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Like iOS 26, iPadOS 26 adopts Apple's new Liquid Glass material, for an interface that's glossy, shiny, and more transparent than before. But Liquid Glass isn't the biggest change that Apple made to the iPad's software. Multitasking got a much needed revamp that lets you use an ‌iPad‌ like a Mac, if that's what you want to do.

In iPadOS 26, ‌iPad‌ windows work like Mac windows. You can open up multiple app windows, move them around on the display, and layer them over one another if you want. You can essentially put them anywhere you want.

Some older iPads are limited to four open app windows at a time, but if you have a newer model, you can have more apps open and running at one time, swapping between them with a tap. Every ‌iPad‌ that's able to run iPadOS 26 can use the new multitasking features in some capacity.

The updated windowing is opt-in, so when you install iPadOS 26, you can decide whether you want to use apps in full screen or use multitasking. It's great that people who want to use an ‌iPad‌ like a Mac finally have that option, and the window system is a much better solution than the Slide Over and Split View multitasking.

If you turn on windowing and then want to turn it off later, you can just swipe down into Control Center and hit the new toggle.

Speaking of Slide Over and Split View, those are gone. Stage Manager is still around, so if you use that in your ‌iPad‌ workflow for grouping up different apps and changing workspaces, it's still available to you.

Resizing windows in iPadOS 26 is simple. There's a small "handle" at the bottom right corner of every window, and if you tap it and drag, you can change the size of the open window. You can open additional apps from the dock or by tapping over to the Home Screen.

To move an open app window, drag it from the menu bar at the top. That's also new, by the way. Apps on the ‌iPad‌ have Mac-like menu bars where you'll find relevant in-app options, though keep in mind third-party developers need to update their apps to take advantage of this functionality. You can close an app, minimize an app, or make an app full screen using the "traffic light" buttons at the top left of each ‌iPad‌ window, which are borrowed directly from the Mac.

If you long press on those buttons, you'll see several options for moving, resizing, and arranging your open windows. You can move an app to the top, bottom, left, or right of the display, or choose one of the tiling options for displaying up to four apps in a neat arrangement.

The dock features an App Library to make it easy to get to all of the apps you have installed on your ‌iPad‌. If you swipe up from the bottom of the ‌iPad‌'s display, your open windows are swept to the sides in a new Exposé view so you can get a clear view of everything that's open.

To add one more Mac-like touch, Apple turned the ‌iPad‌'s cursor into an arrow. So if you're using a peripheral like the Magic Keyboard's trackpad, the cursor now looks like it does on the Mac.

If you don't want to use any of these multitasking features and prefer ‌iPad‌ apps to be full screen, you can just keep using the ‌iPad‌ in the same way you always have.

There are some other nice features that are worth mentioning in iPadOS 26 beyond the multitasking.

• Files - There's a Mac-style list view for the ‌iPad‌ files app, so you don't need to view everything in a tiled view like before. Columns are resizable, and folders can be customized with colors and emoji. It's a nice change if you use the Files app regularly, but the best part for power users may be the option to choose a default app for a particular file type.
• Background Tasks - If you download a large file, export a large video file, or do something similar that's going to take a long time, you can now run those tasks in the background. For exporting an FCP video, for example, you can start the process, open up another app, and see progress through a Live Activity interface.
• Phone app - iPadOS 26 brings the Phone app to the ‌iPad‌, and it works through Wi-Fi calling on an iPhone associated with your Apple Account. This is likely of limited use for a lot of people, but it's useful to have the option to place a call from the ‌iPad‌. Tools like Call Screening, Live Translation, and Hold Assist work on the ‌iPad‌.

There are other useful and/or fun features on the ‌iPad‌ that are new in iPadOS 26, but almost everything else is also in ‌iOS 26‌ and available on the ‌iPhone‌. We did an iOS 26 review that discusses new features in Messages, Apple Music, Photos, Camera, and more.

Availability

iPadOS 26 is available to developers, and as of this week, public beta testers. It came out on Thursday, and all you need to do to get it is sign up on Apple's beta testing website.

Should You Update?

iPadOS 26 is fairly stable, so updating should be safe. You're going to want to make a backup before you upgrade, just in case you need to go back to iOS 18.

If the ‌iPad‌ is a device that you use for work or anything else that's crucial, you might want to hold off. This is a beta, and while the software runs well, betas can have bugs that may not be addressed right away.

Read More

We have more on all of the features that are in iPadOS 26 in our dedicated iPadOS 26 roundup.

Amazon has the iMac available at a discount, so if you're thinking about getting a new desktop machine for back to school, make sure you're not paying full price.

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.

Apple's base M4 iMac with 8-core CPU is available for as low as $1,149 from Amazon, down from $1,299. That price is only for the pink version, and you'll have to pay around $1,185 for the other colors.

The higher-tier M4 iMac with 10-core CPU, 16GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD is available for as low as $1,365, down from $1,499. Some colors are a little more, but discounts on all shades except for orange and yellow are over $100.

The M4 iMac with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD is also on sale, with Amazon dropping the price as low as $1,542, down from $1,700. The version with 24GB RAM and a 512GB SSD is $1,716, down from $1,900.

Looking for more discounts? Make sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we highlight the best Apple-related deals that are currently available.

Several U.S. states are offering sales tax holidays in the coming weeks, and some of those sales tax savings are available on Apple products.

Apple's website lists all of the states that can get Apple devices without sales tax, and the dates for the tax-free periods. Purchases with no sales tax can be made in Arkansas, Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia in the coming weeks and days. There was also a tax-free holiday in Alabama, but it has since ended.

The tax-free holidays in New Mexico and Tennessee start today and last through July 27. Tax holidays in other states will take place in August.

During these tax-free holidays, select Apple products purchased online or in retail stores will not be subject to sales tax. According to Apple, tax savings may not appear at checkout, but will be reflected on the final receipt.

Devices that are eligible for tax-free purchase vary by state, and some states also have price limits, so it's worth checking the specifics for your state. Apple's website has details.

In New Mexico, for example, computers that are $1,000 or less and accessories under $500 are eligible, while in Tennessee, tax breaks are available on Macs, iPads, and related accessories under $1,500.

In Arkansas, all Macs, iPads, iPhones, and the Vision Pro can be purchased tax free, and Massachusetts removes tax from purchases under $2,500. In Virginia, only cell phone chargers and batteries under $60 are eligible for tax-free purchase.

Sales tax holidays are useful for back to school shopping for students, and for Apple devices, the savings can be combined with Apple's Back to School Promotion. Students are eligible for a free or discounted accessory like the AirPods 4 with the purchase of an eligible Mac or iPad.

If you want to pick up an Apple Watch, Amazon has some deals on the Apple Watch Series 10 and the Apple Watch SE that are worth checking out. Discounts are available on both the cellular and GPS models.

Apple Watch Series 10

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.

Amazon has the 42mm GPS Apple Watch Series 10 for as low as $299.00, down from $399.00, as well as the 46mm GPS model for $359.00, down from $429.00.

Apple Watch SE

In addition to Series 10 deals, Amazon is selling the 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE for $169.00 today, down from $249.00, and it's the lowest price we've seen on the Apple Watch SE.

You can also get the 44mm GPS Apple Watch SE for $219.00 today on Amazon, down from $279.00.

For more discounts, take a look at Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

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 of the ‌iOS 26‌ public beta yesterday, but it's out now. The update has a build number of 23A5297n, which is different from the 23A5297m public beta that other testers received.

Public beta testers with an ‌iPhone‌ 11 can download the beta software using the Software Update section of the Settings app. Developers with an ‌iPhone‌ 11 will also see an update. Apple says that the beta fixes an issue that could cause an issue with the way that folders are displayed on the Home Screen.

Fixed: On iPhone 11, if you have organized apps into folders on your Home Screen, you might only see the leftmost column of the grid of apps when opening a folder. The other two columns in the folder do not display the app icons, preventing users from launching those apps

iOS 26 features Apple's new Liquid Glass design aesthetic, with a focus on translucency and glass-like interface elements. The design extends to the Lock Screen, ‌Home Screen‌, and Control Center, along with menus and buttons in apps.

Apple's software includes features for apps like Messages, Phone, Shortcuts, and Apple Music, along with new Apple Intelligence features, a revamp for CarPlay, and more.

For more on the features in ‌iOS 26‌, we have a dedicated iOS 26 roundup and a separate iPadOS 26 roundup. Several new features were found in beta 2 and we rounded them up, plus we did the same thing for beta 3 and beta 4.

The ‌iOS 26‌ beta is limited to developers and public beta testers, with a launch set for this fall.

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through this week's announcement of AppleCare One and automakers' opting out of CarPlay Ultra.

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

We also discuss the news that automakers including BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Volvo, Polestar, Renault, and General Motors will not support ‌CarPlay‌ Ultra. It seems to be a major retreat from Apple's 2022 announcement, which originally named 14 automakers as future ‌CarPlay‌ Ultra partners.

‌CarPlay‌ Ultra goes far beyond traditional ‌CarPlay‌ by taking control of the entire dashboard experience. The system displays vehicle information like temperature, speed, and fuel levels alongside ‌iPhone‌ apps, creating what Apple calls "a unified and consistent experience across all the driver's screens."

Currently, only Aston Martin offers CarPlay Ultra in production vehicles. Hyundai and its Kia and Genesis cars remain committed partners, while Porsche plans future support. Other originally announced brands like Ford and Nissan have provided no updates on their ‌CarPlay‌ Ultra plans.

The MacRumors Show has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips.

You can also listen to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or your preferred podcasts app. You can also copy our RSS feed directly into your podcast player.

If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up to hear our discussion about all of the latest rumors about Apple's first foldable ‌iPhone‌ amid a multitude of reports about the device and its launch firming up for next year.

Subscribe to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ for new episodes every week, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by interesting guests such as Kevin Nether, John Gruber, Mark Gurman, Jon Prosser, Luke Miani, Matthew Cassinelli, Brian Tong, Quinn Nelson, Jared Nelson, Eli Hodapp, Mike Bell, Sara Dietschy, iJustine, Jon Rettinger, Andru Edwards, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McShan, David Lewis, Tyler Stalman, Sam Kohl, Federico Viticci, Thomas Frank, Jonathan Morrison, Ross Young, Ian Zelbo, and Rene Ritchie.

‌The MacRumors Show‌ is on X @MacRumorsShow, so be sure to give us a follow to keep up with the podcast. You can also head over to The MacRumors Show forum thread to engage with us directly. Remember to rate and review the podcast, and let us know what subjects and guests you would like to see in the future.

Apple has announced an overhaul of the App Store's age rating system across all of its platforms.

The company has added three new age rating tiers — 13+, 16+, and 18+ — to the existing 4+ and 9+ classifications. At the same time, the 12+ and 17+ categories are being removed.

The new framework is designed to give parents more control and clarity over which apps are appropriate for their children and to better align ‌App Store‌ ratings with region-specific standards. As part of the rollout, Apple has reassigned age ratings for all existing apps and games based on the responses developers previously provided in the ‌App Store‌ Connect age rating questionnaire.

Developers are now required to complete an updated version of that questionnaire, which includes several new mandatory questions covering in-app controls, app capabilities, medical or wellness content, and violent themes. These answers will be used to recalculate the app's age rating.

Apple is requiring developers to complete the updated questionnaire by January 31, 2026. After that date, developers who have not responded will be unable to submit new app updates in ‌App Store‌ Connect until they do so.

The new age ratings are now live in the beta versions of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, tvOS 26, visionOS 26, and watchOS 26. They will become visible to the public when the updates are officially released in the fall.

A quick addendum to the all-new AppleCare One plan that debuted this week: it is compatible with Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program in the United States.

iPhone Upgrade Program members receive AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss coverage as part of their monthly payment, but they can switch to AppleCare One if they prefer. It might be possible to save a bit of money by doing so.

Dan Moren revealed this news in a Six Colors post today:

Apple spokesperson Anna Mitchell told me that iPhone Upgrade Program subscribers can contact Apple Support and unbundle their coverage from the iPhone financing, then upgrade to AppleCare One.

Read our coverage of the AppleCare One announcement to learn more about the subscription plan, which launched Thursday.

Apple Umeda in Osaka, Japan and the relocated Apple Touchwood Centre near Birmingham, England will each hold grand openings this Saturday, July 26.

Apple Umeda has an Apple Pickup station for in-store pickup of online orders, plus a Genius Bar with varied table and seat heights for improved accessibility.

Umeda is a busy mixed-use district of Osaka, with two major train stations, shops, restaurants, and more. Apple's store is in the Grand Front shopping mall.

Apple shared more details about the Umeda store in a press release this week.

The new Apple Touchwood Centre is located directly across the hall from the original store in Touchwood Solihull, a shopping mall near Birmingham. Apple took over a unit previously occupied by Topshop, next to clothing retailer Superdry.

Finally, Apple has announced that it will be opening an all-new Uniwalk Qianhai store in Shenzhen, China on Saturday, August 16.

Thanks, Aaron Perris and Dongjun (Apollo) Zhao!

Apple has made available the first public beta of iOS 26, bringing the new software to a wider audience following initial testing by developers. Keep reading to learn how to prepare your device for the beta software and how to install it.

Signing up to get the ‌iOS 26 or ‌iPadOS 26 public beta is simple, and can be done by enrolling an iPhone or iPad in Apple's free Apple Beta Software Program. The steps you need to complete to install the software on your device are provided towards the end of this article, but before you jump ahead, here are a few things worth considering.

Is My iPhone Compatible With iOS 26?

iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer. In other words, the following models are supported:

• iPhone 16e
• iPhone 16
• iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16 Pro
• iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 15
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone SE (2nd generation and later)

Should I Install iOS 26 Public Beta?

Great question! Before downloading the update, it's worth noting that Apple does not recommend installing iOS 26 beta updates on your main iPhone, so if you have a secondary device, use that. This is beta software, which means there are often bugs and issues that pop up that can prevent software from working properly or cause other problems. Apple undoubtedly has plenty of fixes to make before the final release.

Make an Archived Backup of Your Device First

Before installing the beta, make sure to back up your iOS device before installing the software using the following method, otherwise you won't be able to revert back to iOS 18 if things go wrong.

1. Plug your iPhone into your Mac using the supplied cable.
2. Allow the accessory to connect by clicking Allow in the dialog prompt.
3. Open a Finder window by clicking the Finder icon in the Dock.
4. Click your iOS device's name in the sidebar.
   
   

5. If this is the first time connecting your device to your Mac, click Trust in the Finder window.
   
   

6. Tap Trust on your device when prompted, then enter your passcode to confirm.
7. In the General tab, click the circle next to where it says Back up all of the data on your iPad to this Mac.
8. If you want to encrypt the backup, check the box next to Encrypt local backup, then enter a password to protect your data.
9. If you don't want to create an encrypted backup, or you've already set up encrypted backups, click Back Up Now.
   
   

When the backup is finished, you can find the date and time of the last backup in the General tab, just above the Manage Backups button. Remember that this backup will not be overwritten when you manually or automatically back up your iPhone in the future, so you can restore it at any time by using the Restore Backup... option in the same Finder screen.

How to Download iOS 26 Public Beta

Downloading and install the iOS 26 Public Beta is very straightforward. Simply follow these steps:

1. Head over to Apple's Beta Software Program website and sign up using your Apple Account credentials.
   
   

2. Now go to Settings ➝ General ➝ Software Update on your iPhone.
3. Tap Beta Updates. If you don't see the option, try switching off Download iOS Updates (Automatic Updates ➝ Download iOS Updates), then tap Back and it should appear.
4. Select iOS 26 Public Beta in the list, then tap Back.
5. Wait for the Software Update screen to check Apple's servers. When the iOS 26 Public Beta appears, tap Download and Install, then follow the instructions and wait for installation to complete.
   

iOS 26 Features

iOS 26 introduces a striking system-wide redesign built around Liquid Glass, a translucent material that reflects and refracts ambient content and dynamically responds to user input. The new aesthetic applies across the Lock Screen, Home Screen, toolbar controls, navigation elements, app icons, and widgets.

The update also brings new Apple Intelligence features. With Live Translation available in Messages, FaceTime, and Phone, conversations across languages are now seamless and entirely on-device to ensure privacy. New Visual Intelligence capabilities mean you can ask questions about screen content. There are also smarter Shortcuts with intelligent actions to make automation easier.

Communication apps gain smart upgrades too. The revamped Phone app now combines Favorites, Recents, and Voicemails in one view, adds Call Screening, and includes a clever Hold Assist feature. Messages gains filtered inboxes for unknown senders, typing indicators in group chats, custom backgrounds and polls, and Apple Cash transfers.

CarPlay gets a visual refresh aligned with the Liquid Glass design and now includes compact call notifications, tappable Message reactions, pinned conversations, widgets, and Live Activities support.

Apple has also updated some of its key apps: Apple Music adds Lyrics Translation and Pronunciation plus AutoMix DJ-style transitions; Maps introduces privacy-protected "Visited Places" and smarter route preferences; Wallet supports installment/rewards payments, refreshed boarding passes with Live Activities, and deeper integrations with Maps and Find My. Lastly, a new Games app debuts as a central hub for mobile gaming, featuring a unified library, Apple Arcade support, event tracking, and friend status updates.

For a full breakdown of what's new, be sure to check out our dedicated iOS 26 roundup.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.