The MacRumors Show: iOS 26 Is Finally Here!

[MacRumors]

On this episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through iOS 26 and Apple's other major software updates, which officially launched this week.

Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos​

iOS 26 introduces a major visual overhaul with "Liquid Glass," making system elements more translucent and fluid. There are a series of new communication features, such as backgrounds in Messages and Call Screening. The Lock Screen can adapt dynamically to photo subjects, while Photos gains a new Library and Collections layout and spatial 3D effects for favorites. Apple also added a new Games app that combines a user's game library with Game Center content.

iPadOS 26 focuses on transforming multitasking by replacing Split View and Slide Over with a full window management system. Users can freely resize app windows, minimize or maximize them with macOS-style traffic-light controls, and use a menu bar across apps. A new Mac-style toolbar and a redesigned cursor are also present.

macOS 26 brings Liquid Glass to the desktop for a refreshed aesthetic. Spotlight is overhauled with new search categories and quick keys, Control Center is more customizable with new menu bar options, and iPhone Live Activities can now be viewed directly on the Mac.

watchOS 26 brings improvements to the Control Center and Smart Stack, and brings Notes to the Apple Watch for the first time. New health features include hypertension notifications and Sleep Score, while fitness gains an AI-powered "Workout Buddy" for personalized guidance. A new wrist flick gesture lets users dismiss calls or alarms more intuitively.

Having tested the updates for several months, we take an overall look at the updates. We discuss polarized reaction to Liquid Glass, and Apple's controversial decision to remove the iPad's Split View and Slide Over. We also talk through enhancements to Apple Intelligence, such as improved Visual Intelligence and the ability to access Apple's on-device foundation models directly in Shortcuts.

iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26 are available now. The MacRumors Show has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips.

Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel!​

You can also listen to The MacRumors Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or your preferred podcasts app. You can also copy our RSS feed directly into your podcast player.

​

If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up to hear our discussion all of Apple's recent announcements, including the iPhone 17 lineup, new Apple Watch models, AirPods Pro 3, and more.

Subscribe to The MacRumors Show for new episodes every week, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by interesting guests such as Kayci Lacob, Kevin Nether, John Gruber, Mark Gurman, Jon Prosser, Luke Miani, Matthew Cassinelli, Brian Tong, Quinn Nelson, Jared Nelson, Eli Hodapp, Mike Bell, Sara Dietschy, iJustine, Jon Rettinger, Andru Edwards, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McShan, David Lewis, Tyler Stalman, Sam Kohl,... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: The MacRumors Show: iOS 26 Is Finally Here!

 

[Palliser]

About to watch! But I hope they figure out the auto brightness bug. My iPhone 15 pro seems to have gotten worse after this update in relation to the screen staying dim.

 

[Johnny907]

Yeah and it sucks. Liquid Glass is a visual mess, and I don't know what is going on with iPadOS but file transfers to and from USB drives is taking ~3x longer than on iPadOS 18. How was this not clamped down on during the beta period?

 

[I7guy]

Overall a great step forward. And watchOS 26 continues to improve on the usefulness of the Apple Watch.

 

[FatLouie]

I'm waiting on iOS 28.7.

 

[delsoul]

I’ll watch but I’m not upgrading. This is the first Mac OS, iOS, etc that I’ll be sitting out completely until the next big release. Looks awful, performance is awful, and there’s not much reason to upgrade. Blame Tim Cook and the software team for all of the backlash against 26

 

[Pooneil]

I'm waiting on iOS 28.7.

LOL. I am waiting on an iPhone 17 to arrive in about two weeks but I will keep in the box until after iOS 26.1 or .2 are released and keep using my iPhone 14 Pro with iOS 18.7 on it. I depend on apps like my Bank, Credit Cards, connectivity to my car to fail. Is there a thread focused on third party apps that malfunction on iOS 26 or iOS 26x?

 

[Apple.Fanatic]

iOS 26 is trash!!!! I just got my iPhone 17 Pro, and it refuses to let me set up the f-ing phone. It keeps prompting me to use my old phone number that doesn't exist anymore, and my new phone number is set up and associated with my account, but for some reason, it keeps using my old number as the source of truth now stuck from setting up my new phone.

 

[jrawles92103]

This the ugliest, most useless OS visual update I've ever seen. How abut this apple, stop changing how we use our phones so they go back to being easy to use. 10 years with a trashcan icon in screenshots and now we use a back arrow? Seeing all tabs open on Safari is too many clicks. It’s like they tried to make it easier by making it more complicated. If I have to take this much time to learn a new OS I may as well learn android and have the option to get a flagship phone in black or gold.

 

[FatLouie]

Well, seldom is there an update that has created this much angst. Between forcing Liquid Glass onto the user base, without permitting a complete fallback to the previous look, and getting rid of Finder...Apple has demonstrated complete arrogance and hubris, standing shoulder to shoulder with Microsoft in its disregard for customer feedback.

I can not find one reason to go past 18.7 on any of my devices.

 

[JonBOY26]

I upgraded my 15 Pro Max to iOS 26 and I wish I hadn't. Visually, it's horredous. Not only is the liquid glass concept impractical from a usability strandpoint, with transparency making everything harder to see/read, it has also been poorly executed, in that my phone doesn't seem to know what colours it's wants to display as I navigate around my phone as usual. The release itself is a long way from polished, in that my apps are crashing and I'm experiencing all sorts of nuisance bugs, especially in relation to my third party keyboard. Steve Jobs would be horrified.

 

[Imperial926]

It's all quite funny really! Everyone rambles on for a year about how wonderful everything will be next time and then the buyer's remorse kicks in roughly 3 minutes after purchase or download.
iOS 26 and Tahoe are perfectly fine and have no more issues than their predecessors at this stage.

 

[Imperial926]

I love iOS 26 and I think it looks fantastic.

 

[mgymnop]

iOS 26 is so infantile. It's also still buggy with a lot of redraws and choppy animations on an iPhone 16 Pro Max.

 

[I7guy]

It's all quite funny really! Everyone rambles on for a year about how wonderful everything will be next time and then the buyer's remorse kicks in roughly 3 minutes after purchase or download.
iOS 26 and Tahoe are perfectly fine and have no more issues than their predecessors at this stage.

Seems like a typical iOS release in MR land with comments all over the map. It’s also interesting people report different experiences across the same hardware.

 

[saturn88]

On this episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through iOS 26 and Apple's other major software updates, which officially launched this week.

Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos​

iOS 26 introduces a major visual overhaul with "Liquid Glass," making system elements more translucent and fluid. There are a series of new communication features, such as backgrounds in Messages and Call Screening. The Lock Screen can adapt dynamically to photo subjects, while Photos gains a new Library and Collections layout and spatial 3D effects for favorites. Apple also added a new Games app that combines a user's game library with Game Center content.

iPadOS 26 focuses on transforming multitasking by replacing Split View and Slide Over with a full window management system. Users can freely resize app windows, minimize or maximize them with macOS-style traffic-light controls, and use a menu bar across apps. A new Mac-style toolbar and a redesigned cursor are also present.

macOS 26 brings Liquid Glass to the desktop for a refreshed aesthetic. Spotlight is overhauled with new search categories and quick keys, Control Center is more customizable with new menu bar options, and iPhone Live Activities can now be viewed directly on the Mac.

watchOS 26 brings improvements to the Control Center and Smart Stack, and brings Notes to the Apple Watch for the first time. New health features include hypertension notifications and Sleep Score, while fitness gains an AI-powered "Workout Buddy" for personalized guidance. A new wrist flick gesture lets users dismiss calls or alarms more intuitively.

Having tested the updates for several months, we take an overall look at the updates. We discuss polarized reaction to Liquid Glass, and Apple's controversial decision to remove the iPad's Split View and Slide Over. We also talk through enhancements to Apple Intelligence, such as improved Visual Intelligence and the ability to access Apple's on-device foundation models directly in Shortcuts.

iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26 are available now. The MacRumors Show has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips.

Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel!​

You can also listen to The MacRumors Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or your preferred podcasts app. You can also copy our RSS feed directly into your podcast player.

​

If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up to hear our discussion all of Apple's recent announcements, including the iPhone 17 lineup, new Apple Watch models, AirPods Pro 3, and more.

Subscribe to The MacRumors Show for new episodes every week, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by interesting guests such as Kayci Lacob, Kevin Nether, John Gruber, Mark Gurman, Jon Prosser, Luke Miani, Matthew Cassinelli, Brian Tong, Quinn Nelson, Jared Nelson, Eli Hodapp, Mike Bell, Sara Dietschy, iJustine, Jon Rettinger, Andru Edwards, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McShan, David Lewis, Tyler Stalman, Sam Kohl,... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: The MacRumors Show: iOS 26 Is Finally Here!

Liquid glass is the worst ios UI. Very busy, hard to read, cheesy taste.

 

[Templeton]

2 new things that I like on tvOS 26:

Incoming voice and FaceTime calls show up as a banner notification on the upper right side of the screen displaying their name and type of the call (Voice Call or FaceTime Call.) I don't think you can answer it (yet) but at least you'll see who is calling.

Secondly, Apple Home compatible video doorbells show the live picture from doorbell as notification sticker on the upper right of the screen when someone rings the doorbell or triggers the motion, and you have the option to view as full screen. You can't interact with the person (talk back, etc.) however.

 

[jctevere]

Highly suggest you skip this update. Battery life is atrocious, even on a iPhone 16 Pro Max it’s VERY noticeable. My phone used to last the entire day with light to medium usage. I don’t even think I’ll make it to dinner at this rate (and I’ve barely done anything power intensive).

I saw some tests by YouTubers indicate it could use as much as 13x battery for common tasks (checking notifications, etc).

The worst part of all, the liquid glass UI and features aren’t even worth the battery life expense. IMO it’s just an ugly step back.

 

[Sputman99]

Just remove the silly lines and huge rounded corners everywhere and it’ll look less like a child’s toy

 

[Mitochris]

I have a 1.gen iPad Pro (2018), so I understand it’s old but Apple should not have allowed me to upgrade to iOS 26. It is not usable on this device. Scrolling in Safari works sometimes, I can’t actually close apps because you can’t swipe them away from expose. You have to click the red button on the traffic lights. Resizing only sometimes work and nothing runs smoothly.
They should’ve just said no to this. Will try to downgrade so I can use it again.

 

[timmodugdale]

I purchased the iPhone Air and picked it up last Friday. I returned it on Monday. I found the device to be extremely compelling in terms of its weight and comfort of holding. The battery was surprisingly strong — no complaints at all on that front. The camera was the deal breaker. I'm not a professional photographer by any means, but I do, from time to time, get photos I take on my phone printed and framed. I spent the weekend taking pictures with the Air, and the quality was not adequate for my needs. I am glad I gave it a look. Others may find it perfectly fine. I wish it had worked out for me. I'm back to the iPhone 17 Pro today and happy again.

I am, however, concerned about how this affects the foldable iPhone. Many people have said the Air is a trial run for the foldable. If that device has the same camera specs as the Air, I'd pass on it.