With the iOS 26 public beta now out, you may have chosen to give the new software update a try ahead of its general release in the fall. If that's the case, Apple has made some changes and feature additions to the iPhone Lock Screen that you may want to check out.


To download the iOS 26 public beta to your iPhone, go to Settings ➝ General ➝ Software Update, then tap Beta Updates and choose iOS 26 Public Beta from the checklist. Tap Back, and wait for the update screen to appear, then hit Update Now.

Things can always change before the software makes its way to the general iPhone-owning public, but here are five new things iOS 26 can do on the Lock Screen as of the current developer beta.

Widgets Top or Bottom

In iOS 18, the row of widgets on your Lock Screen is literally locked in place right below the clock. In iOS 26, however, Customize mode lets you drag them down to the bottom of the screen, so that they hover just above the two quick actions (assuming you have any). The new optional positioning makes tapping a widget during one-handed use a lot easier. Note: to customize your Lock Screen, long press on it, then tap Customize.

Make the Time Bigger

In iOS 26, Apple has made it so that the clock on the Lock Screen can be expanded to fill more of the display, making it easier to read. This can be done in Customize mode thanks to a new drag handle on the bottom-right corner of the selection frame around the time.

You can make the digits take up half of the screen, though if you have any widgets, they will slide down to the bottom of the display. In addition, if you have a depth effect applied to a photo and pinch to crop, the time will automatically adjust to accommodate the subject. Bear in mind that the ability to expand the time seems to depend on the selected photo – if there's no space above the photo's subject, the drag handle won't appear.

Quicker Photo Access

The Lock Screen in iOS 26 has a different Photos selection button in Customize mode that appears as a miniature version of the currently displayed photo. If you tap it, you now have an option to Show Photo in Library, making it easier to find the picture, or you can take the existing route and tap Choose Photo to pick another image.

Spatial Scenes

The iPhone 15 Pro and newer models can take Spatial Photos, and while the 3D photos have a realistic depth to them, they're best viewed on Apple's Vision Pro. In iOS 26, however, the Photos app has inherited the Vision Pro's ability to convert 2D images into a 3D Spatial Scene. Not all photos work with the spatial feature, but if you create a new Lock Screen wallpaper, iOS will automatically serve up compatible photos with the feature already applied and ready to be viewed.

The feature is hard to appreciate with a still image, but the results are impressive as the image animates when you move your device. Spatial Scenes use machine learning rather than Apple Intelligence, which means the feature is available on iPhone 12 and newer devices.

Music Album Animations

iOS 26 introduces full-screen animated album art on the iPhone Lock Screen for select Apple Music tracks. By tapping the album art in the Lock Screen music player, the artwork expands and animates, creating a more immersive listening experience. While animated album art has been available within the Apple Music app for some time, this marks its first appearance on the Lock Screen. Not all songs support it yet, but the number is steadily increasing. Apple is also opening the Animated Album Art feature to third‑party developers, so expect it to work with apps like Spotify and YouTube Music soon.
This article, "iOS 26 Public Beta: Check Out What's New on Your iPhone Lock Screen" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Blender has revealed it is developing a native iPad version of its popular open source 3D creation suite, complete with a fully-featured multitouch interface tailored to artists who rely on tablets.


According to the Blender development team, the idea is to bring the full power of Blender to popular tablet devices without compromises, starting with the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil Pro. From the blog post announcement:

This requires adapting to platform-specific paradigms, but also to offer more task-oriented user interfaces with reduced information density. This will be achieved by extending existing input methods, and improving workspaces and application templates, running on top of a regular Blender build.

The first version will reportedly focus on sculpting and basic object manipulation, with hopes of bringing tools like the Grease Pencil and storyboarding to the iPad later.

The team's current mockups show a single-window workflow that prioritizes screen real estate and quick access to tools via floating UI elements and contextual overlays. Menus are collapsed by default, and the usual Tool Settings header has been replaced with floating panels tailored to pen input.

Notably, this isn't a simplified mobile version of the app. "There is no specific intention of simplifying or tailoring Blender to appeal to an audience that might not be familiar with Blender or 3D," the team explains. Instead, the goal is to implement new core features in Blender while designing a custom application template tailored for devices like the iPad.

"The audience is 'Blender users'," the developers emphasize. "There is no distinction between desktop or tablet users, the same way mouse/keyboard and graphic tablet users are treated equally."

No release date has been announced, but Blender says a live tech demo will be shown at SIGGRAPH 2025 in Vancouver, with follow-up discussions and design workshops planned for Blender HQ and the Blender Conference later in 2025.

After iPad Pro development has reached the app release stage, Blender is expected to make an appearance on other touch-based input devices including the Microsoft Surface, Huawei MatePad, and Wacom MovinkPad. Some of the work being done for tablets will also benefit the desktop version, such as a Quick Favorites editor and a Helper overlay with curated shortcuts.

It's a bold plan for the open-source 3D software, which has previously been limited to desktop platforms. The latest Blender build can be downloaded for free from the Blender website, for both Intel and Apple silicon Macs.
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If you've just downloaded the iOS 26 public beta on your iPhone, the first thing you'll notice is the new Liquid Glass design overhaul, which adopts translucent elements throughout the system interface and in stock apps.

On the Home Screen, the search bar, dock, and app folders are translucent. By default, app icons have a new layered glass look that gives them dimension, but there's also a new option for "Clear" glass-like icons. This setting turns your app icons transparent, and widgets too. So if you want the full glass effect, read on.


In iOS 18, Apple introduced Dark Mode and Tinted app icons. With iOS 26 and iPadOS 26, Apple adds a third visual style – Clear – that removes the color from app icons and widgets, and applies reflective, translucent effects to make them appear see-through.

There are two versions of the new Clear style. In Light mode, app icons appear semi-transparent, subtly darkening the wallpaper beneath them. Both icons and widgets resemble glass-like panels with layered text and images. In Dark mode, icons retain some transparency but feature a darker background, making them more pronounced while preserving the layered, translucent aesthetic.

Apple also includes an Auto option that dynamically adapts to the Appearance setting of your iPhone.

How to Get Clear App Icons in iOS 26

1. On your iPhone's Home Screen, long press an empty space until it enters jiggle mode.


2. Tap Edit in the top-left corner, then tap Customize in the pop-up menu.
   
   
3. Select Clear in the panel that appears at the bottom.


4. Choose Light, Dark, or Auto mode. If a mode makes icons or app labels hard to see, tap the sun icon in the top-left of the Customize panel to dim the wallpaper.
   
   

Accessibility Settings

If legibility is a problem, there are two toggles in Settings ➝ Accessibility ➝ Display & Text Size that impact the look of the Clear style of icons. Try playing with Reduce Transparency and Increase Contrast – just note that toggling on both settings will cause the icons to lose most of their translucency.


Liquid Glass extends to iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26. ‌iPadOS 26‌ looks a lot like ‌iOS 26‌, and macOS 26 has a translucent menu bar and dock background, plus it uses Liquid Glass for buttons, side bars, navigation bars, and the Control Center. What do you think of the new Clear style and the Liquid Glass redesign of iOS 26 more broadly? Let us know in the comments.
This article, "iOS 26: Make App Icons Clear on Your iPhone Home Screen" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple TV+ has announced its latest collaboration with Ben Stiller: an original documentary that explores the lives and legacy of his parents, legendary comedy duo Jerry Stiller (Seinfeld) and Anne Meara (Night at the Museum). Here’s when to expect it.

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Apple is notifying developers about automatic changes to the age rating of their apps and games, as it introduces more granular tiers as part of the upcoming expanded family tools. Here’s what that means.

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While macOS Tahoe 26 shares redesign polish with iOS and iPadOS, its best new features double down on what makes the Mac the Mac. Terminal upgrades, automation triggers, and power-user tweaks are the kind of Mac updates that you won’t find on the iPhone and iPad. Apple aims its focus on the Mac with these features.

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Today, Apple published on its Machine Learning Research blog, select recordings from its 2024 Workshop on Human-Centered Machine Learning (HCML), highlighting its work on responsible AI development.

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For the past hour, Starlink customers around the globe have had trouble using the service. Although unrelated, the outage comes just one day after T-Mobile launched its integration with the satellite network.

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Apple tends to be pretty tight-lipped when it comes to viewership data. But in a midseason press conference earlier today, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber offered a rare (but puzzling) update on how MLS Season Pass has been performing in 2025.

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AppleCare One, Apple's new subscription for customers to cover multiple devices with a single plan, is now available.


AppleCare One starts at $19.99 per month for up to three products, with the ability to add more for $5.99 per month for each additional device. The plan incudes all of the benefits that come with ‌AppleCare‌+, such as unlimited repairs for accidents, priority support, battery coverage, and more.

Subscribers can freely move their devices in and out of the plan at any time. ‌AppleCare‌ One also enables users to add products they already own that are up to four years old, providing they are in good condition, extending beyond the current 60-day window to purchase ‌AppleCare‌+. When a customer trades in a covered product with Apple, it is automatically removed from their ‌AppleCare‌ One plan and replaced with the new device.

‌AppleCare‌ One also expands theft and loss protection to the iPad and Apple Watch. Previously, it was only available for the iPhone.

‌AppleCare‌ One's pricing is the same regardless of the products that are covered. Apple says that a customer who enrolls their ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, and Apple Watch could save up to $11 per month versus enrolling in separate ‌AppleCare‌+ plans for each device.

Customers in the United States can now sign up for AppleCare One on their ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, or Mac, or by visiting an Apple Store.
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Amazon has the 2025 11-inch iPad available for $299 this week, which is a $50 discount off of the regular price. If you're looking for an entry-level iPad that's affordable yet still plenty powerful enough for day to day tasks, the 2025 iPad is what you want.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

If you need more storage space, Amazon also has the 256GB and 512GB models available at a $50 discount. Lower prices are available across all color options.





The iPad works with the USB-C Apple Pencil, which you can pick up from Amazon for $69. It's not too much of a discount, but the Apple Pencil rarely comes down in price.



It's a good time to buy an iPad because it was just refreshed earlier this year with a faster A16 chip, and we're not expecting a new model until 2026.

For more deals on iPads and other Apple products, we have a dedicated deals roundup.
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Apple’s next major iPhone software update is iOS 26, but not every iPhone will be compatible with the new software. Here are the iPhone models that will (and won’t) be supported by iOS 26 when it launches this fall.

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Last week, OpenAI announced Agent, a new feature on ChatGPT that can autonomously browse websites, analyze data, generate code, and even interact with third-party platforms like Google Drive and GitHub. Now, Agent is also available on the Mac app.

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iOS 26 isn't quite ready to launch yet, but we're far enough along in the testing process that Apple is seeding the update out to millions of public beta testers today. ‌iOS 26‌ is also now refined enough that we're able to share more detail on what this update will really mean for iPhone users when it comes in September.


When Apple showed off Liquid Glass on stage at WWDC 2025, it was dramatically different from iOS 18. Translucency was heavily used throughout the OS, with see-through buttons, navigation bars, menus, and more. There was such a heavy focus on translucency that early users expressed concerns over usability and readability.

During the developer beta testing period, Apple has walked back the more dramatic Liquid Glass effects somewhat, and gone back and forth on the design. The Control Center is no longer so transparent that it's hard to see the buttons, navigation bars look much more opaque, and notifications are no longer unreadable on busy backgrounds.

Beta 3 in particular resulted in complaints that Apple had gone too far walking back its design changes, mainly because it eliminated a lot of the transparency in apps. Apple then re-added some of that transparency in beta 4, which is what public beta testers are getting. Beta 4 is not as translucent as beta 1 and beta 2, but the reintroduction of more of the Liquid Glass effect has upset people who heavily favor legibility over design. There's still a significant split between those who prefer the translucency, and those who think it's a major design mistake.

Apple isn't done tweaking Liquid Glass, and the public beta feedback could result in better balance between visibility and the Liquid Glass look. It would be great if Apple implemented a transparency slider, allowing users to decide how much "frost" they want for the interface.

The Liquid Glass time and control buttons on the Lock Screen draw the eye and are aesthetically pleasing paired with a photo-based wallpaper. Apple added a feature where the time will dynamically change in size based on your wallpaper, and it's also able to dip further behind the subject of an image. This is available on Apple Watch for the Photos face too, and it works even better on the wrist. App icons have a stacked glass effect, and folders, the dock, the App Library, and Lock Screen notifications are still largely translucent. You can opt into the all-glass look for your app icons and widgets, which enhances the effect. Darker backgrounds will also give a glassier look, with Apple using more opaqueness for lighter backgrounds to improve readability.

While the actual glass look of the redesign has seen changes during the beta, navigation tweaks and simplifications have remained. The ‌Photos‌ app is the best example, and it has a streamlined two-tab main interface that reveals more as you need it. The pop-out menus and buttons that have replaced more complicated button-laden layouts from ‌iOS 18‌ are a welcome change across Apple's apps.

Some of the design updates are optional. Safari has a more compact design that tucks tab tools away behind a menu, but you can also choose to use the same Safari design that you have in ‌iOS 18‌. There's a unified Phone app that merges recent calls, missed calls, and voicemails, but you don't have to use it. There are places in the interface where the menus and navigation bars fall away when not needed to emphasize content, with Safari serving as an example. The tab bar collapses down when you scroll down, and comes right back up if you scroll up. It's an intuitive change that makes sense.

Apple walked back at least one controversial design change that was introduced in ‌iOS 18‌. The ‌Photos‌ app no longer has a unified view, and it's now split into a Library tab and a Collections tab. It's not the full navigation bar that was available before ‌iOS 18‌, but it is a compromise between the full bar and the unified look. Everything in ‌iOS 26‌ is round, and the soft curves work better than stark lines with the Liquid Glass look. Buttons that weren't round before are now. Menu bars have rounded corners and are more pill-shaped. Even the keyboard has more rounded edges.

There are features beyond Liquid Glass, though maybe not as many as we've had in past years. Apple didn't emphasize Apple Intelligence as much as it did at WWDC 2024 for obvious reasons, but there are quite a few Apple Intelligence features in ‌iOS 26‌.

• Live Translation - In the Messages, FaceTime, and Phone apps, you can get real-time translations for conversations with someone that doesn't speak your language. It's text-based translation in Messages and ‌FaceTime‌, and voiceover translation in the Phone app. Languages are limited right now, but it worked well in our testing. Translations were almost always accurate, and the feature is fast.


• Visual Intelligence for Screenshots - You can take a screenshot and bring up Visual Intelligence tools to ask questions about it or look it up in an app. It's handy if you remember that it exists, but it may not be a natural workflow for many people. It mostly leverages ChatGPT, Google Search, and a few other apps, and many of us are already able to quickly get screenshots to these services without Apple as a middleman.


• Wallet Order Tracking - The Wallet app can aggregate all of your purchases in one spot, pulling order and tracking information from the Mail app. It's a "beta" feature in a beta, and it's not working perfectly. It's not always great at linking an order email with a subsequent tracking email, so you may need to spend time manually marking packages as delivered.


• Image Playground - Apple didn't mention this at WWDC, but Image Playground in iOS 26 is a lot better at image generation, especially when you're generating an image based on a person. Apple also integrated ChatGPT styles that open up more options for the look of an image, but it's not useful unless you have a ChatGPT subscription. And if you do, you can just use ChatGPT directly for whatever you want to create.


• Genmoji - Genmoji has a feature that lets you select two or more existing emoji characters to create something new, and it's a clever way to give users a better idea of how to use the feature. Creating a ‌Genmoji‌ with a strawberry and a frog was entirely possible before, but now you can tap those emoji as a starting off point. The end results do tend to have a more emoji-style look because they're based on an emoji.


• Reminders - Siri can suggest Reminders you might want to add to your reminders list based on content found in Messages and Mail. If you're given a lot of tasks with either of these apps, it could be useful. There's also a categorization option that automatically organizes reminders into logical lists.


• Shortcuts - Apple added ‌Apple Intelligence‌ options into the Shortcuts app, but unfortunately, it doesn't really make it easier to create and use shortcuts. Making a shortcut is no more intuitive than it was before, and it's still a feature that's out of reach for casual users who either don't want to invest a bunch of time in shortcut creation, or those who don't quite grasp how it all works.


• Battery Changes - ‌iOS 26‌ has better battery reporting tools, but this one is limited to newer devices. It provides a weekly view of battery usage and a comparison of how much battery you're using currently vs. your typical average. It's a surprisingly helpful metric, and it informs a new Adaptive Power mode that can adjust things like display brightness and background activities if it detects that you're using more battery than you usually do.

Apple didn't lock all of the useful functionality in ‌iOS 26‌ behind an ‌Apple Intelligence‌ barrier, so there are great new features that users with older iPhones will be able to use.

• Call Screening - The Phone app can ask a caller for their name and reason for calling, with that information relayed to you before you answer. This might end up being too impersonal for some, but it is an effective way to screen for spam.


• Hold Assist - Hold Assist does what the name suggests. If you're on hold, you can put them on hold too. The ‌iPhone‌ will alert you when someone is back on the line.


• Messages Backgrounds - Backgrounds in Messages conversations can be customized, provided you're chatting with another ‌iPhone‌ user. Every conversation can have a different background, but be warned - changing the background changes it for everyone. Apple needs to add a per-conversation toggle for backgrounds, because right now, it's all or nothing. There may also be instances where someone wants to set a background that's only for themselves, something that's also not an option.


• Messages Copy/Paste - If you've ever wanted to copy just a tracking number, email, or some other part of an iMessage rather than just the entire message, that's finally an option in ‌iOS 26‌.


• AutoMix - AutoMix is an Apple Music feature that transitions from one song to another as the song that's playing ends. It uses time stretching and beat matching for a smooth shift, and it's almost like having an AI DJ in your pocket. It's not great with all genres yet, but it's a feature that ‌Apple Music‌ users are going to love.


• Spatial Scenes - Spatial Scenes adds a little bit of depth to a 2D photo, giving it a more 3D look and feel. If you've ever seen those spatial Facebook images that have a little bit of movement based on depth information, it's a lot like that.


• Apple Maps - Apple Maps can learn your frequent commutes and provide useful information like whether there are any delays that are going to slow you down when you're trying to get to work. Apple also added a Saved Places feature that keeps track of places that you've visited. For some people, that's going to be an unwanted privacy nightmare, but for others, it's a cool way to remember spots you liked and want to visit again. It's totally opt-in.


• Games - There's a Games app, but will people use it? Will it result in any notable uptick in mobile gaming? We've barely touched the app during beta, and it doesn't do anything useful that the App Store app doesn't do. There's a feature for challenging friends to beat your score in a game, but it's limited to a handful of apps right now.

Should You Update?

‌iOS 26‌ is fairly stable at this point, but keep in mind that it is a beta update and things can go wrong. Apps can break, features can stop working, the battery drain can be intense, and resprings and crashes can be frequent. Apple doesn't recommend installing betas on a main device.

We haven't had significant problems with the developer betas over the last month and a half, but it's not worth it if you have essential apps or need to maximize battery life.

If you're anticipating installing ‌iOS 26‌ and are worried about the design changes, don't be. The core features of iOS are still there, and everything that's changed is fairly intuitive. It's easy to adjust to the new look and many of the interface updates, and changes that are harder to adjust to such as the new Safari bar and the all-in-one look for the Phone app can be turned off.

Read More About iOS 26

We have a dedicated iOS 26 roundup that walks through all of the different ‌iOS 26‌ features, as well as multiple guides that go into even more depth.
This article, "iOS 26 Review: Testing Apple's Biggest iPhone Update" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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If you've been thinking about picking up a MacBook Pro, Amazon has the latest M4 models on sale this week. The base M4 MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD is available for $1,400, down from $1,600.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

The discount is available on both the silver and the space black models, with delivery as soon as tomorrow for Prime users.



Apple also has higher-end models on sale. The 14-inch M4 Pro models are up to $261 off, while the 14-inch M4 Max models are up to $353 off. You can get up to $450 off one of the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models.

14-inch MacBook Pro

• M4 10-Core/16GB RAM/512GB - $1,399.00 ($200 off)


• M4 10-Core/16GB RAM/1TB - $1,589.00 ($210 off)


• M4 10-Core/24GB RAM/1TB - $1,769.00 ($230 off)


• M4 Pro 12-Core/24GB RAM/512GB - $1,785.00 ($215 off)


• M4 Pro 14-Core/24GB RAM/1TB - $2,138.00 ($261 off)


• M4 Max 14-Core/36GB RAM/1TB - $2,846.00 ($353 off)

16-inch MacBook Pro

• M4 Pro 14-Core/24GB RAM/512GB - $2,234.00 ($265 off)


• M4 Pro 14-Core/48GB RAM/512GB - $2,549.99 ($250 off)


• M4 Max 14-Core/36GB RAM/1TB - $3,099.00 ($400 off)


• M4 Max 16-Core/48GB RAM/1TB - $3,549.00 ($450 off)

Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.
This article, "Get Up to $450 Off an M4-Series MacBook Pro" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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This is Rumor Replay, a weekly column at 9to5Mac offering a quick rundown of the most recent Apple product rumors, with analysis and commentary. Today: a curious M5 iPad Pro rumor, iOS 27 and the iPhone Fold, HomePod Touch, and more. Here are this week’s Apple rumors.

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The iOS 26 public beta is now available, giving iPhone users everywhere the option to try Apple’s latest and greatest features. This year, you can check out Liquid Glass, new Messages features, and more.

Here’s how to install the iOS 26 public beta on your iPhone (for free!)…

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Apple has launched public betas for iOS 26 and its companion updates, including a HomePod software 26 public beta. Here’s what you should know about the release.

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Apple today provided public beta testers with updated beta firmware for the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4, allowing them to test the new AirPods features in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe. The firmware is only available to developers and public beta testers at the current time, and a device running ‌iOS 26‌, ‌iPadOS 26‌, or macOS 26 is required to install the update.


The firmware adds several features that Apple is debuting alongside ‌iOS 26‌, ‌iPadOS 26‌, and macOS Tahoe.

The ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 and ‌AirPods 4‌ support improved audio quality for phone calls and video calls, plus studio-quality audio recording for interviews, podcasts, and videos. There's also an option to use the AirPods as a camera remote with the Camera app to take photos or start a video recording.

With ‌iOS 26‌, ‌iPadOS 26‌, and macOS Tahoe, Apple added a firmware update installation option that's available from the AirPods settings interface when the AirPods are connected to an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. This is the first time that Apple has provided beta firmware to public beta testers.
This article, "Apple Releases Public Beta Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple has launched its first ever public beta for AirPods firmware, bringing forthcoming iOS 26 features to AirPods users ahead of their fall launch. Here’s everything new.

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The is getting a handful of new features with tvOS 26. tvOS 26 is available now as a public beta, and will be available as a free software update later this year for everyone to install.

tvOS 26 includes updates to Apple Music Sing, easier profile switching, better support for AirPlay speakers that are not HomePods, and a visual design refresh featuring Liquid Glass material. Here’s everything new …

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Apple is allowing members of its public beta testing program to download and install iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 starting today. You can sign up for the public betas on Apple's beta website. The first public beta features the same content as the fourth developer beta that came out earlier this week, though there is a new fourth beta available for developers as well.


Beta testers that have registered on Apple's website can download the ‌iOS 26‌ and ‌iPadOS 26‌ updates by opening the Settings app, going to the General section, tapping on Software Update, and choosing the ‌iOS 26‌ or ‌iPadOS 26‌ Public Beta options.

‌iOS 26‌ and ‌iPadOS 26‌ feature Apple's Liquid Glass design, with a visual aesthetic that focuses on transparency. Icons, menu buttons, navigation bars, and more reflect and refract light with subtle animations. There are pop-out menus in some areas, tab bars shrink down, and everything has a more rounded look.


There are new Apple Intelligence features like Visual Intelligence for screenshots, updated order tracking in the Wallet app, new features in Reminders, and Live Translation for the Messages, Phone, and FaceTime apps. Image Playground has ChatGPT style options, and Genmoji supports mixing two or more emoji characters to make something new.


2D photos have a more 3D look with a Spatial Scene feature, and Safari has updated navigation. In the Phone app, there are new Call Screening and Hold Assist features that will save you time, while the Messages app supports customizable backgrounds and polls. Apple Music has a DJ-like AutoMix feature, CarPlay has an overhauled interface, there's a new Apple Games app, and Preview has come to the iPhone for the first time.


For more on all of the new features in the updates, we have a dedicated iOS 26 roundup and a separate iPadOS 26 roundup.
This article, "Apple Releases First iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 Public Betas" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple today provided public beta testers with the opportunity to test the newest version of macOS, macOS Tahoe, ahead of its launch this fall. If you want to sign up for the macOS Tahoe public beta, you can do so on Apple's beta website. The first Tahoe public beta is identical to the fourth developer beta that was released on Tuesday.


Public beta testers can download macOS Tahoe from the Software Update section of the Settings app after signing up for the betas.

macOS Tahoe has the same Liquid Glass design as iOS 26, and it extends to app icons, folders, the Dock, in-app navigation, menus, the Control Center, and the Menu Bar. The Control Center and the Menu Bar are both customizable, and you're also able to customize folders, app icons, and widgets.


Safari has an updated tab design and a redesigned sidebar, and Apple has brought the Phone app to the Mac for making phone calls through Wi-Fi Calling. The Phone app supports the new Call Screening and Hold Assist features.

Spotlight has been overhauled with improved search and the ability to execute hundreds of actions without opening up an app. There's a new Games app with a Game Overlay feature, and developers have access to Metal 4.

More on what's new can be found in our macOS Tahoe roundup.
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The iOS 26 public beta is now available, the next major update for iPhone software. iOS 26 brings an all-new Liquid Glass design, updates to your favorite iPhone apps and features, and much more.

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