Apple is gearing up to launch the iPhone 17 series tonight at its "Awe Dropping" event, alongside iOS 26 — a redesigned version of the operating system for iPhones and iPads. Announced earlier this year at the annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2025, Apple says iOS 26 "brings a beautiful new design, intelligent experiences, and improvements to the apps users rely on every day." Called Liquid Glass, Apple says the new design language introduces a "new translucent material that reflects and refracts its surroundings" and changes the way users navigate and access controls. iOS 26 features The biggest change coming to iOS 26 is design. The upcoming operating system introduces a new design language called "Liquid Glass", which is inspired by the translucent interface from visionOS. Apple has changed the look of user elements like menus, options, notifications, Control Center and several first-party apps like Messages, Phone and Camera. Another thing to note is that menus, options and notifications are also getting a visual overhaul. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqfeHMeIj3A&t=32s Talking of the lockscreen, iOS 26 brings a redesigned time and date widget along with a new dynamic widget that changes the lock size according to the wallpaper. Also, users will be able to create spatial scenes which give a sense of depth when you move the phone. As for the homescreen, Apple now lets you change the look of the icons and even make them translucent. The much-anticipated update will also bring a ton of other changes like a redesigned camera app, live translation powered by Apple Intelligence, AI-generated call summaries, a brand new Games app and enhancements to Visual Intelligence, to name a few. Which iPhones will get the iOS 26 update? Any iPhone powered by the A13 or newer chip is said to be eligible for the iOS 26 update, which means the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max may miss out on the Liquid Glass design. Below is a list of devices that are expected to get the iOS 26 update. iPhone 11 iPhone 11 Pro iPhone 11 Pro Max iPhone SE (2nd generation) iPhone 12 iPhone 12 mini iPhone 12 Pro iPhone 12 Pro Max iPhone 13 iPhone 13 mini iPhone 13 Pro iPhone 13 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhone 14 Plus iPhone 14 Pro iPhone 14 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 16e iOS 26 expected rollout date Apple typically releases new iOS versions a few days after iPhones go on sale, and now the tech giant has confirmed that the iOS 26 update will be rolling out starting September 15. However, it might take sometime before it is avaiable on your device.
