iOS 26 Hands-On: Liquid Glass!

MKBHD hands-on with iOS 26 beta: Liquid Glass redesign, Android-borrowed phone features, and camera overhaul headlined by format-picker UI fix.

• iOS 26 adopts call screening and hold-assist, both previously Pixel-exclusive features, now native to iPhone.
• Camera app redesigned: format settings (frame rate, etc.) now picker-based instead of tap-to-cycle, ending a long-standing UX frustration.
• Visual intelligence adds onscreen circle-to-search via screenshot UI, using Google reverse image search or ChatGPT; buggy but functional.
• Liquid Glass is polarizing enough that Apple walked back transparency levels by beta 3, adding more blur for readability.
• Live translation for Messages, FaceTime, and Phone works fully offline after per-language downloads of a few hundred megabytes each.
• Photos app now defaults to library view (chronological) instead of the hated Collections layout; fix most users wanted from day one.
• Spatial scene feature converts any photo with a clear subject into a parallax 3D image in seconds, usable as lock screen wallpaper.

2025-07-24 · Watch on YouTube