iOS 26 Is Here: Liquid Glass Design, Call Screening, Hold Assist

iOS 26 is rolling out on Monday, September 15, 2025, with a major visual refresh and deeper Apple Intelligence features.

Release Date

Global release begins Monday, September 15, 2025, following Apple’s typical mid-September schedule aligned with the new iPhone lineup.

Liquid Glass design: A translucent, fluid visual system that refreshes icons, controls, widgets, and navigation while keeping familiarity intact.
Apple Intelligence upgrades: Smarter on‑device features, including richer summaries, better context-aware actions, and expanded visual intelligence like searching from screenshots.
Phone app improvements: Call Screening to handle unknown callers and Hold Assist to wait on hold and alert when a human joins.
Messages enhancements: Conversation backgrounds, polls in group chats, and more expressive controls.
Battery and performance: Adaptive Power Mode on supported devices for smarter power management.
App updates: Improvements across Apple Music, Maps, Wallet, CarPlay, and a new Apple Games hub for organizing titles and achievements.

Free over‑the‑air update via Settings > General > Software Update on compatible iPhones.
Ships with the latest iPhone lineup and extends to a broad range of recent models; exact compatibility appears in Apple’s release notes at launch.

Back up to iCloud or a computer to protect data.
Ensure at least 50% battery or connect to power.
Keep sufficient storage free for the installer.
Check region and device notes for Apple Intelligence availability and language support.

Visual overhaul with Liquid Glass replaces the more incremental design of iOS 18.
Apple Intelligence moves from early foundations to broader, deeper integration across system apps.
Communication tools gain proactive, time‑saving features like Hold Assist and more robust call filtering.