Apple announces a lot of new features coming to the latest iOS version every year. However, not all of these features make it to the OS on day one. With iOS 18, for example, the company delayed a total of 11 features, most of them related to Apple Intelligence. At the time of the iPhone 16 launch, the company promoted several functions that would only be available with further iterations of the software — iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2 — which naturally disappointed consumers.
In fact, the main Apple Intelligence feature expected to land with iOS 18.4 — Siri with on-screen awareness — was pushed to 2026 as it just wasn’t ready. This generated a lot of commotion from users, with Apple having to publicly address the delay. Owing to this, the Cupertino giant played it safe on what it would unveil during the WWDC 2025 keynote, so that all the features would be ready for release on time. While Apple seems to have delivered on that front to a large extent, we found three features to be missing from the new iOS 26 release. While that’s certainly better than the 11 from last year, users will have to wait for these functions to be rolled out via OTA updates.
Delayed features in iOS 26
These are the three delayed iOS 26 features, which should be available in the coming months:
Simplified DualSense Pairing: An upcoming firmware update for PlayStation DualSense controllers will enable automatic connection to iPhones via the USB-C port. Users will also be able to pair multiple Apple devices to a single DualSense or DualSense Edge controller and switch between them easily through the controller or via the device’s Bluetooth settings. Technically, the update is due from Sony’s end and not Apple’s.
Digital ID in Wallet: Apple announced at WWDC 2025 that the Wallet app will allow users in the U.S. to create a digital ID of their passport on their iPhone. This will enable seamless and secure identity verification at TSA checkpoints for domestic travel, while also aiding in-person ID verification wherever required.
Live Translation for AirPods: The new Live Translation functionality is available on the AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2, and AirPods Pro 3. However, it’s only available in a few languages at the time of launch. With future updates, Apple plans to add support for Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese.
