The usual chip and connectivity updates are here courtesy of the Apple A19 Pro SoC, the base memory has been upped to 256 GB for the rest of the lineup, while the Pro Max which was already there last year gains a new 2 TB storage option. The battery life got better, the charging got faster, and iOS got more features.
In a support page about software updates refreshed on Monday, Apple clarified why it's important to update your device's OS and how such updates work. New versions like iOS 26 kick in new features and improvements, enhanced security, and bug fixes. As such, you'll want to update your iPhone for security reasons even if you're not all that excited about the latest features.
One of the many unpublicized changes introduced with the iOS 26 update released earlier this week is that screenshots now automatically open into a full-screen preview. The new approach provides immediate access to a handful of useful tools for editing a screenshot, but they now dominate your iPhone's screen when captured, instead of shrinking into an unobtrusive thumbnail. Thankfully, reverting to the old way iOS handled screenshots is easy, as spotted by 9To5Mac.
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 were released for the latest generation iPhone and iPad devices with fixes for 27 unique CVEs that could lead to memory corruption, information disclosure, crashes, and sandbox escapes. WebKit received the largest number of fixes, at five, for security defects that could lead to process crashes, Safari crashes, or could allow websites to access sensor information without consent.
Once the alarm sounds, users must complete a series of interactive missions to turn it off. These tasks include a variety of challenges, such as rotating the iPhone, completing a set of push-ups, or tackling math problems, puzzles, or even language lessons. By incorporating physical and mental activities, Awake aims to help break the cycle of hitting snooze and encourage a more active start to the day.
The iOS 26 public beta is available now. The developer beta was released during WWDC in June 2025. If Apple follows its usual cadence, the final, general release of iOS 26 should arrive in a matter of days. How to download the iOS 26 developer beta? To download the iOS 26 developer beta version, navigate to your settings to install the iOS 26 developer beta if your device runs iOS 16.5 and is used with an Apple ID enrolled in the Apple Developer Program:
I'm waking up at the crack of dawn, after a shoddy night of sleep. My iPhone alarm and its ever-strong siren song blare as it shakes me from my slumber. At this point, I'll do anything to turn that wretched sound off as quickly as possible. The one thing that gets in my way? The iPhone's dismiss button for its alarm is too small. In my half-asleep state, I don't always hit and dismiss it the first time.
The pending release of Apple's iOS 26 could see around 75 million iPhones rendered obsolete, generating more than 1.2 million kilograms of e-waste globally, according to new research. The next major version of Cupertino's mobile operating system is scheduled to be released this month following its announcement at WWDC in June. That will affect the owners of aging iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max devices, which are to be excluded from the update, according to waste management operation Business Waste.
iOS 26 introduces an extensive design redesign and offers a feature called 'Spatial Scenes,' which adds a 3D effect to almost any 2D photo by creating a hologram-like appearance.