One of the key headlines from Apple’s WWDC 25 was the reinvention of iOS, which promises to “elevate the iPhone experience”.
Sure, there are a few “new” features coming to iPhones that Android users have benefited from for years, which we’ve detailed in our iOS 26 features on Android guide, but there are still plenty of iPhone-exclusive tools to get excited about.
We’ve detailed what we think are the most exciting iOS 26 features that we’d love to see Android embrace in the coming years. We’ve also compared iOS 26 vs iOS 18 to help you see what’s really new with the upcoming software.
Visited Places
One of the iOS 26 tools I’m most excited for is Visited Places. Found in Apple Maps, Visited Places promises to “help users remember the places they’ve been” by allowing their iPhone to detect when they’re at a certain location, like a restaurant or shop. Then, all your Visited Places will be found through Apple Maps.
This tool should not only be seriously useful for revisiting local places but especially when you want to easily share recommendations with loved ones too.
Redesigned camera app
While the current iPhone Camera app isn’t particularly confusing, with most of its photography tools hidden via the top dropdown menu, iOS 26 promises to simplify the app even further. In fact, Apple promises the new streamlined Camera layout helps users “keep their attention on the moment they’re capturing”.
In comparison, the likes of the Pixel camera in particular can appear quite complicated at first glance, with lots of potential tools to pick and choose between. Having said that, it’s still worth noting that Pixel phones always top our best camera phones list.
Polls in Messages
Last year’s iOS 18 finally introduced RCS messaging to the Messages app, and Apple is promising to offer even more updates to make the app more appealing to use.
If you’ve ever had to try and plan a group trip, then you’ll know how difficult it is to keep on top of the various replies and suggestions. With Apple Intelligence, Messages can now automatically detect and suggest when a poll should be useful. While this is a feature that can be found on WhatsApp and Google Chat, they aren’t enabled automatically and require manually inputting.
Lyric Translation
Apple Music users will benefit from a plethora of new lyric tools to help learn more about favourite songs. There’s Lyrics Translation, which helps users understand the word,s while Lyrics Pronunciation allows you to sing along perfectly, even if you’re singing in a different language.
This is not only a guaranteed way to make karaoke that bit better, but it also helps if you’re genuinely trying to learn a language too.
That’s not only where Apple Music gets an upgrade. Powered by Apple Intelligence, the new AutoMix tool promises to transition from one song to the next “like a DJ” by time stretching and beat matching for a seamless move.
