Six IOS 26 Feature Rumors That Actually Make Me Excited
I didn’t think I’d be talking about iOS 26 until 2032, but here we are. At WWDC 2025 , Apple will likely announce the final update to the iPhone, with new features and a new naming scheme.
We won’t know for sure what Apple is planning until they officially announce it, but there’s reason to believe some of the leaks and rumors are accurate. I’ve been keeping a close eye on these leaks and rumors as they’ve emerged, and I have a good idea of what to expect from iOS 26. Not all of the rumored features are winners — cough, cough, Apple Intelligence — but there are others that I’m genuinely excited about. Here are six features I hope actually show up in iOS 26.
End-to-end encryption RCS
RCS support was probably my favorite new feature of the iOS 18 era. For the first time since iMessage launched in 2011, iPhones and Androids could text each other without using SMS. Bubbles may still be green, but at least group chats are intact.
However, since RCS launched on iOS, one major benefit has been missing: encryption . While RCS currently supports high-quality images and videos, your messages sent via this protocol are just as unprotected as SMS. End-to-end encryption (E2EE) ensures that only the devices participating in the chat can decrypt and read the messages sent. No one else, not even Apple, can read E2EE. This is a shame, because RCS supports encryption ( though even Android devices have to deal with some quirks here, too ).
Luckily, we know E2EE is coming to RCS on iPhone — we just don’t know exactly when. Apple confirmed back in March that RCS encryption would arrive “in a future software update,” which could mean iOS 26, but also iOS 26.1, or any number of other updates. Personally, I hope it happens sooner rather than later.
Real-time translator for AirPods
Imagine this: You’re talking to someone who speaks a language you don’t understand. But as they speak, you hear their words translated into your language in your ear. It sounds like the future, but it’s actually the present — and it might be coming to AirPods.
That’s according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman , who reported in March that some AirPods models would get this “live translation” feature. While Apple is apparently trying to keep the feature under wraps, Gurman says the AirPods will translate what the other person is saying into your ears, while your iPhone will translate what you’re saying into the other person’s language.
And in fact, this feature isn’t anything new: Google’s Pixel Buds have supported live translation via conversation mode in the Translate app for years . It works just like Gurman describes Apple’s vision, so there’s a clear precedent here. Still, I’d be happy if this feature actually arrived in iOS 26.
New look for iOS
If you know anything about iOS 26, you probably know that Apple is planning a visual overhaul of the iPhone. If the rumors are true, the changes will extend beyond the mobile device: Apple is reportedly working on a design overhaul across all of its products to unify the look of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS.
The main inspiration for the user interface seems to be taken from Apple’s latest product, the Apple Vision Pro: icons and elements are rounded, windows and menu bars are floating and translucent, and there are fresh animations.
An example of what this might look like can be seen in this video by Jon Prosser , which shows off an iOS 26 mockup based on leaked designs:
It’s not the design itself that excites me, but the overall change. While Apple has mixed up its user interface a bit over the years, the overall design language was built on top of iOS 7, which came out more than a decade ago. While my nostalgic side would like to see Apple bring back the skeuomorphic design of iOS 6 and earlier, I welcome any new user interface that looks good. And if I get a similar experience on my iPhone, Mac, and iPad, all the better.
Stage Manager-like interface
If you have a compatible iPad, you can connect it to an external monitor and extend your display as if you were using a laptop. It’s part of a feature Apple calls Stage Manager , and it’s a cool way to make your iPad a little more useful for serious computing tasks.
There are rumors that Apple is working on something similar for the iPhone . If the leaks are true, you’ll be able to connect your USB-C iPhone to a monitor, and while you won’t be able to use it as a computer, you’ll be able to expand the screen space to fit the display.
It’s a great idea, and it’s what will make the iPhone a portable presentation station. If you have a slideshow, video, or any type of demo on your iPhone, you can share it full-screen on any connected monitor. It pales in comparison to something like Samsung DeX , which turns your Galaxy phone into a true desktop experience, but I feel like this could be the start of something similar on iOS.
Less crashes
I don’t ask for much from Apple when it comes to the iPhone, but if I had one request, it would be for a more stable experience. Overall, it’s fine, but I run into a lot of little problems every day, and I’m willing to bet you do too if you have an iPhone.
According to Mark Gurman , reducing crashes is a priority for Apple. He says the company is “pushing engineers to make this year’s releases more functional and less crashy. Past updates have been criticized for bugs and features that sometimes didn’t work as expected.”
I think that’s good, Apple.
Battery Life Improvements with AI
I may not be thrilled with Apple’s new generative AI features, but I’d be lying if the AI-powered battery improvements didn’t pique my interest. After all, we all want our iPhones to last longer between charges.
In the same report that shed light on the “less glitches” goal, Gurman says Apple is working on a feature that will analyze your iPhone usage and make changes to save battery when possible. Perhaps the AI notices that you’re not using intensive features in certain apps, and so reduces the performance of those apps to prioritize saving power.
But what I like even more is that Apple is reportedly working on a Lock Screen utility that tells you how long it will take for your iPhone to finish charging. These are small but important changes that I want to see from Apple.