iOS 26: Apple’s Big Update Unifies iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Apple’s latest software refresh – iOS 26 – is no ordinary yearly update. Unveiled at WWDC 2025, iOS 26 (and its sibling iPadOS 26 and macOS 26 “Tahoe”) marks a bold leap with a redesigned interface and a slew of new features that span iPhone, iPad, and Mac. In fact, Apple skipped from last year’s iOS 18 straight to 26 to align version numbers with the upcoming year. This unified release brings a glossy new look called Liquid Glass across all devices, plus quality-of-life improvements that aim to make everyday tasks easier. Users have been buzzing – some love the changes, others are pushing back – so let’s break down what’s new, how it enhances daily usability, and how people are reacting.

New Features and Design Overhaul

Liquid Glass: A Translucent New Design Across Devices

The headline change in iOS 26 is the new “Liquid Glass” UI, a translucent design language now shared by iPhone, iPad, and Mac. This is Apple’s biggest visual overhaul since iOS 7, and it’s immediately noticeable on the Home and Lock Screens. Apps, widgets, and interface elements adopt a glass-like transparency that reflects background colors and light/dark mode, creating a layered depth effect. For example, iPhone app icons now appear as if made of digital glass that glints with your wallpaper’s colors, and Mac’s menu bar is completely transparent, making the screen feel more expansive. Apple says this “beautiful new design” makes the experience “more expressive and delightful”.

• Cohesive Look Across Devices: Liquid Glass was designed to unify Apple’s ecosystem, giving iPhones, iPads, Macs (even Apple Watch and CarPlay) a consistent look. Translucent sidebars, floating buttons, and color-tinted icons now appear in many apps (Phone, Maps, Safari, Music, etc.) for a modern, fluid feel. Even CarPlay’s dashboard adopts the new glossy aesthetic.
• Floating Buttons and Refined UI: Many built-in apps feature updated controls. You’ll notice “floating” buttons with subtle shadows that hover over content – intended to be less distracting yet easy to see. Toolbars and tabs have slimmed down to maximize content space (for instance, Safari’s tab bar is more compact). All these tweaks give the interface a futuristic, almost sci-fi vibe, like something out of an Apple TV+ show.
• Personalization Options: Despite the drastic change, Apple allows some personalization of the new look. Users can pick light or dark themes and even apply colorful tints or an all-new “clear” look to app icons and Home Screen backgrounds. On Mac, you can even customize folder icon colors or mark them with emoji for easier visual organization. These touches let you tune the translucency and style to your taste (to a degree).

iPhone: Key Features Coming in iOS 26

Beyond the shiny coat of paint, iOS 26 packs a laundry list of new features for iPhones. Apple focused heavily on quality-of-life improvements – changes big and small that make using your iPhone day-to-day more convenient. Here are some of the most noteworthy additions:

• Phone App Redesign & Call Assistance: The Phone app gets a welcome overhaul. You can now scroll through contacts, recent calls, and voicemail all on one screen without switching tabs. Even better, Apple added a Hold Assist feature that lets you avoid those dreadful hold times. If you’re waiting for a customer service rep, simply enable Hold Assist – your iPhone will hold your spot in the call queue and notify you when a human finally picks up, so you can go do other things. No more looping elevator music while you stare at the phone! In tandem, a new Call Screening tool can automatically answer unknown callers, ask who’s calling, and transcribe their response so you can decide if it’s spam or important. These make handling phone calls far less of a chore.
• Smarter Messages (with Polls & Customizations): The Messages app is leveling up group chats. You’ll soon be able to create polls within iMessage conversations – perfect for quickly coordinating plans (no more endless “Friday or Saturday?” threads). Simply drop in a poll for your friends to vote on where to meet for dinner or which movie to see. Apple is also adding fun customizable chat backgrounds for iMessage, letting you spice up conversations with personalized themes behind your message bubbles. And if you’re tired of random spam texts about “unpaid tolls” or other scams, Messages will now filter unknown senders into a separate folder automatically, keeping your main inbox clutter-free. All these tweaks make everyday texting more productive and more playful.
• FaceTime Safety and Continuity: A subtle but important addition in FaceTime is a new communication safety option that auto-pauses your video if nudity is detected. Meant to protect children (or anyone) from inappropriate surprises, this on-device detection blurs your video if someone unexpectedly flashes something explicit, without sending any data to the cloud. On a lighter note, FaceTime and Phone calls also gain built-in Live Translation – you can talk to someone in another language and have their speech translated in real time, with translations shown or spoken in your call interface. It’s not perfectly fluid yet (demos showed some stop-and-go as it translates), but it promises to break language barriers during international chats.
• Visual Intelligence (Visual Lookup on Steroids): iOS 26 introduces a feature called Visual Intelligence, which is essentially like having reverse image search and more, anywhere on your phone. You can long-press or screenshot anything on your screen – a photo, a paused video frame, an app – and have iOS identify and give info on it. See a cool pair of sneakers on Instagram? Grab a screenshot and use Visual Intelligence to find those shoes (or similar ones) online. It’ll recognize objects, landmarks, products, even pets, and then search the web for matches. It’s all done with on-device AI and Apple’s new language model integration, so it works fast and privately. Think of it as Apple’s answer to Google Lens, handy for shopping, research, or satisfying your curiosity in everyday life.
• Photos App Fixes: “Your tabs are coming back!” Apple heard the outcry from users frustrated by last year’s Photos app changes. In iOS 26, the Photos app once again has separate tabs for Library and Collections (Albums), restoring the classic organization we took for granted. No more infinite scrolling just to find your older albums or sections – you can jump between main library and your categorized collections easily. This “treasured feature” return earned cheers from those who found the prior rework unwieldy.
• Major Camera Upgrades: For photography enthusiasts, the Camera app UI has been refined for the first time in years. While the basic point-and-shoot stays familiar, Apple rearranged controls to surface the pro features that were buried before. It’s now much quicker to adjust settings like video resolution, frame rate, or to switch on the new Log format for video if you have a Pro iPhone – all without digging through menus. In a sense, the Camera app finally “gained the ‘Pro’ mode users have been waiting for,” offering more manual control while still keeping things simple for casual shooters. Early hands-on impressions praise the easier access to advanced tools, though note the new animations can feel a tad slow at times. Overall, capturing photos and videos on iPhone should feel faster and more flexible in iOS 26.
• Music and Media Enhancements: Apple didn’t forget the music lovers. Apple Music in iOS 26 gets a DJ-like “AutoMix” feature that automatically transitions songs with beat-matched precision. As one reviewer put it, songs now flow into each other “at the perfect moment” – it’s like having a personal DJ smoothing out your playlists. In fact, AutoMix replaces the old crossfade option entirely and has impressed beta testers, with many praising it as one of the best new additions. Another cool addition: for songs in foreign languages, Apple Music will provide real-time Lyrics Translation and even a Lyrics Pronunciation guide, so you can sing along in Japanese or Spanish without missing a beat or mangling the words. Karaoke night just got a lot more interesting! You’ll also be able to pin favorite playlists to the top of your library for quick access (and even add a new pinned playlists widget to your Home Screen). All told, iOS 26 makes media consumption more seamless and interactive.

(Many more small tweaks are sprinkled throughout iOS 26 – from Wallet’s new boarding pass maps to Maps learning your preferred commute routes – but the above are the marquee features that will matter most to daily iPhone use.)

iPad: New Power and Mac-Like Productivity in iPadOS 26

For iPad users, iPadOS 26 is being hailed as “the biggest iPad update ever”, finally turning the iPad into a true productivity machine on par with a computer. After years of requests, Apple delivered desktop-class multitasking and creative tools that push the tablet further toward a laptop experience. If you use an iPad for work or school, this update is a game changer. Major enhancements include:

• True Windowing System: The iPad can now do something it has never officially done before – open unlimited app windows, freely resized and arranged on screen, just like on a Mac. You’re no longer constrained by Split View or the limited tiled layouts of Stage Manager. In iPadOS 26, you can overlap multiple apps, run many at once, and drag windows around with flexibility. Apple even added the familiar red-yellow-green “traffic light” window controls (close, minimize, full-screen) accessible via a new menu bar in each app. In practice it feels like a blend of macOS and a touch interface – you can snap windows into place with swipes (optimized for touch) or use a mouse/trackpad to move them exactly where you want. An Exposé-like overview lets you see all open windows at a glance for easy switching. Notably, Stage Manager is still available as an option for those who prefer its grouped multitasking, and it now works on every iPad that gets iPadOS 26 (Apple removed the previous requirement for an M1 chip). This new windowing system has tech writers excited – it’s being called “the upgrade iPad users have been waiting for”, finally making iPads “decent MacBook alternatives” for getting real work done.
• Desktop-Class Apps & Features: Apple is also bringing more Mac apps and features over to iPad. The Preview app (familiar to Mac users for viewing and editing PDFs, images, etc.) is now built into iPadOS. You can open PDFs or photos right in Preview on iPad and mark them up with Apple Pencil or fill out forms with AutoFill – no more needing third-party apps to handle those tasks. The Files app got a “massive” upgrade too, adding a native column view and resizable panels so you can navigate folders more easily (just like Finder on Mac). You can even tag files with colors and custom icons now. And at long last, you can put folders in the iPad’s dock for quick access to downloads or project files from any screen. These changes significantly improve file management on iPad, closing the gap with a laptop.
• Background Tasks & Multitasking Improvements: iPadOS 26 allows certain tasks to continue running in the background, even if you switch apps – something previous iPads often restricted. For example, a large video export or file upload can keep processing while you multitask elsewhere, rather than pausing the moment you swipe to another app. This makes the iPad much more viable for heavy workflows (imagine rendering a movie in LumaFusion while you check email and browse the web). The iPad can also finally run unlimited apps at once, limited only by hardware, whereas older iPadOS versions would suspend background apps to save memory. In short, power users can push their iPads harder without hitting so many iOS-imposed limits.
• Creative Audio/Video Tools: Aimed at artists and producers, iPadOS 26 adds features like audio input selection (choose different microphones or interfaces in apps) and local video capture enhancements for creative apps. There’s also mention of “Local Capture” and new APIs for pros – for instance, apps can access direct camera input in ways they couldn’t before, enabling higher-quality video recording in third-party apps. These under-the-hood additions, along with the background processing, mean the iPad is far better equipped for complex creative workflows (music recording, film editing, etc.) without needing a Mac.
• Apple Intelligence Features: iPadOS 26 shares the same AI-powered features as iOS 26 – and then some. Live Translation works across iPad’s Messages, FaceTime, and phone calls (yes, you can place cellular calls on iPad via an iPhone or SIM, and have live translations just like on iPhone). The Genmoji and Image Playground tools integrated with Apple’s on-device AI let you create fun content on the big screen: you can generate custom stickers by mixing emojis, photos, and text prompts – for example, placing 🐱 + 🥞 + “space” to get an astronaut cat pancake sticker (the possibilities are endless and delightfully silly). These AI art/emoji features leverage ChatGPT integration for more advanced styles; you can apply an “oil painting” or “vector art” style to an emoji mashup and get a unique result via the cloud AI. The iPad’s large canvas makes such creative play easier. Additionally, the Shortcuts app on iPad can now tie into Apple’s AI models, letting power users script automations that use natural language or image recognition as triggers. For example, you could create a Shortcut that finds the text in a photo you share and automatically converts it to a reminder or translates it – the AI integration opens up some fascinating possibilities for automation across iPadOS 26.
• Other Notable iPad Tweaks: iPadOS 26 also brings the Liquid Glass design of course – with iPad’s Lock Screen and Control Center now gaining that translucent “glassy” look similar to the iPhone’s. Users can personalize their Home Screen with animated icon themes and clear widgets that react to light and dark mode. The iPad’s Control Center and system apps have been streamlined with the new design, but Apple assures it “maintains the familiarity and simplicity” of iPadOS so existing users won’t feel lost. Also, Stage Manager (the window grouping feature from iPadOS 16) has been extended to more iPads now that windowing is system-wide – even older A12X-powered iPad Pros can use it if they want, not just M1 iPads. Finally, the iPad is getting the new Journal app (more on that in the Mac section) and the same Messages improvements (polls, backgrounds) as iOS, so you won’t miss out on communication features when switching between devices. All told, iPadOS 26 dramatically narrows the gap between iPad and Mac, empowering tablet users with more flexibility, multitasking, and creative freedom than ever.

Mac: What’s New in macOS 26 “Tahoe”

On the Mac side, macOS 26 (codenamed Tahoe) continues many of these themes of unification and intelligence. While Macs already had robust multitasking, Apple used macOS 26 to blur the lines between Mac and iPhone, bringing more of the iPhone’s capabilities to the desktop and vice versa. Here are the key highlights for Mac users:

• Liquid Glass Desktop & Personalization: macOS Tahoe adopts the same Liquid Glass design, refreshing the look of windows, sidebars, and menus with glossy transparency. The Dock and app toolbars have been refined to put content at the forefront, and the menu bar is now completely transparent, effectively blending into your wallpaper and making the screen feel larger. You also gain new personalization options – for example, you can apply color tints to app icons and custom colors or emoji to folder icons for easy visual identification. The Control Center is more customizable too, so you can rearrange toggles or add new ones. It’s all about making the Mac’s UI “gorgeous” yet also personally yours. (If the translucency isn’t your style, Apple has subtly dialed it back in places after beta feedback, and you can expect further tuning to ensure menus stay readable.)
• iPhone Integration via the Phone App: One of the most significant new Mac features is the arrival of a full-fledged Phone app on macOS. Mac users have long been able to make calls through their iPhone (using Continuity), but now there’s an actual Phone app that mirrors the iPhone experience – complete with your Recents, Contacts, Keypad, and Voicemail tabs on the Mac. You can dial out or take calls right from your Mac’s app, listen to voicemails on your computer, and so on. What’s more, the Mac’s Phone app includes the same new capabilities: Call Screening (macOS can auto-answer unknown calls, ask who’s calling and transcribe it for you) and Hold Assist (put a call on hold and notify you when someone picks up) are supported, so you could, for instance, let your Mac handle a spam call or wait on hold while you continue working. This tighter iPhone-Mac integration means you might not need to pick up your iPhone as often – you can handle many voice call tasks from the comfort of your keyboard and big screen.
• Live Activities and Notifications Sync: Apple is also bridging the gap with Live Activities – those real-time notifications (for things like food delivery, ride share status, sports scores, flight updates) that debuted on iPhone. In macOS 26, Live Activities from your iPhone now appear on your Mac’s menu bar as well. For example, if you’re tracking an Uber on your iPhone, you’ll see a tiny live-updating icon on your Mac showing its progress. Clicking it can open a mirroring window on Mac that shows more details or lets you interact (essentially streaming the iPhone app’s view to your Mac). This means you stay in the loop on time-sensitive updates no matter which device you’re using – a great continuity boost if your phone is in your pocket but you’re working on the Mac. Additionally, captive Wi-Fi network logins now sync across devices, so if you log your iPad into a hotel Wi-Fi and fill out the portal form, your Mac (and iPhone) can automatically use those credentials too. Little continuity touches like this make juggling multiple Apple devices feel even more seamless.
• Spotlight Supercharged: macOS 26 delivers the biggest update to Spotlight search in years, making it far more powerful. Now, when you search on Mac, all results are intelligently ranked together (no more segregated sections you have to tab through). Even better, you can perform hundreds of quick actions directly from the Spotlight bar without opening other apps. For example, type a contact’s name and “email” to send an email right from Spotlight, or search a song and play it instantly, or create a note or timer – all inline. Apple essentially merged some of the capabilities of Siri and the Shortcuts app into Spotlight. It even learns from your routine: if every morning you search “Weather” and then open Safari to a certain site, Spotlight will start offering a one-click Quick Action for that task. Power users will love that you can also filter results by file type or domain (“pdf invoices” to show only PDF files named invoice, etc.). Together, these changes turn Spotlight into a command center for getting things done fast on Mac – similar to third-party launchers like Alfred, but now built-in.
• On-Device AI and Shortcuts: Apple’s system-wide “Apple Intelligence” (AI) enhancements permeate macOS as well. The Mac gets Live Translation in calls and chats, just like iPhone/iPad. It also gains the new Visual Intelligence features – for instance, you can right-click an image on your Mac and search for similar items online, or get information about a picture from an email, using on-device vision recognition. The Shortcuts app on Mac is beefed up with AI too, allowing scriptable access to the local language model. This means creative automations: you could have a Shortcut that scans the text of a webpage you’re viewing and summarizing it using the on-device AI, or one that automatically renames downloaded files based on their content keywords. Apple even opened parts of its on-device LLM (large language model) to third-party developers on macOS 26, which could lead to some innovative Mac apps that leverage built-in AI for productivity. For visual creatives, Genmoji and Image Playground features are accessible on Mac too, so you can generate those custom emoji-stickers or stylized images from your desktop just as on mobile. In short, your Mac becomes smarter at anticipating what you might want to do, and it can automate or assist with many tasks using AI – all privately on your device.
• Gaming and Performance: Apple is giving Mac gaming a nod in macOS 26. A new Apple Games app on Mac serves as a hub for all your games, featuring personalized game recommendations and a social feed (possibly integrating Game Center). More intriguing is the Game Overlay: when playing a game, you can now bring up a quick panel that shows system info (battery, CPU, etc.) and lets you message friends or adjust settings without leaving the game. It’s akin to gaming overlays on Windows/console – a sign Apple is (finally) catering to gamers on Mac. macOS 26 also introduces a Low Power Mode for gaming, which can automatically dial down performance slightly to extend battery life during long play sessions on MacBooks. Outside of games, Safari on macOS 26 is optimized to be 50% faster at loading websites and delivers several extra hours of battery life when streaming video compared to Chrome. These under-the-hood boosts mean your Mac should feel snappier and last longer unplugged after updating ****. (On the iPhone side, iOS 26 also adds a new Adaptive Power Mode that intelligently makes “small performance adjustments” – like dimming brightness or slowing background tasks – to extend battery life when needed. It’s opt-in and currently limited to newer iPhone models, but it shows Apple’s focus on practical battery gains alongside flashy features.)
• Apps and Extras: Rounding out Mac’s updates: the Journal app that Apple introduced (a guided daily journaling app with text, photos, and mood tracking) is now available on Mac with seamless sync, so you can jot down your thoughts on any device. The Messages app on Mac gains the same new abilities as on iOS – chat backgrounds and group polls – keeping the experience consistent. There are also accessibility improvements like enhanced Magnifier and full Braille device support to ensure Mac remains usable for all. And just as on iPhone, Mac will get the new wallpapers, widgets improvements, and other minor refinements that come with the cross-platform design overhaul. Most Macs from 2017 onward will support macOS 26, though a few older models may drop off compatibility (similar to how some older iPhones like the iPhone XS won’t get iOS 26).

In summary, macOS 26 “Tahoe” makes the Mac more connected to your iPhone (with calls and live notifications shared) and more capable on its own (with powerful search, automation, and a modernized design). It’s a blend of catching the Mac up with mobile-inspired features and pushing the envelope in areas like AI and gaming on desktop.

Enhancing Everyday Usability

Apple clearly emphasized features that improve daily life in this update. Here are some of the everyday usability boosts you can look forward to with iOS/iPadOS/macOS 26, and how they might make your routine simpler:

• No More Waiting on Hold: The next time you call customer service, you won’t be tied to your phone. Features like Hold Assist will hold your spot in the queue and ping you when a rep comes on. Imagine calling your bank’s helpline – instead of listening to hold music for 20 minutes, you can tap Hold Assist and go about other tasks. Your iPhone (or Mac) will notify you as soon as a human is on the line. This is a huge quality-of-life win for anyone who’s spent too much time waiting on calls.
• Less Spam and Friction: iOS 26 actively cuts down on daily nuisances. The new Call Screening will intercept unknown callers and ask them why they’re calling, so you only get notified if it’s legit – robocalls get silently screened out. Similarly, junk SMS messages from unknown numbers are automatically filtered away. This means a cleaner call log and Messages app; your phone only grabs your attention for people you actually want to hear from. Over time, this can reduce a lot of small interruptions and annoyances each day.
• Seamless Cross-Device Life: If you own multiple Apple devices, the continuity improvements will make your day smoother. Example: you arrive at a café and join the Wi-Fi on your iPad – now your iPhone and Mac automatically know the login, saving you the trouble of re-entering the captive portal details on each device. Or you’re watching a sports game’s Live Activity on your iPhone, and you can glance at your Mac’s menu bar to see the latest score while working. These small integrations mean everything in your Apple ecosystem just works in concert, with less repetitive work for you.
• Easier Multitasking & Workflows: The productivity gains on iPad can’t be overstated – tasks that used to be clunky are now fluid. For instance, a student doing research can have Safari, Notes, and a PDF textbook all open side-by-side in resizable windows, just like on a laptop, to study and take notes efficiently. You can drag images from Safari into Notes seamlessly or compare two documents easily. Professionals who travel with an iPad will find they can leave the laptop behind more often: the new windowing plus background tasks means an iPad can handle email, Slack, a spreadsheet, and a Zoom call simultaneously without constantly pausing apps. It’s a far cry from the old one-thing-at-a-time iPad days, “finally making the iPad a viable MacBook alternative” for many scenarios. On Mac, multitasking gets a boost too with Spotlight actions – you reduce app-switching by doing quick tasks in one place. This streamlining can save seconds that add up to minutes across your day, keeping you in flow.
• Breaking Language Barriers: Communication just got easier if you have family, friends, or colleagues who speak other languages. With Live Translation, you could speak English on a FaceTime call while your friend speaks Spanish, and both sides see real-time subtitles or hear audio translations of the other language. Planning a trip to Paris? You can send an iMessage in English and have it auto-translated to French on your friend’s phone. While it’s not magic – there may be slight delays or occasional errors – it enables conversations that previously required third-party translator apps or lots of copy-pasting. Integrated translation in Phone, FaceTime, and Messages means you’re more likely to actually use it in daily life (like quickly clarifying what a foreign restaurant host is saying on the phone, or texting with an overseas client without the language barrier). It’s a practical new superpower for a connected world.
• Device Personalization & Comfort: By unifying the design and allowing more customization, Apple is subtly improving user comfort. The Liquid Glass look, while controversial in some corners, can make using your device feel fresh and fun – especially with the ability to apply different tints or clear themes that suit your style. Little touches like emoji folder labels on Mac or animated iMessage backgrounds on iPhone let you inject personality. And if the transparency ever hinders readability, Apple has been listening to feedback and is adding options to tone it down for better accessibility. In fact, early testers specifically requested adjustable “frosting” levels (blur strength) for backgrounds, recognizing it’s “a cool look, but… could be an accessibility nightmare” without controls. We might see Apple provide such controls before final release. The goal is that you feel more “at home” on your device, with an interface that’s not only unified but also adaptable to your needs (whether you prioritize aesthetics or clarity).
• Entertainment and Creativity: In daily life, not everything is work – some of these features simply make your device more enjoyable. The AutoMix in Apple Music means your workout playlist or party mix will never have awkward silence between songs – it’s a continuous flow of music that keeps the vibe going. If you like singing along, the live lyric translations and pronunciation tips let you turn any song into a language lesson or karaoke session on the fly. Meanwhile, the new Apple Games app on iPhone/iPad provides a one-stop spot to discover and jump into games with friends, which is great when you need a break. And those Genmoji/Image Playground tools, while seemingly gimmicky, can be a fun daily diversion – you can create a hilarious sticker out of an inside joke and send it to friends, all in a minute or two. These little moments of delight and personal connection are exactly what make technology fun to use day-to-day, not just productive.

In short, iOS 26’s enhancements are geared toward smoothing out friction in common tasks – whether it’s dealing with calls and messages, multitasking on devices, or simply enjoying media. Apple deliberately “kept its roadmap focused on basic quality of life improvements” in this release, and it shows. Individually, any one of these features (spam filtering, hold assist, windowing, etc.) might seem small, but together they make the overall experience of using an iPhone, iPad, or Mac more fluid, efficient, and enjoyable each day.

Early Reactions from Users and Critics

Whenever Apple makes big changes, the Apple community isn’t shy about voicing opinions. The iOS 26 updates have drawn mixed reactions – some users are thrilled by the new capabilities, while others are raising concerns, particularly about the drastic design overhaul.

One of the loudest debates has been over the Liquid Glass UI redesign. On social media and forums, many Apple users have voiced strong opposition to the new translucent look, mainly due to readability issues. Transparent elements over busy backgrounds can make text and icons harder to discern, and people worry about glare and eye strain. Comments like “this looks like an accessibility nightmare” and pleas to “please tone it down” have been common. Some joked that Apple repeated the mistakes of iOS 7’s overly thin fonts, comparing Liquid Glass to that era – “I’d expect them to have learned their lesson”, said one Redditor, noting how Apple had to backtrack then to improve legibility. The design has even been memed in classic internet fashion: users posted images of nearly invisible lock screen notifications with captions like “Show me a worse downgrade than this in the history of OS upgrades”. Many invoked Steve Jobs’ name, quipping that “Steve Jobs is in heaven crying” at the new design and that he would never have prioritized style over substance in this way. These reactions underscore a feeling among some longtime fans that Apple went too far in pursuit of a flashy aesthetic, sacrificing the clarity and minimalism that used to define iOS.

To Apple’s credit, they appear to be listening. Already in the second beta of iOS 26, Apple “dialed back the transparency in some places” due to user feedback, trying to improve contrast. The company likely will continue refining the default look and maybe add toggles to appease users who find Liquid Glass “abysmal… focusing on design over functionality”. On the flip side, not everyone hates the new style – some users and reviewers actually love Liquid Glass, calling it “playful, dramatic, and distinctly Apple”. They argue it gives iOS a futuristic flair, and note that it “uses space better” (e.g. shrinking interface chrome like tab bars) leaving more room for content. One tech writer who spent days with iOS 26 said “I’m personally here for it”, loving how fresh and lively the interface feels, even while acknowledging the kinks to fix. So, the design is polarizing – it’s a bold new look that some find refreshing and others find regressive. A GSMArena poll captured this split, with many respondents either strongly preferring the new fluid look or outright disliking it due to legibility concerns (and yes, plenty of tongue-in-cheek “iOS Vista” jokes comparing it to Windows Vista’s translucent Aero effects).

When it comes to features, sentiment has been largely positive. Particularly for the usability improvements, early testers and commentators have expressed approval or excitement:

• AutoMix and Music Features: The music community is buzzing about AutoMix. Beta testers on Reddit and elsewhere have praised it as one of the best features in iOS 26, saying the seamless song transitions are a joy for playlists. One user exclaimed how it feels like having a personal DJ, with songs always mixing at just the right moment. The lyric translation feature is also getting love, especially from multilingual users who enjoy singing along – Lifehacker noted it’s now easy to understand foreign lyrics with iOS 26’s Music app. These reactions indicate Apple hit the right note (pun intended) with the new Apple Music enhancements.
• Messaging and Calls: Features like the new polls in group chats have been well received as long-overdue additions. Many users have resorted to doodling options or using third-party apps to poll friends; having it built-in is a welcome convenience. Custom chat backgrounds are generating some fun, with people already sharing screenshots of their personalized iMessage themes on forums. And almost everyone seems to agree that reducing spam – via call screening and SMS filtering – is “nifty” and much appreciated. These are not controversial changes at all; they’re universally seen as making the iPhone experience better (except perhaps by telemarketers!).
• iPadOS 26 Reaction: iPad power-users are ecstatic about the new windowing system. Tech journalists who tried it hands-on used phrases like “productivity game changer” and “the iPad just turned into a Mac”. The general sentiment is that Apple has finally given iPad users what they’ve been asking for, removing the arbitrary limits that made serious multitasking a headache. On Reddit, threads about iPadOS 26 are filled with comments like “I can’t wait to ditch my laptop on trips” or “this is going to massively improve my daily workflow”. Even those who were skeptical are coming around after seeing demonstrations of dragging and resizing windows freely; it addresses complaints that iPadOS was holding the hardware back. There is a minority of users cautioning “don’t call it a Mac” – as in, the iPad shouldn’t just become macOS – but even those articles (like one in TechRadar) conclude that “it’s the upgrade iPad users have been waiting for” despite maintaining the iPad’s touch-first nature. So, among iPad owners, Apple’s efforts seem to be a hit.
• MacOS 26 Reaction: Mac users have been a bit quieter publicly (perhaps because the most contentious piece is the UI, which we covered). However, many Mac enthusiasts are intrigued by features like the new Spotlight and Phone app integration. Having iPhone calls on Mac with screening/hold is something productivity geeks have cheered – it further reduces the need to bounce between devices. Some developers and IT folks were impressed by Spotlight’s ability to run actions, which could potentially rival third-party tools. And gamers (a small but vocal Mac subset) have shown cautious optimism about the Game Mode and Apple’s attention to gaming. Of course, traditionalists are watching the design changes carefully; some Mac fans are wary of too much iOS-ification of macOS. But with macOS still retaining full windowed multitasking and only adding options (not removing the traditional UI entirely), the reception has not seen major backlash beyond the transparency concerns shared with iOS.

It’s worth noting that these updates are still in beta, so a lot of early feedback is helping Apple refine the software. Some beta testers have reported typical beta issues – e.g. battery drain or occasional app crashes – but that’s expected at this stage. Those performance kinks will likely be ironed out by release. The most important feedback Apple is acting on is about usability of the new design. The company clearly wants the bold look but doesn’t want to alienate users who can’t read their screens. We’ve already seen them adjust transparency levels and there are rumors of an “accessibility contrast” toggle coming. As one commenter predicted, Apple may well do what it did after iOS 7: dial things back in iOS 27 once the point is made, balancing style with comfort.

In summary, people love the new features (especially those that address everyday pain points and long-standing requests), but the new design is dividing opinion. There’s excitement that Apple is innovating on the UI again – some find it stunning – yet a significant portion of users are voicing that it needs refinement to meet Apple’s own usability standards. The good news is that Apple appears responsive, and by the time these updates launch in the fall, we may see a version of Liquid Glass that wins more people over. As an Engadget writer noted, even within their team the design has grown on some who initially disliked it. And at the end of the day, if the features prove their worth in daily use, the initial shock of a new look might give way to appreciation.

Conclusion: A Glimpse into Daily Life with iOS 26

When iOS 26 (and iPadOS/macOS 26) officially land, they’re poised to transform how we use our Apple devices day-to-day. This isn’t just another iterative update – it’s a holistic upgrade touching nearly every aspect of the experience. After the dust settles on the version number drama and the UI debates, most of us will likely wonder how we lived without some of these conveniences.

Picture this: It’s morning, and you start your day by picking up your iPhone 15. The Lock Screen greets you with a sleek translucent clock over your wallpaper – different, but it puts a smile on your face. You have a couple of notifications, but they’re all meaningful; the spammy ones have been tucked out of sight by iOS 26’s filters. Over breakfast, you FaceTime a relative abroad – neither of you speak each other’s language well, but with Live Translation, you chatter away naturally, each seeing the other’s words in your native tongue in real time. A conversation that used to be slow and awkward is now fluid and heartwarming, thanks to a bit of behind-the-scenes magic.

Later, you sit down to work. Your iPad now truly feels like a mini laptop – you’ve got your email open in one window, your notes in another, and a reference document in a third. You seamlessly drag and drop content between them, enjoying the freedom to resize and arrange as you like. The new windowing system has essentially turned your iPad into a multitasking canvas, and getting things done is simply easier. If an idea strikes to sketch something, you pop open the Preview app and mark up a PDF with your Apple Pencil, no friction at all. Your iPad is no longer fighting you with limits; it’s empowering you.

In the afternoon, an unknown number rings your iPhone. Normally you’d sigh and ignore it, but now you glance at your MacBook (which it’s synced to) and see that macOS’s Call Screening has already answered – a transcript pops up showing it’s just a telemarketer, so you happily stay focused on your work. A few minutes later, you need to call customer support for a billing issue. You dread the wait, but remember the new Hold Assist. You dial on your Mac’s Phone app, hit “Hold for Me”, and carry on typing a report. Sure enough, after 15 minutes of focus, a gentle ping says the agent is on the line – your Mac held your place perfectly. Little victories like this save your time and sanity.

As your day transitions into evening, you decide to squeeze in a workout. You fire up Apple Music on your iPhone and hit AutoMix on your favorite playlist. The songs blend one into the next with DJ-like smoothness – no jarring stops – boosting your energy. One track has lyrics in Spanish; you’ve always loved the melody but never knew the words. Now you glance at the screen and see the English translation line-by-line, even a phonetic guide – by the end, you’re singing along in Spanish (well, close enough). It’s a small thing, but it makes the workout more fun and immersive.

Before bed, you wind down by journaling on your iPhone with the new Journal app. You dictate a few thoughts, and thanks to the on-device AI, it even suggests some prompts based on your day’s photos and messages (privacy intact). Finally, you plug in your phone. iOS 26’s Adaptive Power kicks in overnight, doing a slow charge and background tasks intelligently so that by morning your battery health is preserved and your phone is refreshed for another day.

This is just one scenario, but it shows how these features can weave into everyday routines. Less hassle, more fluidity, and new ways to enjoy our devices – that’s the promise of Apple’s 26-series updates. Sure, there will be an adjustment period (maybe you’ll tweak the transparency or pick a new theme to get it just right). But beyond the glossy coat, the substance of iOS 26 is about making the technology fade a bit more into the background of your life, so you can get on with living – whether that’s chatting with loved ones without barriers, knocking out work on the go, or just having some fun with music and messages.

Early reactions might be split, but as the features roll out, the initial controversy may give way to appreciation. Apple’s betting that in time, users will come to love the “new normal” of iOS 26. From what we’ve seen – the convenience of spam-free communication, the power of a desktop-class tablet, the delight of smarter apps – this update has the ingredients to enhance daily life in meaningful ways. Everyday usability was the guiding star for many of these changes, and in daily practice, many of them will likely feel indispensable.

So whether you’re an iPhone user eager for fresh polish and handy tools, an iPad user ready to multitask like never before, or a Mac user looking forward to a more integrated experience, iOS 26 and its counterparts have something in store for you. It’s a bold step into Apple’s next chapter – one where our devices are more unified in design and more capable in function. Love it or hate it at first glance, iOS 26 is set to make a lasting impact on our day-to-day tech lives, and it’ll be exciting to see how we all adapt and take advantage of these new features once they’re in our hands.

Table: Key Features of iOS/iPadOS/macOS 26 and How They Benefit Each Device