After it was unveiled at WWDC 25, iOS 26 is now available to download as a public beta.
While some may prefer to wait until iOS 26 is officially released and, hopefully, free from any particularly pesky bugs, many are keen to take the plunge and embrace the iOS 26 beta. Whether you’ve downloaded the beta and aren’t sure where to start, or you’re still debating whether or not it’s worth it, this guide has you covered.
After downloading the beta, I have picked my favourite new iOS 26 features to help you familiarise yourself with the brand new OS.
Haven’t downloaded the beta yet? Follow the steps in our how to download the iOS 26 beta guide. Just remember to back-up your iPhone’s data before downloading to protect your files.
Get used to Liquid Glass
The biggest and most obvious difference with iOS 26 is the inclusion of Liquid Glass. Inspired by visionOS, Liquid Glass is a translucent design seen across the entire system which intelligently adapts accordingly between light and dark environments.
While Liquid Glass certainly looks different from what we’re used to, the design won’t necessarily change how you use your iPhone. Instead, Liquid Glass promises a more fluid way of using your device.
Although you can’t simply turn Liquid Glass off, it is possible to reduce the level of transparency across your phone. Simply enter the Accessibility menu in your Settings app, then tap Display & Text Size and select Reduced Transparency.
Create a poll in your group chat
We all know the frustration of trying to get a plan out of the group chat, so the new Polls tool found in the Messages app aims to make this that bit easier.
You can now create a poll within any conversation in the Messages app, and have all participants vote accordingly. Plus, iPhones that support Apple Intelligence can now automatically detect and suggest when a poll is useful, which can help seriously streamline group plans.
Enable Call Filtering
Receiving unwanted spam and nuisance calls has annoyingly become an everyday occurrence for many of us. While a lot of people tend to simply ignore a phone call, if you’re expecting an important call from an unknown number then this method isn’t quite foolproof.
Although it’s been a staple of Pixel handsets for years now, iPhones will now screen calls on your behalf. Essentially, Call Screening answers unknown numbers without interrupting you and asks the caller to state their name and reason for calling. Your iPhone will then ring, with the caller information displayed on screen, allowing you to decide whether you want to answer or not.
Reminisce on travels through Visited Places
Ever been on holiday and particularly enjoyed a certain restaurant or bar but couldn’t remember where it was? With Visited Places, your iPhone detects and saves your visited locations via Apple Maps.
Be your own DJ with AutoMix
AutoMix is undoubtedly one of the most exciting features available in iOS 26. Essentially working as your own personal DJ, AutoMix promises to seamlessly transition from one song to the next. While there have been some reports that the feature doesn’t quite work with some songs, it still remains a brilliant option for anyone planning a party.
You’ll need to ensure your iPhone supports Apple Intelligence in order to enable and use this tool.
Apple have redesigned the redesigned Photos app
You may remember with last year’s iOS 18 rollout that Apple revamped the Photos app in a pretty controversial way. Rather than having different albums, the iOS 18 Photos app instead sports a single grid design, which allows you to see all your images in one place. You can then scroll down the app to find more organised folders underneath, to filter from different timeframes to content types and more.
The redesign was annoying to say the least but fortunately, just under one year after it rolled out, Apple is taking steps to fix it. The iOS 26 Photos app now sports an updated layout with two main tabs now: Library and Collections.
