Everything You Need To Know About iOS 26, Apple's Biggest iOS Redesign Since iOS 7—Liquid Glass, AI Features And More
News Summary
Apple Inc. is set to release iOS 26 on September 15, marking the most dramatic redesign of iOS in over a decade, accompanied by a host of new AI-driven features. Central to this update is the new "Liquid Glass" interface, Apple's first major design overhaul since iOS 7, characterized by translucency, depth, and real-time reflections. This design will extend across iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe, watchOS 26, visionOS 26, and tvOS 26, ensuring a cohesive visual experience. Apple is significantly expanding its AI capabilities, integrating Apple Intelligence into core apps. This includes Live Translation for Messages, FaceTime, and Phone, along with Visual Intelligence powered by ChatGPT for contextual screen queries. New tools like Image Playground for AI-generated art, Genmoji for custom emojis, Lyrics Translation in Apple Music, and Wallet AI summaries are introduced. Core apps such as Camera, Photos, Safari, Music, News, Podcasts, and Maps have been redesigned and enhanced, alongside a new Apple Games app. Furthermore, the Phone and Messages apps gain smart features like Call Screening, Hold Assist, and text screening. AirPods and CarPlay also receive design and functional enhancements, while iOS 26 introduces Adaptive Power management and extended privacy features.
Background
Apple's iOS operating system has maintained a relatively consistent design since the release of iOS 7 in 2013, which introduced a flat design aesthetic under the direction of Jony Ive. While annual updates have brought iterative improvements, a complete visual overhaul has been rare. In recent years, the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has seen competitors like Google and Samsung deeply integrate AI functionalities into their mobile operating systems. Despite Apple's ongoing investments in AI, market observers and analysts (such as Pierre Ferragu) have criticized the company for being relatively conservative in the AI revolution, suggesting it hadn't fully leveraged its advantages. This launch of iOS 26, with its significant design and AI advancements, is seen as a crucial move for Apple to maintain its ecosystem competitiveness, enhance user experience, and address the challenges of the AI era.
In-Depth AI Insights
Q: What are the deeper investment implications of the "Liquid Glass" design aesthetic in iOS 26 for Apple's long-term product strategy? - The Liquid Glass design is more than just a visual refresh; it represents Apple's deliberate strategy in user experience and cross-device ecosystem integration. - This unified visual language across all OS platforms reinforces the synergy between Apple's hardware and software, potentially further locking users into its ecosystem and reducing churn to competitors. - For investors, this implies Apple is solidifying its premium market position and pricing power by continuously enhancing ecosystem stickiness, which can drive stable service revenue and hardware sales, even amidst increased global economic uncertainty in 2025. - Furthermore, this design language creates a coherent visual bridge to spatial computing devices like Apple Vision Pro, signaling a unified interface vision for future cross-reality computing environments, laying a foundation for long-term growth. Q: Can Apple's strategy of "doubling down" on AI in iOS 26 effectively counter AI challenges from competitors like Google and create new growth opportunities for investors? - Apple's AI integration strategy appears to prioritize deep embedding within its core applications and privacy protection, rather than solely pursuing general large language model capabilities. This aligns with its consistent brand positioning of user experience and privacy first. - By integrating with ChatGPT and introducing innovative features like Image Playground and Genmoji, Apple is addressing its perceived gap in generative AI. - If these AI features genuinely enhance user efficiency and creativity, they could stimulate users to upgrade hardware to experience the latest AI capabilities, thereby boosting sales of devices like the iPhone. - For investors, the deepening of AI could be another engine for Apple's services revenue growth, perhaps through more advanced AI subscription services or smarter in-app purchases, but the key lies in the user adoption and commercialization potential of these features. Q: In the current market environment, what are the non-obvious long-term effects of the iOS 26 launch on Apple's supply chain, sales cycles, and profitability? - Significant AI and design updates typically stimulate demand for new devices, which could provide a positive short-term order boost for Apple and its supply chain partners (e.g., TSMC, Foxconn). - However, if these features fail to meet user expectations or encounter performance bottlenecks in real-world use, it could lead to diminished user upgrade intentions, impacting the sales cycle of new iPhones. - In the long term, deep AI integration is likely to drive demand for higher-compute chips, further solidifying Apple's in-house silicon advantage and potentially increasing the average selling price (ASP) of future iPhones. - Investors should monitor actual user feedback on the new iOS, the adoption rate of AI features, and their long-term contribution to service revenue, rather than focusing solely on initial market hype.