Apple launches version 26 across iOS, macOS, iPadOS and more with new Liquid Glass design

Apple has officially released iOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26 to all users, unifying version numbers and introducing the new Liquid Glass design language across every platform. The new translucent UI is seen as Apple’s biggest visual refresh since iOS 7, bringing reflective and refractive buttons, sliders, tabs, and navigation elements to icons, widgets, and system controls, which Apple describes as a material that enhances focus on content and adds vitality to interaction.

Beyond the new look, iOS 26 adds Live Translation in Messages, FaceTime, phone calls, and AirPods, a redesigned Photos app with separate gallery and collections feeds after feedback from iOS 18, a new Safari search bar layout, HDR screenshots, and new stock wallpapers. Call screening from the Phone app can auto answer unknown numbers and filter unsolicited messages without picking up, a capability similar to what some Google Pixel phones offer.

In the other hand, macOS 26 Tahoe brings Liquid Glass across icons and menus, Apple’s biggest Spotlight update with a clipboard history manager and new action shortcuts reminiscent of Raycast, expanded Continuity with Live Activities from iPhone, a native Phone app on the desktop, and more capable Shortcuts powered by Apple Intelligence, while iPadOS 26 delivers desktop like multitasking with resizable windows and traffic light style controls, stronger background processes, and refreshed Files and Preview apps, marking one of the iPad’s most substantial updates in years. tvOS 26 applies Liquid Glass to the Apple TV app and poster art, and visionOS 26 adds Spatial Widgets, upgraded Personas, immersive Spatial Scenes, broader controller support, and shared spaces for 3D movies, gaming, and collaboration.

There are also several updates to apps like Apple Music, which gains AutoMix for smoother transitions plus lyric translation and pronunciation, Fitness adds Sleep Score along with a refreshed workout UI and Workout Buddy coaching, and there's a new Apple Games hub with Apple Arcade integration, a Game Overlay for quick settings and social features.