iOS 26 is here! These are the top 7 features you need to try first

After months of testing, Apple has released iOS 26 to the public, and it’s a major update. The new version of the iPhone operating system features a new look and feel with Liquid Glass, which will instantly make your iPhone look fresh. But that’s not all.

Under the hood, there are a bunch of refinements, utilities, and new APIs worth exploring. Here are the top things you absolutely should try once you update your iPhone to iOS 26.

1. Explore the new Liquid Glass interface

Possibly the most notable change in iOS 26 is Liquid Glass, which is what Apple calls its new interface available across its family of operating systems. Liquid Glass simulates the effects of glass on the screen, bringing much more transparency and brightness to elements such as icons and buttons.

There are cool new animations when opening and closing apps, pulling down the Notification Center, or unlocking the screen. Not only that, but many of the buttons and toggles now respond to how you tap, hold, and drag them.

But there are other ways to explore Liquid Glass. Try customizing your Lock Screen with one of the new wallpapers. Switch up your Home Screen with the new Clear and Tinted icon options. Or try out a new Lock Screen layout. Liquid Glass is more than just a new look, so go start exploring.

2. Give Visual Intelligence another look

Apple Intelligence just got a lot more useful. If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or later with Apple Intelligence enabled, there are some new features to try out with iOS 26. For instance, Visual Intelligence now works across apps too, so you can search for anything you see on your screen.

To do this, take a screenshot and then simply circle anything on it to search for on Google. This lets you find where to buy a cool outfit you saw on Instagram, for example. Visual Intelligence can also detect things like addresses or dates in screenshots to provide map and calendar suggestions.

And if you want to go further, tap the “Ask” button to summon ChatGPT to find more information about the screenshot.

3. Use ChatGPT to generate images

With iOS 26, Apple has taken its partnership with ChatGPT even further. Users can now generate images based on text prompts using Apple’s Image Playground app. Just open the app and choose ChatGPT under the Style options. The result will appear right in the Playground app.

In addition to ChatGPT support, Apple has added a new “Genmoji” style and improved its own AI models, so Image Playground is now capable of creating better illustrations of what you want.

4. Have some fun with AutoMix 

If you’re an Apple Music subscriber, you need to try AutoMix, a new feature that acts as a DJ for your playlists.

Essentially, AutoMix uses artificial intelligence to mix the transition from one song to another, resulting in a DJ-like experience. The feature adjusts the speed and beats of songs to create unique transitions.

You can enable AutoMix by going to Settings > Apps > Music > Song Transitions. Keep in mind that this feature only works for playlists or songs playing in shuffle mode.

5. Try a new ringtone

It’s been a while since Apple last added new ringtones to the iPhone, but iOS 26 comes with a whopping seven new ringtones for you to choose from.

Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics and select the Ringtone menu. There, tap the Reflection option to see a list of multiple new ringtones, such as Reflected, Pop, and Buoyant.

6. Change your chat backgrounds

iMessage just got more fun with iOS 26 thanks to new animated backgrounds. You and your friends can add backgrounds to individual or group chats, and everyone will see them. 

There are many options to choose from, such as color, sky, water, and aurora. If you prefer, you can also use a custom photo as the background or even generate a new image using Image Playground.

Just open an iMessage chat and tap on the conversation details. Then go to the Backgrounds menu and pick one of the available options.

7. Filter unwanted calls

iOS 26 adds new filters for unwanted calls, so you no longer have to answer unknown numbers to know who’s calling. The system will automatically answer these calls and wait until the caller shares their name and the reason for the call, so you can choose whether or not to answer.

You can enable the new feature by going to Settings > Apps > Phone and looking for the Call Filtering section.

Update today to iOS 26

As you can see, there’s a lot more to try out in iOS 26 besides the new Liquid Glass interface. And today’s the day to update your device. Just go to Settings > General > Software Update to download the update and install it on your phone.

Keep in mind that iOS 26 requires an iPhone 11 or later, and that some features are limited to newer models. We also recommend that you back up your phone to iCloud before proceeding with the update.