News

Apple Vision Pro is unquestionably one of the most powerful pieces of consumer hardware Apple has ever built, but the pricey gadget is still struggling to connect with consumers. And that's a shame because the generational-leaping visionOS 26 adds even more eye-popping features to the $3,500 headset, which I think you'd struggle to find with any other mixed reality gear.Apple unveiled the latest Vision Pro platform this week as part of its wide-ranging WWDC 2025 keynote, which also introduced a year-OS naming system. For some platforms like iOS, the leap from, say, 18 to 26 wasn't huge, but for the toddler visionOS 2, it was instantly thrust into adulthood and rechristened visionOS 26.This is not a reimaging of visionOS, and that's probably because its glassiness has been amply spread across all other Apple platforms in the form of Liquid Glass. It is, though, a deepening of its core attributes, especially around spatial computing and imagery.I had a chance to get an early hands-on experience with the platform, which is notable because Vision Pro owners will not be seeing a visionOS 26 Public beta. Which means that while iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV owners are test-driving OS 26 platform updates on their favorite hardware, Vision Pro owners will have a longer wait, perhaps not seeing these enhancements until the fall. In the interim, developers will, of course, have access for testing.Since much of the Vision Pro visionOS 26 interface has not changed from the current public OS, I'll focus on the most interesting and impactful updates.See "me"(Image credit: Apple)During the keynote, Apple showed off how visionOS 26 Personas radically moves the state of the art forward by visually comparing a current Persona with a new one. A Vision Pro Persona is a virtual, live, 3D rendering of your head that tracks your movements, facial expressions, and voice. It can be used for communicating with other people wearing the headgear, and it's useful for calls and group activities.Apple has been gradually improving Personas, but visionOS 26 is a noticeable leap, and in more ways than one.You still capture your Persona using the front-facing 3D camera system. I removed my eyeglasses and held the headset in front of my face. The system still guides you, but now the process seems more precise. I followed the audio guidance and looked slowly up, down, left, and right. I smiled and raised my eyebrows. I could see a version of my face faintly on the Vision Pro front display. It's still a bit creepy.(Image credit: Future)I then put the headset back on and waited less than a minute for it to generate my new Persona. What I saw both distressed and blew me away.I was distressed because I hate how I look without my glasses. I was blown away because it looked almost exactly like me, almost entirely removing the disturbing "uncanny valley" look of the previous iterations. If you ever wonder what it would be like to talk to yourself (aside from staring at a mirror and having a twin), this is it.There was a bit of stiffness and, yes, it fixed my teeth even though part of my setup process included a big smile.It was easy enough to fix the glasses. The Personas interface lets you choose glasses, and now the selection is far wider and with more shades. I quickly found something that looked almost just like mine.With that, I had my digital doppelganger that tracked my expressions and voice. I turned my head from side to side and was impressed to see just how far the illusion went.Facing the wall(Image credit: Apple)One of the most intriguing moments of the WWDC Keynote was when they demonstrated visionOS 26's new widget capabilities.Widgets are a familiar feature on iPhones, iPads, and Macs, and, to an extent, they work similarly on Vision Pro, but the spatial environment takes or at least puts them in new and unexpected places.In my visionOS 26 demo experience, I turned toward a blank wall and then used the new widget setup to pin a clock widget to the wall. It looked like an actual clock hanging on the wall, and with a flip of one setting, I made it look like it was inset into the wall. It looked real.On another wall, I found a music widget with Lady Gaga on it. As I stepped closer, a play button appeared in the virtual poster. Naturally, I played a little Abracadabra.Another wall had multiple widgets, including one that looked like a window to Mount Fiji; it was actually an immersive photo. I instinctively moved forward to "look out" the window. As the vista spread out before me, the Vision Pro warned me I was getting too close to an object (the wall).I like Widgets, but temper the excitement with the realization that it's unlikely I will be walking from room to room while wearing Vision Pro. On the other hand, it would be nice to virtually redecorate my home office.An extra dimension(Image credit: Apple)The key to Vision Pro's utility is making its spatial capabilities useful across all aspects of information and interaction.visionOS 26 does that for the Web with spatial browsing, which basically can turn any page into a floating wall of text and spatially-enhanced photos called Spatial Scenes.(Image credit: Apple)visionOS 26 handles the last bit on the fly, and it's tied to what the platform can do for any 2D photo. It uses AI to create computational depth out of information it can glean from your flat image. It'll work with virtually any photo from any source, with the only limitation being the source image's original resolution. If the resolution is too low, it won't work.I marveled at how, when staring at one of these converted photos, you could see detail behind a subject or, say, an outcropping of rock that was not captured in the original image but is inexplicably there.It's such a cool effect, and I'm sure Vision Pro owners will want to show friends how they can turn almost all their photos into stereoscopic images.Space timeI love Vision Pro's excellent mixed reality capabilities, but there's nothing quite like the fully immersive experience. One of the best examples of that is the environments that you enable by rotating the crown until the real world is replaced by a 360-degree environment.visionOS 26 adds what may be the best environment yet: a view of Jupiter from one of its moons, Amalthea. It's beautiful, but the best part of the new environment is the control that lets you scroll back and forth through time to watch sunrises and sunsets, the planet's rotation, and Jupiter's dramatic storms.This is a place I'd like to hang out.Of course, this is still a developer's beta and subject to significant change before the final version arrives later this year. It's also another great showcase for a powerful mixed reality headset that many consumers have yet to try. Perhaps visionOS 26 will be the game changer.You might also likeThis is what really happened with Siri and Apple Intelligence, according to AppleFor Liquid Glass, "the most obvious inspiration was ...Apple is out of surprises and focuses on making the future ...

The Browser Company’s new AI-powered browser is now available in an invite-only beta. Called Dia, the browser was first announced towards the end of 2024, and is built around the deep integration of what its maker calls "the most personal AI on the market".

Dia allows you to "chat with your tabs" and will adapt and learn the more you use it. You can open an AI chat on any webpage without having to leave the tab, where the built-in bot can search the web, compare websites, answer questions about the content displayed, and even draft a document in the tone of a specific webpage. You can set preferences to customize the chatbot’s tone and style for writing tasks, as well as its coding language and how it talks to you.

All of these features live within Dia’s URL bar, with the idea being that you don’t need to visit dedicated pages for other LLM chatbots such as ChatGPT to get things done with AI. The Browser Company has plenty of rivals, though, not least Google, which last month announced that it will soon bring its Gemini AI assistant to Chrome, which will be able to do many of the same things as Dia’s own chatbot. Opera’s upcoming Neon browser also comes with an integrated AI and is being billed as "fully agentic".

Back in May, The Browser Company confirmed that it had stopped active development on its Arc web browser, shifting its focus to Dia instead. Arc members get instant access to the new browser and invite friends to join once they’re signed up to Dia. If you’re not a member of either browser you can join the waiting list here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-browser-companys-new-ai-browser-rolls-out-to-private-beta-testers-170311014.html?src=rss

Every year, iOS is one of the star attractions of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote. It's our first official look at new features and other changes that are coming to iPhones in the fall. The 2025 WWDC keynote was no exception, and the most immediate change is to the iOS naming system.

As was recently reported, Apple operating systems will all be named after years to keep everything aligned. So instead of iOS 19, we're jumping up to iOS 26. The same goes for iPadOS, watchOS, macOS and so on. The versions will be named for the year after major annual OS updates (so iOS 26 for the version that arrives in fall 2025 etc), but it should still help mitigate some confusion as to which is the current version.

There's a lot more to this version of iOS than a change to the numbering system, so let's dig right in.

A major redesign

Beyond the naming system, the biggest change this year is a major visual overhaul across Apple's operating systems. These responsive, translucent user interfaces are inspired by the look of visionOS, the OS that powers Apple Vision Pro. It's been over a decade since the last major change to the look of the iPhone user interface. With iOS 7, which debuted in 2013, Apple jettisoned its skeuomorphic design language for a flatter, more simplified look.

It was reported over the weekend that Apple's new user interface design language would be built around a concept called Liquid Glass, and that turned out to be dead on. There is a larger focus on factors like light and transparency here.

App icons and buttons have new looks, while toolbars and tab bars will have a see-through appearance. Apple is also making use of pop-out menus that'll offer quick access to certain options — that reminds me a bit of the "peek and pop" 3D Touch functions Apple introduced to the iPhone a decade ago.

Widgets aren't going anywhere, though they're getting a new look to match the rest of the design updates. On the lock screen, the clock font can change size dynamically, so it can shrink as alerts come in.

Apple

CarPlay is among the other user interfaces that's getting this visual redesign. It will feature a more compact view for incoming calls so the display doesn't obfuscate directions. Tapbacks (i.e. emoji responses) and pinned conversations are coming to Messages in CarPlay, and widgets and Live Activities can be reflected on the infotainment system. These updates will be present in CarPlay Ultra too.

Core app updates

Apple is giving several core apps notable updates in iOS 26. In the Phone app, it's pulling together your recent calls and voicemails into a single tab, with your favorite contacts above those. You'll be able to see Apple Intelligence summaries of voicemail transcripts.

A call screening tool can automatically answer calls from unknown numbers as well. You'll be able to see on your iPhone screen who is calling and why, so you can decide whether to answer. On the other side of that, a Hold Assist feature can let you know when a live agent is available, so might never have to listen to interminable hold music ever again. (Android has had these features for ages, for what it's worth.)

On FaceTime calls, you'll see that Apple has moved the major controls to the bottom right of the screen for easier access. Safari will have a more transparent address bar in the updated OS, as well as "advanced fingerprinting protection" for all browsing by default for extra privacy.

As for the Camera app, Apple is looking to simplify that a bit after adding several features like slow-motion video and panoramic photos over the last several years. You'll switch between still photo and video options with a swipe. Tabs are blessedly coming back to the Photos app too.

In Messages, you'll have the ability to set a background image and create polls (much as you can in other messaging apps). The backgrounds will be the same for everyone in the chat, as they are in the likes of Messenger. It'll be possible to send and receive Apple Cash payments in group chats, which will also be getting typing indicators.

On-device spam detection for Messages is in the pipeline. That's a very welcome update, though if Apple handles all of that for me, I'll kinda miss replying to scammers with a carefully crafted insult before immediately blocking and reporting them. Anyway, you'll have the option to screen messages from unknown senders and place them in a separate folder from your regular chats, though it should still be easy to find two-factor authentication codes.

As for Wallet, you'll be able to create a digital ID from your passport. A refresh of boarding passes will provide real-time updates on flights in Live Activities, as well as maps for airport navigation, a quick way to report missing bags and more.

Maps will be able to learn preferred routes (for things like making the school run before going to work). It can provide updates about these learned routes, such as what the traffic is like. A Google Maps-like location history option will be available as well. Apple says this is end-to-end encrypted and it can't see your data.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

There will be a new core app in iOS 26: Games. From here, you'll be able to view and download titles from Apple Arcade and have access to your library, multiplayer options (such as achievements) and more.

Apple has been making a bit more of a push into games over the last few years between Apple Arcade and getting ports of major games like Death Stranding and multiple Resident Evil titles for its devices. It'll be interesting to see how this works in action and if there'll actually be interest from gamers. After all, did anyone ever actually use Game Center?

AI features

Apple Intelligence hasn't exactly been a huge success for the company so far, but there are AI-powered features that seem genuinely useful coming to iOS 26. Apple is integrating translation tools more deeply into the operating system, so you may not have to switch over to Translate (or, perhaps more likely, Google Translate) as often.

The most impactful aspect of that will be live translation for text and audio in phone calls, FaceTime and Messages, powered by on-device models. That could be a massive deal for many iPhone users.

Live translation and pronunciation guides for lyrics in Apple Music is cool — I might finally be able to sing a decent version of the Babymetal verse in "Ratatata." On the subject of Apple Music, an AutoMix feature will use intelligence to perhaps make for smoother, DJ-style transitions between songs through time stretching and beat matching. Moving album art is going to be a thing in the app too.

Since WWDC is an event that's largely for developers, news that they'll be able to tap into on-device Foundation Models for their apps could be a boon. Among other things, they'll be able to integrate live translation into their apps.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

Apple is taking another leaf out of the Google playbook with a visual intelligence update. You'll be able to ask ChatGPT questions about what's displayed on your screen, and seek more information from supported apps such as Google and Etsy. Visual intelligence will detect when you're looking at an event and may suggest adding it to your calendar.

The Shortcuts app is getting an update including options powered by Apple Intelligence and dedicated actions for the likes of Writing Tools and Image Playground. Meanwhile, Apple Intelligence will be able to pick up and summarize tracking information from emails related to your purchases, including ones that you didn't make with Apple Pay. Apple says this will let you see your order details and delivery progress details all in one place. That's something the Shop app from Shopify has been handy for, and now Apple's looking to handle that itself.

There are minor AI updates elsewhere, such as to Genmoji (you'll have the option to combine two existing emoji). The upgraded Siri Apple has been talking about for a while is still in the works, and we'll hear more about that later this year.

Other updates

Apple is making some changes to parental controls in iOS 26. The company says it'll be easier for you to create Child Accounts and move your kids into them. Other updates include being able to grant kids exemptions to download apps with age ratings that are outside of the restrictions that parents set. Apple will also blur "sensitive content" in FaceTime calls and photos in Shared Albums.

There are several new accessibility features too. Accessibility Reader is said to offer "a customized systemwide reading experience," while Braille Access is a new interface for iPhone devices that have connected braille displays. Meanwhile, Apple says it will deliver a "new level of accessibility" across its ecosystem with updates to Live Listen, Background Sounds, Personal Voice and other tools.

You'll be able to install iOS 26 if you have an iPhone 11 or later (or a second-gen iPhone SE). Apple Intelligence features will run on iPhone 16 devices, Phone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and future models, as well as compatible iPads and Macs.

Developers can try out the iOS 26 features starting today through the Apple Developer Program. Public betas of the new operating systems will be available in July. Apple will make iOS 26 and the other new operating systems available this fall, likely soon after its annual iPhone event, which typically takes place in September.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/apple-reveals-new-ios-26-features-and-its-liquid-glass-redesign-at-wwdc-2025-171650243.html?src=rss