Apple pulled again the covers on the most recent iteration of iOS at WWDC 2025. It will initially confuse some folks, because the successor to 2024’s iOS 18 is… iOS 26! Furthermore, the software program will launch on the finish of 2025. We guess naming is tough. So, does the rejiggering of the numbers appear like clumsy PR, or is the brand new iOS one which marks a daring new route for the iPhone?
On this comparability of the 2 iOS variations, we’ll run although what the primary variations are and the way the 2 examine, so you’ll be able to make sure that you need to replace to the brand new iOS when it arrives in September 2025.
What was new in iOS 18?
When iOS 18 launched in September 2024, it got here with some cool updates to the interface and have set of the Apple apps. Listed here are among the highlights:
Apple Intelligence
One of many essential promoting factors of iOS 18 was the introduction of Apple Intelligence, though lots of the touted options took fairly some time to reach. These included Writing Instruments that helped customers create, edit and rephrase texts, emails and different textual content messages.
Visible Intelligence turned the iPhone digital camera right into a strategy to get extra details about objects and locations, aided by Apple Intelligence trying to find matching pictures and data.
Siri was additionally meant to be powered up by the brand new AI options, though that appears to wish extra work, however the Picture Playground did will let you generate footage by way of prompts in your system. Apple Intelligence was restricted to solely the iPhone 16 era of gadgets, in addition to the iPhone 15 Professional and iPhone 15 Professional Max.
Apple
Personalisation
Following on from the widgets in iOS 17, the power to personalise your private home display screen with shaded/tinted icons that you might place wherever you want (shock horror!) was one other massive participant for iOS 18.
Management Heart Updates
Apple additionally gave customers the power so as to add new shortcut controls and ones for third-party apps in Management Heart. The choice to group them into particular conditions, equivalent to House, Work, Music, and so forth, can also be supplied.
Privateness Enhancements
In iOS 18 you’ll be able to lock and conceal particular apps, plus there’s the choice to limit which contacts apps can see and which wi-fi equipment they’ll entry.
Messages enhancements
The Messages app in iOS 18 lastly allowed customers to have the ability to add formatting, equivalent to underlining and italicisation. You too can use animations known as Textual content Results to point out your help or shock at what your folks say.
There was additionally the introduction of Message Through Satellite tv for pc which allowed you to ship emergency messages when you’re caught in a spot with no provider sign.
Images redesign
The Images app obtained some consideration in iOS 18, with new filters and collections there to make it simpler to search out pictures. This wasn’t a wholly profitable try to assist customers: there was an enormous backlash to Apple’s adjustments to Images, with folks trying to find methods to flip the brand new Images app adjustments off.
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What’s new in iOS 26?
Constructing on the foundations of iOS 18 (and all that went earlier than), Apple has unveiled what we are able to anticipate to see on our iPhones when September 2025 rolls round and the iOS 26 replace turns into obtainable. Right here’s the choose of the bunch:
Liquid Glass
On the coronary heart of iOS 26 is Apple’s new design language, which is calls Liquid Glass. This revamped the prevailing menus and interactive components of the OS with translucent areas that mimic glass. These fearing a return to the previous Aqua design of historic macOS variations, the iPhone design is definitely very tasteful.
Apple
Search bars appear to drift above the pictures behind them, permitting colours to move by way of as if refracted. The impact is one thing that appears natural relatively than the blocky overlays to which we’ve grown accustom. Contextual menus seem the place you faucet the display screen in newly designed playing cards that look constant all through the interface.
Liquid Glass helps each gentle and darkish modes, in addition to the tint launched in iOS 18, plus there’s a brand new translucent mode for iOS 26 that appears relatively fetching.
Lock Display screen / House Display screen updates
As personalisation was excessive on the agenda in 2024, it’s not stunning that Apple has tweaked a number of extra issues for the annual replace. This time across the time on the Lock Display screen will stretch to suit the background picture you select, whereas additionally guaranteeing it by no means obscures the primary picture. In actual fact, Apple confirmed off a characteristic the place the wallpaper appears to regulate its place in order that the topic doesn’t get masked by notifications that are available in.
Apple
Apple has additionally introduced again the previous parallax pictures from a number of years in the past, the place a picture seems 3D when you tilt the iPhone – though the brand new one does appear extra pronounced than its predecessor.
Digicam
With the introduction of Liquid Glass, Apple has additionally determined to simplify the digital camera app, eradicating the varied scrolling choices from iOS 18 and as an alternative pairing each again to only Picture and Video. Should you nonetheless need to entry choices like Portrait or Panorama, then they continue to be obtainable just by swiping left or proper once you’re within the Picture mode. Superior settings (equivalent to side ratio, and so forth.) will be introduced into play by merely swiping up. However, when you don’t need to by accident shot a portrait once you meant it to be a traditional snapshot, the interface ought to now keep out of your means and allow you to seize that second.
Apple
Once you’re finished, it’s also possible to use a few tweaks within the Images app to trace down the pictures, as there are new tabs and collections that may be pinned to the primary web page.
Safari
Apple’s browser will get a nip and tuck, with edge-to-edge internet pages filling up the display screen, and the tab bar now shrinking as you scroll in order that it retains out of your means. The Liquid Glass replace additionally makes the whole lot really feel extra a part of the web page relatively than interrupting the circulate.
CarPlay
Should you use you’ve help for CarPlay in your automobile, then the updates to CarPlay could be of curiosity. The interface has been overhauled in order that calls and messages now seem in a small part of the show, permitting you to nonetheless see the instructions from Maps clearly on the similar time.
Widgets for varied options additionally preserve issues neat, with reside data displayed from them that means you’ll be able to all the time know if the flight you’re assembly on the airport is on time.
Apple
Environmental controls are additionally included now (with supporting automobile manufacturers) so you’ll be able to modify temperature controls, air-con, and different options immediately from CarPlay.
Telephone will get a useful assistant
The Telephone app hasn’t been uncared for this time round, because it a receives a number of good upgrades. First up, there’s a unified structure that exhibits you your Favourites, Recents and Voicemails (with the later displaying summaries from Apple Intelligence), plus the conventional Calls, Contacts and Keypad.
Essentially the most spectacular addition although is that of Name Screening. Now, in case your iPhone receives and incoming name from an unknown quantity, it would robotically reply it within the background and an A.I. agent will ask the callers title and purpose for calling. When it has this, a abstract will seem in your display screen and also you’ll have the choice to take or reject the decision. Good.
Apple
Maintain Help is one other doubtlessly implausible characteristic, because the app will monitor your calls and when it hears that you just’ve been placed on maintain (it scans for music), you’ll be able to then depart the A.I. agent to take your home whilst you get on with different issues. When the reside particular person comes on and takes you off maintain, they’ll learn that you just’re there and simply coming to the telephone, at which level your telephone will ring and you may take over the decision as soon as extra.
Messages
The look of Group Chats is usually a bit fundamental on Messages, however that’s about to vary as iOS 26 permits you to add wallpapers to the background, which everybody will be capable to see. There’s additionally a brand new Ballot characteristic that may provide help to and your loved ones or associates determine what you need to do or the place you need to go.
Apple
Typing indicators will arrive within the up to date model of the app, so you’ll be able to see when somebody is composing a response, plus you’ll now be capable to combine emoji’s collectively to create bespoke responses to one thing somebody has stated.
Like on Telephone, Apple Intelligence will display screen you messages for any potential spam or missives from strangers, all of that are filtered right into a separate part so your inbox stays clear.
Apple additionally powers up Picture Playground, with it now in a position to create new memoji pictures for contacts, with poses and adjustments to their type permitting you to have enjoyable.
Dwell Translation
A characteristic that basically stood out within the Apple presentation was the brand new Dwell Translation. Because the title suggests, this makes use of language recognition instruments to allow multi-language conversations on the Telephone, Messages and FaceTime apps.
Apple
Messages will translate your language into that of the recipient, then do the identical again to you, making it look like you might be each talking the identical one.
FaceTime will create real-time captioning, so you’ll be able to learn the phrases the opposite particular person is saying, whereas the Telephone app will take your spoken phrases and translate them into simulated speech that the opposite particular person can reply to, then in flip do the identical for them. If it really works in addition to it did within the presentation, then we are able to’t be distant from that common translator that Sci-Fi has promised us ever since Arthur Dent had a Babel Fish stuffed into his ear.
Gaming Challenges
A neat addition within the Apple Arcade app is the power to arrange on the spot gaming challenges with your folks. These provide the likelihood to pit your self in opposition to your mates in a score-based competitors, with the app displaying the leaderboard. Apple acknowledged that a number of video games help the characteristic, with extra positive to affix them as the discharge of iOS 26 attracts close to.
Visible Intelligence
In iOS 18, Apple introduced Visible Intelligence to the desk, which gave customers the useful software of pointing the iPhone digital camera at one thing as then having Apple Intelligence collect details about the place/merchandise/particular person and so forth; so you might discover out extra. Now this may also embrace what’s in your iPhone display screen.
Mainly, you are taking a screenshot of your social media feed, browser or something from an app, then you need to use Visible Intelligence to seek for extra particulars. Say you want a coat that somebody is carrying on a present, simply screenshot it, inform Visible Intelligence to search out it, and also you’ll be capable to get one thing the identical or related in seconds.
It could additionally pull textual content out of the picture, such because the date and time of a live performance or assembly, then create calendar entries replete with the instructions and particulars.
Apple
Loads of different updates to the iPhone
That’s not all that’s in retailer with iOS 26, as Apple confirmed off a number of different options that may little doubt be helpful within the yr forward. These embrace Maps creating various routes to your hottest journeys; Pockets now permitting the creation of a Digital ID of U.S. Passports that can be utilized for home flights and age verification; order monitoring in Apple Pay; new interface for Apple Music; plus heaps extra little particulars which are there to enhance the iPhone expertise.
What’s the primary variations between iOS 26 and iOS 18?
As you’ll be able to see, there’s loads to be enthusiastic about in iOS 26. The brand new Liquid Glass design does look nice, but it surely’s the improvement-to-life options like Name Screening, Message Screening, Dwell Translation, and Visible Intelligence now together with what’s in your iPhone display screen that basically mark a distinction between the 2 iterations.
Ought to I improve to iOS 26?
It is a particular sure, however keep in mind after all that among the options outlined right here will depend on Apple Intelligence, which signifies that they are going to solely be obtainable for the most recent iPhone fashions. So, you probably have an older system, then it could be value sticking with what you’ve obtained if it’s operating nicely. You then’ll have all these options to stay up for once you ultimately improve.
Now you simply want to attend till iOS 26 comes out in September… Or maybe you’d wish to strive the beta?
For an in-depth take a look at what it has to supply, check out iOS 26 adjustments the whole lot about how you utilize your iPhone.
