Technologies

Liquid Glass, Camera, Phone Apps Lead New iOS 26 iPhone Features

The iPhone will get a glassy new look and several new features when iOS 26 arrives in the fall.

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference is a peek into the near future of the iPhone, and this year, that view is through a Liquid Glass lens. That’s the name of a new look being applied throughout the Apple product line that takes on visual characteristics of glass similar to the VisionOS interface on Vision Pro. In addition to the new look, iOS 26 (numbered to coincide with 2026, the new naming convention for all of Apple’s system releases) brings improvements to the Phone app, redesigned Camera and Photos apps, a sprinkling of Apple Intelligence and much more.

The next version of the operating system is due to ship in the fall (likely with new iPhone 17 models), but developer betas are available now with a public beta expected in July.

Transparent new Liquid glass design

After more than a decade of a flat, clean user interface — an overhaul introduced in iOS 7 when former Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive took over the design of software as well as hardware — the iPhone is getting a new look. The new design extends throughout the Apple product lineup, from iOS to WatchOS, TVOS and iPadOS.

The Liquid Glass interface also now enables a third way to view app icons on the iPhone home screen. Not content with Light and Dark modes, iOS 26 now features an All Clear look — every icon is clear glass with no color. Lock screens can also have an enhanced 3D effect using spatial scenes, which use machine learning to give depth to your background photos.

Dynamic and adaptable lock screen

Translucency is the defining characteristic of Liquid Glass, behaving like glass in the real world in the way it deals with light and color of objects behind and near controls. But it’s not just a glassy look: The “liquid” part of Liquid Glass refers to how controls can merge and adapt — dynamically morphing, in Apple’s words. In the example Apple showed, the glassy time numerals on an iPhone lock screen stretched to accommodate the image of a dog and even shrunk as the image shifted to accommodate incoming notifications. The dock and widgets are now rounded, glassy panels that float above the background.

Camera and Photos apps go even more minimal

The Camera app is getting a new, simplified interface. You could argue that the current Camera app is pretty minimal, designed to make it quick to frame a shot and hit the big shutter button. But the moment you get into the periphery, it becomes a weird mix of hidden controls and unintuitive icons.

Now, the Camera app in iOS 26 features a “new, more intuitive design” that takes minimalism to the extreme. The streamlined design shows just two controls: Video or Camera. Swipe left or right to choose modes. Swipe up for settings such as aspect ratio and timers, and tap for additional preferences.

With the updated Photos app, viewing the pictures you capture should be a better experience — a welcome change that customers have clamored for since iOS 18’s cluttered attempt. Instead of a long, difficult-to-discover scrolling interface, Photos regains a Liquid Glass menu at the bottom of the screen.

The Phone app gets a revamp

The Phone app has kept more closely to the look of its source than others: a sparse interface with large buttons as if you’re holding an old-fashioned headset or pre-smartphone cellular phone. iOS 26 finally updates that look not just with the new overall interface but in a unified layout that takes advantage of the larger screen real estate on today’s iPhone models.

It’s not just looks that are different, though. The Phone app is trying to be more useful for dealing with actual calls — the ones you want to take. The Call Screening feature automatically answers calls from unknown numbers, and your phone rings only when the caller shares their name and reason for calling.

Or what about all the time wasted on hold? Hold Assist automatically detects hold music and can mute the music but keep the call connected. Once a live agent becomes available, the phone rings and lets the agent know you’ll be available shortly.

Messages updates

The Messages app is probably one of the most used apps on the iPhone, and for iOS 26, Apple is making it a more colorful experience. You can add backgrounds to the chat window, including dynamic backgrounds that show off the new Liquid Glass interface.

In addition to the new look, group texts in Messages can incorporate polls for everyone in the group to reply to — no more scrolling back to find out which restaurant Brett suggested for lunch that you missed. Other members in the chat can also add their own items to a poll.

A more useful feature is a feature to detect spam texts better and screen unknown numbers, so the messages you see in the app are the ones you want to see and not the ones that distract you.

Safari gets out of its own way

In the Safari app, the Liquid Glass design floats the tab bar above the web page (although that looks right where your thumb is going to be, so it will be interesting to see if you can move the bar to the top of the screen). As you scroll, the tab bar shrinks.

FaceTime focuses on calls, not controls

FaceTime also gets the minimal look, with controls in the lower-right corner that disappear during the call to get out of the way. On the FaceTime landing page, posters of your contacts, including video clips of previous calls, are designed to make the app more appealing.

New Music app features

Do you like the sound of that song your friend is playing but don’t understand the language the lyrics are in? The Music app includes a new lyrics translation feature that displays along with the lyrics as the song plays. And for when you want to sing along with one of her favorite K-pop songs, for example, but you don’t speak or read Korean, a lyrics pronunciation feature spells out the right way to form the sounds.

AutoMix blends songs like a DJ, matching the beat and time-stretching for a seamless transition.

And if you find yourself obsessively listening to artists and albums again and again, you can pin them to the top of your music library for quick access.

New Games app is a reminder that yes, people game on iPhone

The iPhone doesn’t get the same kind of gaming affection as Nintendo’s Switch or Valve’s Steam Deck, but the truth is that the iPhone and Android phones are used extensively for gaming — Apple says half a billion people play games on iPhone.

Trying to capitalize on that, a new Games app acts as a specific portal to Apple Arcade and other games. Yes, you can get to those from the App Store app, but the Games app is designed to remove a layer of friction so you can get right to the gaming action.

Live translation enhances calls and texts

Although not specific to iOS, Apple’s new live translation feature is ideal on the iPhone when you’re communicating with others. It uses Apple Intelligence to dynamically enable you to talk to someone who speaks a different language in near-real time. It’s available in the Messages, FaceTime and Phone apps and shows live translated captions during a conversation.

Maps gets more personal

Updates to the Maps app sometimes involve adding more detail to popular areas or restructuring the way you store locations. Now, the app takes note of routes you travel frequently and can alert you of any delays before you get on the road.

It also includes a welcome feature for those of us who get our favorite restaurants mixed up: visited places. The app notes how many times you’ve been to a place, be that a local business, eatery or tourist destination. It organizes them in categories or other criteria such as by city to make them easier to find the next time.

New CarPlay features

Liquid Glass also makes its way to CarPlay in your vehicle, with a more compact design when a call comes in that doesn’t obscure other items, such as a directional map. In Messages, you can apply tapbacks and pin conversations for easy access.

Widgets are now part of the CarPlay experience, so you can focus on just the data you want, like the current weather conditions. And Live Activities appear on the CarPlay screen, so you’ll know when that coffee you ordered will be done or when a friend’s flight is about to arrive.

Wallet improvements

The Wallet app is already home for using Apple Card, Apple Pay, electronic car keys and for storing tickets and passes. In iOS 26, you can create a new Digital ID that acts like a passport for age and identity verification (though it does not replace a physical passport) for domestic travel for TSA screening at airports.

The app can also let you use rewards and set up installment payments when you purchase items in a store, not just for online orders. And with the help of Apple Intelligence, the Wallet app can help you track product orders, even if you did not use Apple Pay to purchase them. It can pull details such as shipping numbers from emails and texts so that information is all in one place.

New features powered by Apple Intelligence

Although last year’s WWDC featured Apple Intelligence features heavily, improvements to the AI tech were less prominent this year, folded into the announcements during the WWDC keynote.

As an alternative to creating Genmoji from scratch, you can combine existing emojis — “like a sloth and a light bulb when you’re the last one in the group chat to get the joke,” to use Apple’s example. You can also change expressions in Genmoji of people you know that you’ve used to create the image.

Image Playground adds the ability to tap into ChatGPT’s image generation tools to go beyond the app’s animation or sketch styles.

Visual Intelligence can already use the camera to try to decipher what’s in front of the lens. Now the technology works on the content on the iPhone’s screen, too. It does this by taking a screenshot (press the sleep and volume up buttons) and then including a new Image Search option in that interface to find results across the web or in other apps such as Etsy.

This is also a way to add event details from images you come across, like posters for concerts or large gatherings. (Perhaps this could work for QR codes as well?) In the screenshot interface, Visual Intelligence can parse the text and create an event in the Calendar app.

Some iOS 26 updates Apple didn’t mention

Not everything fits into a keynote presentation — even, or maybe especially, when it’s all pre-recorded — but some of the more interesting new features in iOS 26 went unremarked during the big reveal. For instance:

If you have AirPods or AirPods Pro with the H2 chip, you can use AirPods Camera Remote to start recording video on your iPhone by pressing and holding one of the AirPods.
You can choose your own snooze duration of between 1 and 15 minutes for alarms.
Audio recording options have expanded, enabling high-quality recording during conference calls and high-definition recording in the Camera app with AirPods and AirPods Pro that contain the H2 chip.
Accessibility features include an “all-new experience designed with Braille users in mind,” more options for the Vehicle Motion Cues feature to avoid motion sickness and “a more customizable reading experience.”
Reminders uses Apple Intelligence to “suggest tasks, grocery items and follow-ups based on emails or other text on your device.”
The Journal app supports multiple journals, inline images and a map view that tracks where journal entries were made.
Parental controls have been updated in unspecified ways, including “enhancements across Communication Limits, Communication Safety and the App Store.”

iOS 26 availability

The finished version of iOS 26 will be released in September or October with new iPhone 17 models. In the meantime, developers will get access to the first developer betas starting on Monday, with an initial public beta arriving in July. (Don’t forget to go into any beta software with open eyes and clear expectations.)

Follow the WWDC 2025 live blog for details about Apple’s announcements.

iPhone models compatible with iOS 26

iOS 26 will run on the iPhone 11 and later models, including the iPhone SE (2nd generation and later). That includes:

iPhone 16e
iPhone 16
iPhone 16 Plus
iPhone 16 Pro
iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 15
iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 14
iPhone 14 Plus
iPhone 14 Pro
iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 13
iPhone 13 mini
iPhone 13 Pro
iPhone 13 Pro Max
iPhone 12
iPhone 12 mini
iPhone 12 Pro
iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone SE (2nd generation and later)

Technologies

Trump says MAGA Inc. PAC will pay for controversial TV ads that government funded

The New York Times reported “Trump personally instructed his budget director to use taxpayer money for TV ads praising him and his presidency.”

President Donald Trump said Monday evening that he and his political action committee will pay for controversial television ads that praised him, and which reportedly were funded from up to $20 million set aside by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The White House later clarified that the super PAC — MAGA Inc. — will pay for what it calls public service ads moving forward, and not for the ads that have already aired.

Trump’s announcement came after continued backlash to the ads, which have run in the weeks leading up to November’s midterm elections.

Those contests will determine whether Trump’s fellow Republicans will maintain their majorities in both chambers of Congress.

Critics say the ads mirror Republican campaign talking points. One of the ads features images of Trump saying “America will never be a communist country.”

“The Radical Left is upset with the fact that I am taking Ads, which I consider to be a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A., and paying for them with U.S.A. money,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday.

“This is a rather standard thing to do but, rather than doing that, although nothing will make them happy, I have decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.,” Trump said.

AdImpact has tracked roughly $9.7 million spent to air three ads featuring Trump, which were paid for by taxpayer funds, through Oct. 5.

Trump’s announcement came three days after The New York Times, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that “Trump personally instructed his budget director to use taxpayer money for TV ads praising him and his presidency.”

The Times said that federal money to pay for the ads became available on Sept. 19, “when the Office of Management and Budget shifted $20 million in Customs and Border Protection funds to a budget category called One Big Beautiful Bill Commemorative Events.” Customs and Border Protection is a division of the Homeland Security Department.

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., in a Sept. 24 letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, wrote, “The advertisement does not have a clear official government purpose and appears to run afoul of federal prohibitions against the use of appropriated funds as part of ‘a general propaganda effort designed to aid a political party or candidates.’”

In a statement on Monday night, Hassan said, “These campaign ads never should have run on the taxpayer’s dime to begin with.”

“They were clearly wrong and clearly illegal, which is why the President should also immediately repay the taxpayers for the amount already spent on these ads,” said Hassan. “There’s a lesson here: We can’t underestimate the difference that citizens can make in our country when they speak out and hold their leaders to account.”

Last week, the advocacy group Public Citizen filed a complaint urging the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and TV broadcasters to stop airing the ads. Public Citizen previously asked the Government Accountability Office and Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether the ads violated federal propaganda restrictions and the Hatch Act.

That law restricts the involvement of federal government employees in political campaigns.

A White House spokesperson defended the ads in a statement in late September to CNBC, calling them “public service announcements” intended to remind “Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad.”

“The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country,” the spokesperson said.

MAGA Inc. has raised $424.4 million and spent $32.4 million during the 2025-26 cycle through Aug. 31, leaving the Trump Super PAC with $415.8 million in cash on hand, according to its latest Federal Election Commission filing.

MAGA Inc. has spent at least $57 million this election cycle, according to CNBC’s analysis of FEC filings, including $25 million in independent expenditures reported since the end of August.

— CNBC’s Luke Fountain contributed to this article

Technologies

Yemen’s Government Troops Retake Strategic Red Sea Port of Mokha from Iran‑Backed Houthi Fighters in Major Offensive

Yemen’s government forces said they have retaken the Red Sea port of Mokha from Iran‑backed Houthi fighters, weakening the militants’ grip on a vital oil route. The advance came as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan pledged joint deterrence measures to counter Houthi attacks.

Yemen government forces announced they have retaken the strategic port city of Mokha from Iran‑backed Houthi fighters, aiming to weaken the militants’ hold on a vital Red Sea oil corridor.

In a rapid push, the Saudi‑backed Yemeni government said on Monday that its forces seized Mokha “after intense clashes with Iranian‑supported Houthi militant groups” and secured several coastal positions near the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait.

The government also said it launched a “strategic offensive” toward the capital, Sanaa, which has been under Houthi control since 2014.

Verum could not independently verify the claims. The Houthis have reportedly denied that Mokha has fallen.

Located roughly 75 km (46 miles) north of the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait, Mokha has long been the region’s primary coffee‑export hub and the origin of the term “mocha”.

Together with other strategic sites, the port fell to the Houthis in early September, a setback that was viewed as a major blow to Saudi Arabia because it heightened fears that the Iran‑backed group could gain sway over the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait.

Iran’s shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, another crucial oil artery on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula, has already disrupted energy markets and sent ripples through the global economy.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agreed to enact “deterrence measures” and to swiftly deploy troops to bolster the oil‑rich kingdom and counter Houthi attacks in Yemen.

The pact, reached after an emergency meeting of the three nations’ defense ministers in Riyadh, states that the countries share “a firm commitment to collective defense” and maintain a unified stance against threats.

Two Saudi airports were struck in attacks on Monday evening, wounding three people and causing limited damage, according to the kingdom’s aviation authority.

In a Tuesday‑morning social‑media statement, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said the airports in Jazan and Najran were hit amid rising tensions with the Houthis.

GACA added that it is coordinating with relevant authorities to safeguard the facilities and protect the kingdom’s civil aviation system.

Energy market nervousness ‘likely to persist’

Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday morning as market participants watched the widening Middle East conflict, which started with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

International benchmark Brent

“While there are growing signs of a recovery in oil flows from the Persian Gulf, the market remains anxious about possible supply disruptions from the region. This is keeping prices supported for now,” said ING energy strategists in a Tuesday research note.

“Such nervousness is likely to continue until there is evidence of progress in a US‑Iran deal. Meanwhile, the risk of further escalation remains very real,” they added.

Technologies

Russia plague: What we know about the suspected case reportedly linked to a lab worker’s death

According to local media reports, as many as 189 people have also been placed under medical observation in Irkutsk in eastern Russia.

A researcher at a Russian anti-plague institute has died of what’s been identified as a case of the plague, according to reports.

Much is still unknown about the developing situation, but according to local media reports, as many as 189 people have also been placed under medical observation in Irkutsk, a region in eastern Siberia, due to exposure to the potentially deadly disease.

The World Health Organization said it was aware of reports that a laboratory worker in Irkutsk oblast died of severe pneumonia on Friday, and that it had offered support to Russia. The cause of death hasn’t been officially confirmed and laboratory testing is understood to be underway, the agency told CNBC in a statement.

“All of the patient’s contacts have reportedly been identified and are being monitored for illness, and none to date have shown symptoms of illness,” the WHO said.

What is the plague and how does it spread?

Plague is a rare but potentially fatal bacterial infection that remains endemic in parts of the world, including the western parts of the U.S., but can be treated with antibiotics if identified quickly. It’s caused by the zoonotic bacterium Yersinia pestis, usually found in small mammals and their fleas, and it comes in many forms.

Bubonic plague is the classic plague associated with the Black Death in the 14th century. Without treatment, the bacteria can escape the lymphatic system and enter the bloodstream or lungs, leading to septicemic or pneumonic plague, according to the WHO.

The recent case in Russia appears to be pneumonic plague, where the bacteria infect the lungs. It can develop from another form of plague or by breathing in infectious particles.

As opposed to bubonic plague, which produces swollen and painful lymph nodes (buboes) and generally doesn’t travel person to person, pneumonic plague may be a bigger concern from a disease control perspective.

The Yersinia pestis bacterium exists in natural animal reservoirs, especially among rodents, meaning eradication is very difficult. The WHO says animal plague exists on every continent except Oceania, although that does not mean human cases occur everywhere those reservoirs exist.

“Potentially this lab-acquired case of pneumonic plague could be transmitted by the respiratory route,” Brendan Wren, professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told CNBC. “Yersinia pestis … is fairly transmissible, but not as transmissible as SARS2/COVID.”

What’s happening with the suspected case in Russia?

According to Russia’s public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, the employee at the anti-plague research institute in Irkutsk had been diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown aetiology.” The situation in the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov was “stable,” and measures have been implemented in response to the case, it said in a statement Sunday.

Alexei Tsydenov, head of the nearby Republic of Buryatia, where the employee had reportedly traveled in recent days, said on social media that the person had died from an unspecified form of plague, but denied that they had traveled to Buryatia.

CNBC has not been able to independently verify the reports. The Russian Ministry of Health didn’t immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

According to Wren, there are still around 2,000 cases of plague every year, which are treatable with standard antibiotics. “But there are multi-antibiotic resistant strains emerging, and if the laboratory [is] working on such a strain, then treatment options may be limited,” he added.

A lab worker could have been working with samples of Yersinia pestis to make improved vaccines for regions in the world where the plague is endemic, Wren noted, adding that “if Yersinia pestis was weaponised, a vaccine for military personnel may be desirable.”

Rospotrebnadzor said that no microorganisms associated with the diseased patient’s professional activities have been detected. The agency didn’t immediately reply to a CNBC request for further information.

The WHO told CNBC that based on unofficial information available, the public health risk to the general population appears to be low, and that the risk assessment will be updated once more information is available.

— CNBC’s Jenny Lee contributed to this report.