How to get iOS 26

If you’re into tech news then you probably know that in June Apple unveiled their new operating systems. In this article I will be talking about iOS 26, for the iPhone. After unveiling it Apple let app developers try it for about a month, and now you can get it.

So how do you get it? First, make sure you have a supported device, a iPhone 11 and newer, and the iPhone SE 2 and newer. Then go to https://beta.apple.com and press the sign in button if you're not signed up to the Apple Beta Program yet. After that it will ask you to use your Apple ID to sign in, then you have to agree to the terms and conditions if you want to use iOS 26. If you follow all the steps then go to the Settings app, scroll down and tap general, in general tap on software update, tap on beta updates, and then tap the iOS 26 Beta. Now you should be able to get iOS 26!

What’s new?

Everything! Ok that might be an overstatement, but the whole system has a cool liquid glassy look. I think this is one of Apple’s best visual changes to their operating systems. Here are some highlights:

Customization

First let’s talk about customization. With iOS 26 there are many ways to cusomize your iPhone! On the Lock Screen you can now move you widgets to the top or the bottom, make the time adapt to how much space you have in a photo, and everything looks glassy. If you have a photo with a subject you can make it look 3D and that will make it come alive, says Apple. The glassy look also extends to your Home Screen, with new app icons that look like sheets of glass, a cool look to make icons and widgets clear, and reflections on everything.

Apps

Now apps. First the ones you use to communicate. Apple’s headline for it is “Less noise, more fun.” Which makes sense because there are many features to help you not waste you time. In the phone app there is a feature you can turn on called call screening. When on if a number that calls that is not known, the phone will pick up, then ask why the person is calling, after all the information it wants is provided it will start ringing and before you pick up it will show a summary of what the person said. I think the best new feature in the phone app is Hold Assist. If you’ve ever had to be on hold, then you know it’s boring, or annoying, because you can’t use your phone well. But, with Hold Assist the phone will wait in line for you, and when there’s an open spot it will tell you so you can pick up. Messages gets a huge update! In your chats you can now change the background to a photo, in a group chat you can add a poll, and it also gets the new glassy design. Lastly FaceTime. The redesigned FaceTime app has a list of recent calls and autoplaying video messages in contact cards, and a new button to initiate calls. In all these apps you can live translate.

In Photos, Apple listened to feedback and made all photos and collections separate tabs, and my most anticipated feature, Spatial Photo mode. This makes any image with a subject look 3D! And it actually works amazingly well!

Photos also had a redesign that makes everything looks simpler, so it should be easier for you to use it.

There’s a whole new app called Games. It’s like the old Game Center App, with leaderboards, challenges, and a friends tab. I’m glad this is an app, because I always wondered why they removed the Game Canter App and put everything into the Settings app.

Apple Intelligence

Apple’s long awaited intellectual Siri was not unveiled, but other Apple Intelligence features were. Now you can take a screen shot and Visual Intelligence can search it up on your favorite apps or add it to your calendar. Apple Intelligence can also create a shortcut for you, which has been long awaited! Lastly in Image Playground they’ve partnered with ChatGPT to give you mare image options for image styles.

Other

Here are some other cool features. If you don’t know how to pronounce words in a song that is in a different language, then Apple Music’s new feature, to help you sing words right, will be an amazing feature for you!

Apple Wallet adds support for a United States Passport, to turn into a digital ID to use at a TSA checkpoint and other places. Boarding Passes adds airport maps, tracking with Find My, and sharable Live Activities.

Have you every gone to a city and ate at a really great restaurant? Then you visited that city again and you wanted to go there again, but you forgot the name. Well in Maps there’s a feature that makes sure that should not happen again, it’s called Visited Places. If you turn it on then you iPhone will track where you have gone a save it. You can change the location if needed, and Apple says it is private.

In the Journal App you finally have a way to have separate journals, for separate parts of you life.

If you set an alarm in Clock you can customize how long your snooze will last.

If you use CarPlay, you can easily reply to a message with a TapBack and motor Live Activities all at a glance.

Accessibility adds an all-new experience designed for Braille users, more options for Vehicle Motion Cues to help reduce motion sickness, and a more customizable reading experience.

That’s all for this article, if you have any thoughts or would like me to write about a feature I forgot about, please leave it in the comments!