Here are the things I love most about iOS 26

If you’ve just installed iOS 26, the first thing you will, of course, have noticed is the new Liquid Glass user interface. This has proved a somewhat polarizing feature, with some developers arguing it’s not yet ready for primetime.

It certainly takes some getting used to, but overall I’m a fan, and I particularly like some of the small but notable changes …

Liquid Glass

Way back in March, when we first heard that what we then thought would be iOS 19 would be getting a completely new look, I suggested that it would likely have a bigger impact than the new Siri. Little did I know just how true that would turn out to be!

Probably as many will hate it as love it when it’s first introduced, as that seems to be true of any significant change made by the company, but it will likely make more of a bang than any improvement to Siri the company may introduce, then or later.

In my view, the look and feel of iOS had frankly become a little boring. While Apple initially went rather overboard on the glass look during the early developer betas, the company did subsequently tone things down in response to feedback. That’s the reason it can look a little inconsistent at present, with a mix of clear and frosted glass.

For me though, it’s the little things that make the biggest difference. For example, I find the notification banners cute while now still being easy to read:

I’m a really big fan of the subtle but pleasing 3D effects in app icons:

I could go on, but the executive summary is that while there is still some work to do, there are a lot of very pleasing small touches that really make the iPhone feel fresh.

Small but meaningful improvements to the UI

A lot of the UI improvements made in iOS 26 may similarly seem trivial, but in my view, many of them are extremely well thought out. For example, app search bars are now consistently found at the bottom of the screen:

Previously, the menu when editing text on an iPhone could scroll endlessly horizontally, while the new one opens up vertically as soon as you tap the right chevron to expand, enabling instant access to everything:

I think the simplified mode menu in the Camera app makes a great deal of sense, initially showing the two options we will want the vast majority of the time, with the rest available just a tap away.

I’ve also become a total convert to the space-saving feature of compact view in Safari:

Call Screening

Apple is late to the party, but Call Screening will in time turn out to be one of the greatest iOS 26 features, in my view. Being able to quiz callers on who they are and what they want before deciding whether or not to answer is a time-saver for people who receive lots of calls, and the perfect feature for Brits who speak to people only as a last resort.

I have to say that it is still extremely unreliable for me, but once it’s working well, I will be a huge fan.

Messages

Finally, the two new Messages features I appreciate most are both incredibly trivial sounding ones, but they honestly make a real difference.

First is the ability to copy selected text from a message rather than having to copy the entire text bubble and then delete the unwanted text. This is a frequent time saver for me.

Second, polls. This is great when you’re trying to organize a get-together for a group of people, offering a number of dates and seeing who can make which.

What’s your take?

Whether you’ve been using the beaters for a while now or have just started using iOS 26, what are your favorite features? Please share in the comments.