Does the glassy new look mean we’ll finally get ‘90s style translucent iPhones? God only knows.
Another big change Apple announced for its operating system is a new naming convention. Instead of the sequential numbers it has used in the past, Apple will rename its OSes in the style of a new car model or Madden game—with the last two digits of the forthcoming year. So the new iOS this year will be called iOS 26. Next year, it’ll be iOS 27. And so on, unless Apple changes its mind about all that.
Phone Calls & Messages
There are new updates to Apple’s phone app, lots of which you’ll probably recognize if you, say, use an Android device.
First is a revamped call screening feature that lets you avoid spam callers. Just tap a button in the phone app to have a synthetic voice ask the caller to say what they’re calling about. You’ll see a transcription of what they say, then you can decide to swipe to take the call, or decline it. Second, a Hold Assist feature can detect when you’ve been placed on hold, then offer to wait on the call for you, alerting you when an actual human gets on the line.
There are some other updates to group chats in the Messages app, which lets you add polls to settle on tonight’s restaurant, or split the bill by sending money to each other with Apple Cash directly in a group chat.
Live translation is also available in both phone and messages, so you can translate voice or text conversations in close to real time. (In the taped demo, it took a few seconds to hear each translation.) Apple says that the AI-powered translations happen on your device, and your conversations do not get sent to Apple for translating. Live translation also comes to Apple Music, with lyrics translation and pronunciation that allows you to sing along with all your favorite K-pop songs.
Another notable Apple Intelligence feature coming this fall is a Visual Intelligence enhancement that lets you take a screenshot or tap on something in a picture, then ask a variety of questions about it. It works a lot like Google Lens and Gemini AI, but for the iPhone.
