Starting with watchOS 26, the Notes app is available on the Apple Watch.
With the Notes app on the Apple Watch, you can finally view your notes right on your wrist. You can also create new notes with Siri, or by using the on-screen keyboard, and they will sync to your iPhone, iPad, and Mac via iCloud.
Other available functions in the Notes app on the Apple Watch include pinning notes, unlocking notes, and completing checklist items.
This is a smaller yet very useful change coming with watchOS 26, which is now available in beta. The update will be released to all users later this year for the Apple Watch Series 6 and newer, Apple Watch SE 2, and all Apple Watch Ultra models.
In iOS 26 beta 1, Apple has seemingly tweaked the swipe-to-go-back gesture to make it easier to navigate screens on bigger iPhones.
In iOS 18, many apps allow you to navigate back to the previous screen by swiping with your thumb from the left edge of the display. This is generally easier than tapping a back button in the top-left corner, especially if you're navigating with one hand.
However, to trigger the gesture, you need to start swiping from the very edge of the screen, which is harder if you have small hands or you're using a larger device like an iPhone 16 Pro Max.
To make things easier in iOS 26, you no longer have to start the rightward swipe at the very edge of the screen. Now you can start the gesture from anywhere, like the middle of the display. Providing you're not thumbing an interactive UI element, the swipe-to-go-back gesture will still be triggered.
Currently the gesture works in many system apps including Settings, Contacts, Music, and the App Store. It also seems to work in some third-party apps, although support is likely to expand once developers update their apps in time for the release of iOS 26 in the fall.
Apple's first iOS 26 beta includes a new "Keep Audio in Headphones" setting that addresses a common frustration for iPhone users juggling multiple audio devices.
Found in Settings ➝ General ➝ AirPlay & Continuity, the new toggle prevents audio from automatically switching to newly connected devices like car speakers or Bluetooth speakers when you're already listening through headphones or AirPods. Instead of having your music suddenly blast through your car's sound system, audio continues playing through your original output device.
This seemingly simple addition solves an awkward scenario many users will have experienced. Say you're listening to a podcast through AirPods while walking to your car, only to have it unexpectedly resume through CarPlay when you start the engine. Now you can stop that happening by enabling this option.
When iOS 26 launches this fall, the feature should provide welcome relief for anyone tired of their iPhone making assumptions about where they want their audio played. iOS 26 is available in developer beta, with a public beta dropping next month.
In tvOS 26, Apple Music Sing now lets users turn their iPhone into a wireless microphone for Apple TV karaoke sessions, with voices amplified through the television's audio system.
The feature supports multiple participants, allowing friends to join using their own iPhones to queue songs or send emoji reactions that appear onscreen. Real-time lyrics display on the Apple TV alongside visual effects that respond to the music.
The broad new language support in Apple's platforms extends to new Lyrics Translation and Pronunciation features in Sing. Translation covers select songs between English-Chinese (simplified), English-Japanese, Korean-Chinese (simplified), Korean-English, Korean-Japanese, and Spanish-English language pairs.
Meanwhile, pronunciation assistance spans multiple scripts including Cantonese to Jyutping, Chinese variants to Pinyin, Hindi to Romanized Hindi, Japanese to Romanized Japanese, and Korean to both Katakana and Romanized Korean formats. Punjabi songs gain Romanized Punjabi pronunciation support.
The updated Sing experience requires iPhone 11 or later models paired with a third-generation Apple TV 4K. tvOS 26 is available now in developer beta, with a public beta coming next month.
In watchOS 26, the Apple Watch Workout app has received its biggest interface overhaul since it launched, introducing a redesigned layout that promises easier access to key features.
Four new corner buttons now provide quick access to popular workout customization tools including Workout Views, Custom Workout, Pacer, and Race Route. Apple has also integrated music and podcast setup directly into the Workout app itself. Users can now configure audio to automatically begin playing when they start exercising, eliminating the need to switch between apps mid-workout.
The update includes intelligent playlist selection through Apple Music integration (with a subscription). It can now automatically choose playlists based on both workout type and individual listening preferences, though users retain the option to manually select from suggestions.
For podcast listeners, the app will surface recommendations based on previous listening habits during specific workout types. A runner who typically listens to true crime podcasts during jogs, for instance, might see those suggestions prominently featured.
The corner button approach is a departure from the previous scrolling interface, and should hopefully make one-handed operation easier during exercise. watchOS 26 is currently available in developer beta, with a public beta expected to arrive next month.
Apple in watchOS 26 has added a new one-handed wrist-flick gesture to easily dismiss notifications, but the gesture only works on newer Apple Watch models.
When you raise your wrist to check a notification but aren’t ready to respond, you can now simply flick your wrist – turn it over and back – to dismiss it. The quick gesture lets you dismiss notifications and incoming calls, silence timers and alarms, and return to the watch face.
It works by using the accelerometer and gyroscope in your watch, along with a machine learning model that analyzes your wrist movement. However, the functionality is limited to Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
The watchOS 26 interface adopts Apple's new Liquid Glass design, while Apple Intelligence powers a new Workout Buddy feature that provides personalized, spoken motivation. There's also a new layout for the Workout app, and it now offers music to listen to based on your tastes and workout type. Apple Watch now also supports Live Translation in Messages.
watchOS 26 is available for testing now through the Apple Developer Program, and a public beta will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program next month.
In iOS 26, Apple updated the Battery section of the Settings app to provide a much more in-depth look at how your iPhone usage impacts battery life and how much battery apps are draining, plus there are new battery management tools.
At the top of the Battery interface, there's a readout of your current battery and the time that you last charged. If your iPhone is currently charging, it will let you know how much time is remaining until a full charge.
Battery usage is no longer split by 24 hours and 10 days, with Apple providing just a weekly view of average battery use along with a comparison of how much battery you're currently using compared to your typical average.
The new comparison feature will let you know if you're using more, the same, or less battery life than you do on most days. It shows which apps used more battery and by how much, which makes it easier to tell what's draining your battery.
App battery usage includes specific details, such as letting you know if an app ran in the background longer, was on your screen longer, or sent more notifications than normal.
You can tap back through the previous 7 days to see how much battery you used on a given day, with a breakdown for active use and screen idle use. It also shows when you charged and for how long.
There's still a Battery Health section where you can see charge cycles and maximum capacity and a Charge Limit section where you can limit charging to 80 percent. Apple also added a new Power Mode option where you can toggle on Low Power Mode or the new Adaptive Power Mode. Adaptive Power Mode detects when iPhone usage is higher than normal and makes small performance adjustments like lowering display brightness to extend battery life.
These new battery features are available in iOS 26 and iPadOS 26, but Apple hasn't changed the Mac battery readouts. iOS 26 is limited to developers right now, though a public beta is coming next month. iOS 26 will launch to the public in September.
While the new software updates that Apple showed off today are only available to developers at the current time, Apple does plan to release public betas.
In the fine print for most of its software announcements, Apple says that public betas for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26 will be coming "next month," aka July. Apple has been releasing public betas during July for quite some time now, as the timeline allows for a few rounds of developer beta testing for feature refinements before a wider beta rollout.
So when in July will we get the public beta? Here are Apple's past release dates:
iOS 18 - July 15
iOS 17 - July 12
iOS 16 - July 11
iOS 15 - June 30
iOS 14 - July 9
Apple tends to aim for around the middle of the month, so we could get the public betas the week of June 14, but the week before is a possibility too. The public beta usually follows the second or third developer beta, depending on timing and what needs to be fixed and refined.
Apple will provide public betas of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, HomePod Software 26, and the AirPods firmware. Apple doesn't typically provide beta firmware updates for public beta testers, but the company's beta website says it will be an option. Apple doesn't plan to offer a visionOS public beta, and that update will remain limited to developers.
After the developer beta and the public beta testing period, the new software updates will see a public launch in the fall.
At today's WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a new design that will inform the next decade of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS development, so needless to say, it was a busy day. Apple also unveiled a ton of new features for the iPhone, an overhauled Spotlight interface for the Mac, and a ton of updates that make the iPad more like a Mac than ever before.
Apple's event lasted for an hour and a half, but we've recapped all of the announcements in a 10 minute video, just in case you don't want to sit through the entire spiel. We've also rounded up all of our coverage below, so you can dive deeper into any of the new features.
iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe, and Apple's other updates are available in an early beta phase for developers. Apple plans to introduce a public beta in July, and a public launch will follow in September.
For more on what's new, stay tuned to MacRumors, because we're going to have a ton more coverage in the coming weeks and months, including hands-on videos, guides, and in-depth looks at new features throughout the beta testing process.
With iOS 26, Apple added a bunch of new options for the Background Sounds feature. If you're unfamiliar with it, it is an Accessibility option that allows your iPhone to play soothing background noise, like white noise or rain.
Prior to iOS 26, there were eight Background Sounds options, but now there are a total of sixteen. Here's what's new:
Babble
Steam
Airplane
Boat
Bus
Train
Rain on Roof
Quiet Night
These join the original eight, which include Balanced Noise, Bright Noise, Dark Noise, Ocean, Rain, Stream, Night, and Fire.
Background Sounds can be toggled on in the Settings app under Accessibility > Audio and Visual > Background Sounds. Once you've opted in and selected a sound, you can toggle Background Sounds on and off through the Hearing Accessibility shortcut in the Control Center.
iOS 26 is only available for developers right now, but Apple plans to release a public beta in July. The software will launch in September alongside new iPhones.
There are a long list of new features in iOS 26, some of which Apple highlighted at today's keynote event, and some of which were quietly added. We've rounded up some of the smaller changes but still useful changes that have been introduced in the update.
Home bar - The Home bar that's meant to remind you that you can swipe up to get to the Home Screen has been removed from apps, for the most part. When you open an app, it shows briefly, but then it disappears.
Satellite Weather - In iOS 26, you can get Weather updates over a satellite connection when you don't have a cellular or Wi-Fi signal available. This doesn't appear to be live in the beta yet, but it seems to be coming.
Alarms - You can customize the snooze length for your alarms.
Camera - If your camera lens is dirty, your iPhone can detect it and suggest that you clean it.
Dictation - When you're dictating something using the Dictation feature, you can now spell a word or a name if needed.
Messages - You can now select partial text in a text message bubble, rather than having to select the whole thing.
Group Texts - There are typing indicators in group chats, plus there's an add a contact button if there's someone in the group text that you don't know.
Messages Filtering - If you have the Screen Unknown Senders option turned on, there are new filtering options. You can allow Time Sensitive alerts, Personal messages from businesses or organizations, Transactions like order receipts, or Promotions. There are toggles for each category.
Blocked Contacts - You can see a list of people that you've blocked in the Privacy and Security section of the Settings app.
AutoFill Payments - You can now see and manage your AutoFill cards in the Wallet app. There are options for adding a new payment, or changing details like expiration date for an existing payment method.
Reminders - There's a Reminders Control Center button.
Notes - You can export a note into a Markdown file.
Apple Music - Apple Music has an option to create playlist folders.
Files - In the Files app, when you select Browse, you'll now see a list of folders with an option to tap it to expand nested folders. Before, you had to tap into the folder entirely to see what was in it.
Late Night Mode - Under Sounds and Haptics in Settings, Apple added a "Late Night Mode."
Microphone Selection - In Sounds and Haptics, you can select a microphone if you have a Bluetooth mic connected.
Battery - Your iPhone will tell you if you're using more battery than normal at any given point in the day, and it flags apps that are using more power. You can also see time to charge in the Battery section of the Settings app and on the Lock Screen.
Stage Manager - This is technically iPadOS 26, but older iPads can now use Stage Manager.
Turn Off Transparency - Hate the new glass look? There is an option to turn it off in Accessibility settings with the Reduce Transparency option.
Background Sounds - There are many more Background Sounds options like airplane, rain on roof, quiet night, fire, and more.
As of right now, only developers have access to an early version of iOS 26, but Apple is planning to provide a public beta in July. iOS 26 will see a public launch in September alongside new iPhones.
Found something new that we didn't include here? Let us know in the comments below.
With iPadOS 26, Apple is moving the iPad closer to the Mac than ever before with a host of productivity and multitasking improvements.
Here's everything Apple today announced for the iPad that's set to make the device more Mac-like:
App windows on iPad can now be freely resized.
Multiple windows can be open at once, including multiple instances of the same app.
Windows can be snapped into halves, thirds, or quarters using new tiling gestures.
Each window has red, yellow, and green traffic-light controls for closing, minimizing, and maximizing.
Apps remember their window size and position when reopened.
On external displays, app windows remember their layout.
A swipe-up Exposé gesture reveals all open windows, similar to Mission Control on Mac.
A new menu bar appears on swipe or cursor hover, giving access to app commands like on Mac.
Third-party apps can implement their own menu bar options.
Users can search for commands in the menu bar.
The cursor is now a true pointer, rather than a morphing circle.
Cursor interactions on iPad now match the behavior and precision found on macOS.
The Files app now features resizable columns and collapsible folders.
Folders in the Files app can be customized with colors, icons, and emoji.
Users can assign a default app for opening each file type.
Folders can be dragged into the Dock for quick access, like Finder stacks in the macOS Dock.
The Preview app, long a macOS staple, is now available on iPad for PDF and image editing.
Background Tasks allow long-running operations to continue while using other apps.
Users can choose different microphones for each app or website, reflecting macOS input/output controls.
Audio and video from video calls can be captured locally in high quality.
Notes can now be exported as Markdown files.
The line between the iPad and the Mac is now more blurred than ever. Do you think these new features are enough to enhance the iPad? Let us know in the comments.
iOS 26 enhances the Apple Wallet boarding pass experience.
First, Apple announced that the boarding passes now support Live Activities, so you can keep track of a flight at a glance on your iPhone's Lock Screen. This functionality was already available with the Flighty app, but now you can view a flight's arrival time and more on the Lock Screen if you use Apple's built-in Wallet app.
Second, the Wallet app now displays relevant information below the boarding pass, such as Apple Maps directions to the appropriate airport terminal, a shortcut to the Find My app's newer baggage tracking feature, and more.
The first iOS 26 developer beta is now available, with a public beta to follow next month. The update will be released later this year.
Apple today introduced new beta firmware for the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4, with an 8A5279d version number. The firmware is only available to developers at the current time, and a device running iOS 26, iPadOS 26, or macOS 26 is required to install the update.
The new 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 the latest updates, 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.
macOS Tahoe does away with the Launchpad feature that's designed to show you all of the apps on your Mac, instead replacing it with a new "Applications" interface that's similar to the App Library on the iPhone and iPad.
The Applications interface organizes apps by category, like Utilities, Productivity and Finance, Social, Creativity, Information and Reading, Entertainment, and Other. There's also a Suggested section at the top of the interface.
The Launchpad replacement appears to be part of Apple's big Spotlight overhaul, and it can also be used to access Actions, Files, and Clipboard, with quick access keyboard shortcuts. Apple calls these "Browse Modes."
Command + 1 opens up Applications.
Command + 2 opens Files.
Command + 3 opens Actions.
Command + 4 opens Clipboard.
Actions are what you can do from the new version of Spotlight, and there are options ranging from sending a message to starting a timer. Clipboard brings up your clipboard history, including images you've copied and things you've pasted.
By default, the Applications interface shows your apps in a tiled view organized by category, but there are other options. You can choose a list view that's either organized by category or by app name, or you can use the alphabetical option in a tiled view.
macOS Tahoe and the revamped Applications interface that replaces Launchpad is only available to developers right now. Apple plans to make a public beta available in July, with a launch to follow in September.
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further.
During its WWDC 2025 keynote today, Apple said that 13 additional vehicle brands will "soon" offer iPhone car keys, including Acura, Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, Porsche, Rivian, Smart, Lucid Motors, Tata Motors, Hongqi, WEY, Chery, and Voyah.
Apple did not provide an exact timeframe or any other details.
Apple News+ subscribers who upgrade to iOS 26 can now access an all-new game, which Apple calls "Emoji Game." The idea is to solve puzzles by completing words and phrases with emoji characters.
Apple will show some words and blank spots with a selection of emoji and emoji combos below, and the idea is to drag an emoji into the blank spot to fill in the word.
If the word is disappear, for example, you would drag a pear to the blank spot in the word. Pear could also be used to finish off "fruitful."
The game will be limited to Apple News+ subscribers. Apple News+ is priced at $12.99 per month, but the whole family can use the service. Apple has been aiming to increase the number of games that are available, and the app also features Crossword, Quartiles, and Sudoku.
Developers with an Apple News+ subscription can play Emoji Game now, and it will be available to the public when iOS 26 is released in September.
macOS Tahoe is the final software update that Intel-based Macs will get, as Apple works to phase them out following its transition to Apple silicon.
During its Platforms State of the Union event, Apple said that Intel Macs won't get macOS 27, coming next year, though there could still be updates that add security fixes.
Support for Intel Macs is being phased out because Apple wants to put all of its focus and innovation on Apple silicon machines.
Apple started its transition to Apple silicon with the 2020 launch of the M1 Mac machines, and two years ago, the company completed the transition to Apple silicon.
