During its “Awe Dropping” launch event for the iPhone 17 and other new products, Apple officially announced the release date of iOS 26. The update, which was first previewed at WWDC in June and tested for three months, will roll out to eligible iPhones on September 15.

Liquid Glass design and new features

The biggest highlight of iOS 26 is the all-new Liquid Glass interface, offering a glossy, transparent effect for UI elements such as buttons, search bars, and overlays. This design allows users to see the blurred background beneath these interface components, bringing a futuristic, fluid look to the system.

This Liquid Glass aesthetic is not limited to iOS. Apple is rolling it out across its entire ecosystem, including iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26.

Other key features include Live Translation powered by Apple Intelligence, enabling real-time speech translation and on-screen subtitles. The Phone app gets a redesigned interface and enhanced spam call blocking. Messages introduces in-chat polls and customizable chat wallpapers. A new Games app has been added, along with major updates to Apple Wallet and CarPlay.

Compatible devices

iOS 26 will support the following models:

All iPhone 17 variants (including Air, Pro, Pro Max)
iPhone 16e, 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max
iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max
iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, 14 Pro Max
iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max
iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max
iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max
iPhone SE (2nd generation and newer)

Notably, the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR will no longer receive iOS 26, despite being compatible with iOS 18. These older models will continue to receive security updates only, without access to new features.

Du Lam