Looking at the home screens, the primary difference you'll find is that in iOS 26 the background of the dock and the search option that sits in between the dock and the home screen icons are more transparent and have a sheen to the edges, whereas in iOS 18, these are slightly darker.

Apple today provided developers and public beta testers who have an iPhone 11 with a new beta of iOS 26. Apple did not seed the iPhone 11 version

Apple has confirmed iOS 26’s public launch this fall, following the release of beta 4 to developers and testers with major UI and Apple Intelligence updates.

The feature lets you assign a specific look to each conversation, whether it’s a favourite photo, a bold colour, or a whimsical image generated via Apple’s new Image Playground tool.

Before Apple turns all its attention to iOS 26, there’s another iPhone update on the horizon, and it’s very nearly here.

These new emojis have long-standing symbolic meanings, are visually distinctive, and contain multitudes of expression.”

Apple's Liquid Glass makeover and expanded Apple Intelligence tools arrive this fall, but not every phone can make the leap.

Apple announced in June that the release of iOS 26 would first appear as developer betas as usual, with the first public beta set for July. When it reaches general release it will be on the 2025 releases, iPhone 17 series, as well the iPhone 16 series and plenty of much earlier models.