-screen experience without compromising on controllability. The settings, search, bars, and other toggles on app faces are far more unobtrusive, hovering on the side until they are called upon.

Tab bars and sidebars have been similarly designed to shrink and become more discrete when not directly needed, but users do not have to dig through the app to find them when they are promptly required. “They refract the content behind them—while reflecting content and the user’s wallpaper from around them—which ensures users always have a sense of their context,” according to Apple.

The uniformity between the app and the smartphone interface itself is designed to bring a sense of harmony and some of the focus back to the user’s preferences. 

iOS 26’s Liquid Glass UI Shines Best on the Lock Screen

The capabilities of the OS are best showcased in the now-translucent design of notifications on the lock screen that will allow the wallpaper to shine more, even as the clock and notifications fade a little into the background. It looks prettier to be sure, but isn’t the best option for readability.

The “liquid glass” moniker aptly describes just how fluid the lock screen’s design is, adapting the image to shift with the notifications, and keeping the focus on the subject of the image at all times. The changes might be subtle, but we can see how this particular design integration will make the smartphone more pleasant to glance at. 

The Phone App and Messages Also Get Some Attention

The WWDC updates for iOS 26 were clear in pointing out that the design changes were being extended to all its native applications. The Phone app has rarely received as much attention as it just has, which is heartwarming to see in a sense. The experience of scrolling through contacts or your call logs is more pleasant now, with a hovering bar at the bottom of the screen to help you switch between aspects like the search key or the keypad. Having the controls at the bottom is definitely a more comfortable design language, and it’s nice to see how Apple has standardized this for its apps. 

The unified layout for the Favorites, Recent, and Voicemail categories feels a tab bit cluttered at first glance, but we’re assuming it’ll become convenient with some practice. The Call Screening and Hold Assist functions also make the app more responsive and convenient to use.

The messaging interface has been similarly upgraded. Messages are better categorized with spam messages from unknown senders shelved in a different section. You can also change your background in group chats, create polls, or use the custom Genmoji function to combine or create brand-new emojis for your needs. 

Apple Music Listeners Should Also Pay Attention

iOS 26’s new features include a lyric translation feature on Apple Music, giving users some insight into the meaning behind the words they’ve been humming incorrectly for months. The Lyric Pronunciation feature can help with getting the words right next time. The AutoMix setting is also of note, creating more seamless transitions from song to song. 

iOS 26 liquid glass UI

WWDC 2025 Wouldn’t Be Complete Without Mentioning Apple Intelligence

No, there’s still no sign of Miss. Advanced Siri, but Apple Intelligence is working hard to hold up its end of the bargain. The Live Translation feature has been integrated into Messages, FaceTime, and the Phone app to help you navigate language barriers in a heartbeat. This feature runs on the device, so you don’t have to worry about your personal conversations leaking out.

Apple’s Visual Intelligence capability further helps enhance the usability of the device, allowing users to ask ChatGPT about the contents on their screen without having to navigate out of the app. The AI integration might also bring some personalized suggestions such as adding an event to your calendar. This could be useful while going through your mail and finding unexpected conversations that require scheduling. 

Apple Intelligence is more easily accessible with shortcuts that can help you bring up the Writing Assistant or the Image Playground instantly when you need it. 

iOS 26 Developer Beta Is Live

For designers who want to experiment with and understand iOS 26 and its new features a little better, iOS 26’s developer beta is now live. Beware that the preliminary testing will be full of bugs and errors until the major issues can be worked out slowly. The iOS 26 public release date has not been announced, but it will be available in July. 

The public version will be the true test of the operating system’s performance before iOS 26 makes its full release later in the year, possibly with the next iPhone lineup.

Are You Happy with iOS 26’s New Features?

With iOS 26’s liquid glass UI being the shining light of this announcement, there aren’t too many other advanced features to look at here. If you aren’t interested in design changes, the updated Apple Music apps may be of particular interest to you. There are similar upgrades to Apple Maps in terms of storing recently visited places, further enhanced by Apple Intelligence. Apple Wallet is also easier to use with the upcoming iOS 26 updates, so there will be some features to test out soon enough. 

There has been some negative talk about iOS 26’s offerings, particularly due to comparisons being made to Android 16’s Material 3 Expressive design language. Samsung, as usual, also joined in on mocking Apple, alluding to how its new UI is similar to what Samsung has been working on. It’s quite daring of Samsung to poke fun at Apple after its abysmal release schedule of One UI 7 and how average its design changes have been after the long wait. 

Samsung’s prized Now Bar feature is inconvenient to use and its other UI enhancements haven’t necessarily been unique or interesting. For years now, users have filed their complaints about the top smartphone makers and how their gadgets have begun resembling each other, and the current situation is no different.

Still, we’ll reserve judgment over iOS 26’s new features until the operating system is fully released, so keep your eyes on this space to know more about Apple’s upcoming design language.

Subscribe to Technowize for more updates for more tech releases and gadget reviews.

tagged in Apple liquid glass interface, Apple new software design, iOS 26 developer beta, iOS 26 liquid glass UI, iOS 26 new features, iOS 26 public release date, WWDC 2025 iOS 26 updates
Share: