This IOS 26 Feature Could Make Your IPhone Photos so Much Better
With iOS 26, Apple is introducing a slew of changes to the iPhone operating system. There’s the controversial Liquid Glass user interface , which you can “fix” if you want; a redesigned Phone app , complete with Google-style call screening features; and a minimalist Camera app that hides most of your settings and tools until you need them. It’s certainly a significant upgrade.
But every year, there are features that don’t make it into Apple’s big presentation . These small changes are sometimes my favorites because, while they’re not flashy enough to take center stage during the event, many of them are unusual, fun, or otherwise worth highlighting.
The Camera app has one such feature. Despite Apple’s focus on the app during the keynote, this feature wasn’t mentioned directly. Instead, Apple included it in a slide with 36 iOS 26 features that they didn’t have time to talk about. I’m not sure why they didn’t take ten seconds to show it off in the Camera app segment, because not only is it a small change, it’s also a very useful one. With iOS 26, the Camera app will now alert you when your camera lens is dirty.
You can see how it works in this Reddit post . When iOS 26 detects that the lens is dirty or otherwise obstructed, it displays a small pop-up at the top of the viewfinder. In this case, it says “Clean the rear camera,” but I imagine it will also give a similar warning for the front-facing camera when taking a selfie.
From various Reddit threads, it appears that this feature isn’t available on all iPhones running iOS 26. While Apple supports devices as old as the iPhone 11 running this latest OS, the oldest iPhone I’ve seen mentioned as being compatible with this feature is the iPhone 15 Pro . This user suggests that it could be an AI feature, which makes sense — Apple reserves Apple Intelligence features for the iPhone 15 Pro and newer.
Again, this is an iOS 26 feature, which means you won’t see it on your compatible iPhone until Apple releases the OS in the fall, or you decide to install the iOS 26 beta on your device. I don’t recommend the latter, as the current developer beta carries too many risks that could result in iPhone crashes or even data loss. If you want to try iOS 26 early, I recommend at least waiting for the public beta, which Apple says will be out next month.
How to enable or disable lens cleaning tips
While there’s an X icon on the alert that you can tap to dismiss when it appears, Apple also has a new on/off switch for this option if you’d rather not see it all. To find it, go to Settings > Camera , then scroll down until you see Lens Cleaning Tips. Tap the switch to turn the feature on or off.