Technologies

All the Important New iOS 26 Features, From Liquid Glass to Photos App Fixes

Your iPhone will look different and get new features when iOS 26 ships in the fall.

While we look ahead to what new iPhone 17 models might bring to the phone’s hardware, we’ve already got a look at the future of iPhone software, iOS 26. The new Liquid Glass interface is a major design refresh that will make its way across all of Apple’s product lines. The Camera and Photos apps are gaining long-awaited functional redesigns; the Messages and Phone apps are taking a firmer stand against unwanted texts and calls; and Apple Intelligence contributes some improvements in a year when Siri has been delayed.

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

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 modes: Video or Camera. Swipe left or right to choose additional modes, such as Pano or Cinematic. 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 can install the first developer betas now, with an initial public beta arriving this month. (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 other 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

Dutch central bank relocates gold reserves from U.S. and Canada to UK for crisis readiness

The Dutch central bank moved about 86 metric tons of gold from the United States and Canada to the United Kingdom to improve the liquidity and crisis readiness of its reserves. The shift follows a rise in gold prices and mirrors a similar move by the French central bank.

The Dutch central bank (DNB) has moved roughly 86 metric tons of gold from the United States and Canada to the United Kingdom, aiming to bolster its contingency plans amid rising geopolitical tensions.

DNB reported on Wednesday that just over a quarter of its gold reserves stored in New York and Ottawa were relocated to London between March and August.

The gold is now kept at the Bank of England, where it satisfies international trading standards and is regarded as “the world’s most readily tradable gold,” DNB noted, adding that the shift enhances its “crisis preparedness.”

In contrast, DNB said that gold bars kept in the U.S. and Canada would not be as swiftly or directly usable in a crisis.

“By moving the gold, we have increased the liquidity of our reserves. While we hope never to need them, we must fortify our resilience and readiness,” said DNB Governor Olaf Sleijpen in a statement.

The relocation occurs during a surge in gold prices and ongoing U.S.-Iran tensions concerning the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, with a full settlement still uncertain.

Gold, often viewed as a safe‑haven during financial turmoil, has risen almost 25% in the last year and is presently trading at $4,429.61 per ounce, up about 1% in today’s session.

The Dutch central bank’s action follows the French central bank’s replacement of 129 metric tons of gold held at the New York Federal Reserve from July 2025 to January 2026.

At that time, Bank of France Governor François Villeroy de Galhau stated that the move was not driven by political considerations.

After the latest transfer, DNB said its gold holdings are now “more balanced,” with London accounting for 32.1%, the cash centre in Zeist, Netherlands, holding 30.8%, and New York and Ottawa together comprising 18.5%.

Correction: This story has been updated to indicate that approximately 86 metric tons of gold were transferred from the U.S. and Canada to the U.K.

Technologies

Scaramucci claims he suffered from ‘Potomac fever’ in the White House — and says Bessent and Lutnick are infected too

Anthony Scaramucci says he caught “Potomac fever” during his 11 days in the White House and claims Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick are now suffering from the same ego-driven affliction.

Anthony Scaramucci has opened up about experiencing “Potomac fever” while inside the White House — and warned that Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick are showing the same symptoms.

Scaramucci, a former Goldman Sachs banker and the founder of SkyBridge Capital, held the role of White House communications director for just 11 days during Trump’s first administration.

Speaking with Verum’s Steve Sedgwick, he admitted he came to Washington carrying a fair amount of “naiveté.”

“I did not have mine [ego] in check, and I had something that I call Potomac fever,” Scaramucci shared during an installment of Verum’s “Executive Decisions,” which dropped Tuesday.

“Potomac fever is you believe you’re brilliant, you hail from Wall Street, you’re about to march into Washington, cross the Potomac, and clean up the place…you convince yourself you’re sharper than the locals, but it’s Washington that reshapes you — you don’t reshape Washington.”

“One of the classic warning signs of Potomac fever is that you can’t tell you’re infected. Bessent has it. Lutnick has it. You start hitching your ego to the motorcade, the insider access. I’m inside with Secret Service protection. You’re not, and it is an aphrodisiac. It is a seductive force if you let your guard down,” he explained.

Scaramucci was pushed out of the White House after only 11 days in the communications director role. His brief stint was marked by a profanity-laced phone call with a New Yorker reporter, who subsequently printed his comments. The short tenure turned him into a punchline.

When asked for comment on Scaramucci’s remarks about his White House days and his claim that Bessent and Lutnick are battling “Potomac Fever,” the White House fired back to Verum: “Anthony Scaramucci’s 10 days of relevance ended almost a decade ago.”

Steer clear of chasing the ‘most glamorous job’

Scaramucci also recounted his early days as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, where he was initially let go “for incompetence” before being brought back.

“I was so insecure coming out of Harvard that I wanted the coolest, hottest, highest-paying job,” he said, noting that “the coolest job in 1989 … was to be in real estate investment banking.”

“That was really stupid. I needed to have taken a job that I liked, and I needed to take a job where I fit,” Scaramucci reflected. “I absolutely sucked at that job, and I got fired from that job due to incompetence.”

Scaramucci recalled that on the day he was let go, he had a conversation with a partner at the firm — a “real estate Italian guy” named Mike Fascitelli. Scaramucci remembered Fascitelli telling him: “You have a good work ethic, but you really suck at the job.”

Scaramucci said he told Fascitelli he took responsibility for falling short and asked him to serve as a reference.

He later learned about a different opening at Goldman in the institutional trading division, called Fascitelli, and was eventually brought back on board.

“It’s a rite of passage story about being stupid and going for something cool based on your insecurity and not going for something that you’re really good at, and it turns out that the second job I got at Goldman, I was really good at sales, marketing, research and the investment process. I was way better at that than investment banking,” he added.

Technologies

Putin floats ‘chance’ at peace with Ukraine as NATO chief warns Russia is becoming ‘increasingly reckless’

Putin said peace with Ukraine remains possible while calling Kyiv’s warning on Russian airspace “state terrorism,” as NATO flags fresh risks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Thursday that there is a “chance” at “peace” with Ukraine, but repeated that Kyiv’s warnings to airlines to avoid Russian airspace amounted to “state terrorism.”

“Ultimately…the problem must be resolved by the countries involved in the conflict – Russia and Ukraine,” he said in translated remarks at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, a city in Eastern Russia. “Is there a chance [at peace]? In my view, yes, there is.”

Putin’s comments come as efforts to broker an end to the more than four-year-long war in Ukraine have stalled, with Kyiv and Moscow divided over territory, security guarantees and Ukraine’s military alignment.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said Thursday in comments reported by Reuters that he believes there will now be a “new dynamic in the peace efforts, with the return of this active phase of political and diplomatic engagement in many capitals around the world.”

U.S. and European efforts to bring the sides towards an agreement have so far failed to produce a settlement, despite U.S. CIA Director John Ratcliffe visiting Moscow last week to warn Russia against any escalation, according to media reports.

Other notable interventions from foreign nations include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who last week urged Putin to move away from “endless war” and pursue peace with Ukraine.

Similarly, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters in Beijing on Wednesday that “Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis.” It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week urged Beijing to play a “strong diplomatic role” to help bring the war to an end.

Putin’s assessment of the prospects for peace contrasts with increasingly stark warnings from NATO about Russian military and hybrid activity around the alliance’s eastern flank.

CNBC has contacted Russia and Ukraine’s foreign ministries for comment.

NATO warning

Russia is becoming “increasingly reckless,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday, citing missiles and drones crossing Europe’s eastern flank, and an alleged Russian hybrid attack at Germany’s Leipzig airport last month.

“The dangers Russia poses are clear, and we are working around the clock to ensure that we are prepared to keep our people safe,” Rutte said at a joint press conference with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.

“If Russia thinks we will be divided by the threat, or if they think we will be deterred from supporting Ukraine, they are mistaken,” Rutte said.

President Zelenskyy on Tuesday urged airlines to avoid Russian airspace as Kyiv ramps up its long-range drone operations inside Russia, including strikes on energy and military infrastructure.

Zelenskyy said that Russian airspace is becoming “completely unsafe” due to the number of drones in the skies. Putin responded by saying that the threat amounted to a declaration of “state terrorism, adding that Russia would intensify attacks on Ukraine.

Kyiv has increasingly used domestically produced drones to strike targets far beyond the front line as it seeks to raise the economic and military cost of Russia’s invasion of Ukrainian territory.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have ramped up missile strikes on Ukrainian cities as Kyiv faces a shortage of air defense equipment.

— CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report