Apple previewed the update for the next generation of iPhone software. It has a new name, a new look, and a bunch of quality-of-life features and improvements.

With iOS 26, Apple unveiled a unified design language with translucent elements that mimic the look of real-world glass. Here's how it compares to iOS 18.

The crux of the new Liquid Glass design is that the “material” (an odd choice of words from Apple to describe something that’s purely digital) used for the background to menus, and out of which icons are “crafted”, behaves like glass would in the real world, if it also flowed like a liquid.