WWDC

Apple targets “more personal and expressive” iOS 26 with new Liquid Glass design

Apple also detailed iPadOS 26 with tiling.

Scharon Harding – Jun 9, 2025 1:39 pm | 142

iOS 26 users will have the option to make their app icons translucent. Credit: Apple

At the Worldwide Developers Conference today, Apple unveiled iOS 26, its next iPhone operating system (OS), which is centered on Apple’s new Liquid Glass design for its software platform.

Available across Apple’s other upcoming OSes, like macOS 26 Tahoe, Liquid Glass aims to make the software look and operate as if it has glass edges. You can see this approach throughout iOS 26 in things like the app icon’s appearance, which includes softer edges and the option to be translucent.

“An updated set of APIs provides developers with access to Liquid Glass materials and components so they can make their apps appear just as dynamic and delightful,” Apple’s press release said.

iOS 26 also includes new wallpaper customization options that leverage the Liquid Glass feel. This includes the ability for the clock to auto-adjust length and width based on the image used for the wallpaper. Craig Federighi, SVP of software engineering, in a video shown at WWDC, briefly demoed how quick and fluid this change is supposed to look when you toggle wallpapers. The executive described the iOS update as “more personal and expressive.”

Additionally, the clock shown on the wallpaper in iOS 26 will change size based on incoming notifications in order to keep in place what the software determines is the best part of the image.

Apple also demoed a 3D-effect option that’s supposed to make your wallpaper look like an item in your wallpaper is popping out against the time and background as you move the device around in your hand.

Apple also said users can apply this effect to photos that they took with their iPhone, bringing a new way for people to tweak their images and view them as a “spatial scene,” as Federighi put it.

Apple is updating Safari so that webpages start at the top of the screen and go down to the edge. The browser bar will appear at the bottom and adjust size as you scroll, while allowing users to access commonly used abilities, like refresh and search.

Web browsing on Safari in iOS 26. Credit: Apple

Apple Music, News, and Podcasts are updated so that the tab bar floats on top of content and shrinks and expands as you scroll down and up, respectively. CarPlay also appears to look a bit cleaner with the update.

Among iOS 26’s more interesting changes is that Messages will put messages sent from users outside your contacts in a dedicated folder. You can then mark the number as known, delete the message, or request more information.

You can see the unknown senders folder in the top right. Credit: Apple

iOS 26 users can also add a custom background to conversations in Messages and make polls.

iOS 26 launches this fall. Apple Developer Program members can test it as of today, and the public beta arrives next month.

iPadOS 26

iPadOS 26 includes the same Liquid Glass approach and redesigned app icon looks as iOS 26. The primary upgrades, though, are centered on improving multitasking and file management.

A big part of that is a new windowing system that introduces control over a launched app’s size, location, and accessibility that is more on par with other OSes. For example, you can grab a handle in the bottom-right of a window to resize it. When you reopen that app, it’ll open in the same size and location as when it was last used.

iPadOS will also let users view all open apps at once. They can then tap the screen, causing the apps to quickly spread out from one another to increase visibility. Tapping again sets the windows to the locations where you most recently positioned them.

iPads are also getting tiling features. For example, you can flick a window to the left side of the screen, and it will take over the left half of the screen (similar to Windows Snap layouts). If you have multiple windows open, you can make a grabber appear in between the two, allowing you to resize the two apps simultaneously.

You can see the grabber between the two apps. Credit: Apple

iPadOS 26 includes a new menu bar, “where users can access the commands available in an app with a simple swipe down from the top of the display, or by moving their cursor to the top,” Apple’s announcement said, adding: “Users can quickly find a specific feature or related tips in an app by using search in the menu bar. Additionally, developers can now customize the menu bar in their own apps.”

iPadOS 26 is supposed to allow you to have more open windows at once (although Apple did not specify how many).

Apple also updated Files, including a refreshed List view that Apple’s announcement said “allows users to see more of their document details in resizable columns and collapsible folders.”

To make folders easier to identify at a glance, Files also offers folder customization options that include custom colors, icons, and emoji that sync across devices. For quicker access, users can now drag any folder from the Files app right into the Dock. Additionally, users can set a default app for opening specific files or file types.

Among iPadOS 26’s other most interesting updates are claims that the OS can perform computationally intensive background tasks.

“When users start a long-running process in an app, Background Tasks will show up with Live Activities, giving users complete control and a clear sense of what is running. And developers can use an updated Background Tasks API that allows users to perform long-running tasks from their apps, too,” Apple’s announcement said.

iPadOS 26 launches in the fall and is available for testing via the Apple Developer Program as of today. The public beta comes in July.

Scharon Harding Senior Technology Reporter

Scharon is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica writing news, reviews, and analysis on consumer gadgets and services. She's been reporting on technology for over 10 years, with bylines at Tom’s Hardware, Channelnomics, and CRN UK.

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