All the Best Hidden Features of IOS 26

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Since Apple first unveiled iOS 26 during its WWDC keynote in June this year , most of the attention has been focused on the controversial “Liquid Glass” design update, but there’s a lot more to discover in the latest version of iPhone software.

While iOS 26’s big features, including those borrowed from others , have gotten a lot of attention, some of the most interesting updates have gotten far less attention. Here are three dozen of my favorites.

What do you think at the moment?

36 Best Little-Known iOS Features 26

Credit: Apple

The slide above is all we know about these features. Some are obvious from the title, but others are not so obvious. I tried to add context where possible, but until we know more about iOS 26, it’s going to take a little more thought.

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  1. Customizable snooze duration : If you want to snooze your alarm for more or less than the standard nine minutes, this feature can be very useful.

  2. Automatically switch AirPods with CarPlay : Automatic switching lets you quickly connect your AirPods to the Apple device you’re actively using. It looks like Apple is planning to extend this feature to CarPlay, too.

  3. Dialogue Enhancement : This feature should mean that Apple Podcasts can enhance vocals in podcasts and suppress background noise. All the best podcast apps should have this feature.

  4. Use Focuses to Mute a SIM Card : It looks like iOS 26 will let you use Focuses to mute one SIM card, which is pretty handy for those who use two numbers on their iPhone.

  5. Communication requests : Screen Time may gain support for requests to use messaging apps. This could allow parents to better control who their children communicate with.

  6. Add Contact button in Groups : This can make it easier to add people to your contacts from a group in the Messages app.

  7. Enhanced entry layout : The Journal app is getting an improved layout for creating a new entry, but we don’t know what it is yet.

  8. Photos App Events : It looks like iOS 26 will bring support for Photos app events.

  9. Lens cleaning tip : If your iPhone or iPad’s camera lens is dirty, the Camera app in iOS 26 will prompt you to clean it.

  10. Correct spelling with Dictation : A handy way to reduce typos when using Dictation to type.

  11. Automatic categorization : Reminders will be able to automatically sort your tasks.

  12. Manage credit card autofill in Wallet : It looks like Apple is moving saved credit card details to the Wallet app.

  13. Security Check When You Block a Contact : Security Check prevents others from accessing shared iPhone data, like your location. It looks like Apple is adding Security Check notifications when you block a contact as another way to help keep you safe.

  14. Photo previews : The Messages app will get the ability to show previews of images on your iPhone, although it’s not yet clear how this fits with the current system.

  15. Relevant video thumbnails in search results : Based on this description, search results in Photos can now include specific parts of a video that are relevant to the search query.

  16. Arabic Calculator : The Calculator app gets a new mode.

  17. Braille Access : Get a Braille notes app on your iPhone .

  18. AirPods pause media during sleep : Your AirPods can detect when you’ve dozed off and pause media accordingly. This feature is likely tied to the Apple Watch.

  19. Easier controller pairing : Apple is making it easier to pair game controllers with iPhone and iPad.

  20. Suggested Reminders : iOS 26 can suggest reminders based on your activity on iPhone.

  21. Selecting part of a text bubble : In iOS 18, the Messages app lets you copy all the text you send or receive, but it doesn’t let you select part of a message. That’s changing in iOS 26.

  22. More playback speeds : Apple Podcasts in iOS 18 supports playback speeds from 0.75x to 2x. iOS 26 will bring more speed options, though we don’t know which ones or how many yet.

  23. Multilingual keyboard for Arabic/English : For easier switching between two languages.

  24. New monogram styles : The Phone app now supports more monogram options.

  25. Natural language search : Searching messages can be easier. Using natural language can help you narrow your search even if you don’t remember the correct search operators.

  26. Adaptive Power : Your iPhone will make small changes, like lowering the brightness, to extend battery life.

  27. Password history : Apple Passwords remembers old passwords you used for any sign-in item.

  28. Accessibility Reader : Makes it easy to read small text in any application .

  29. Estimated Charging Time : This is the time it will take to fully charge your iPhone battery.

  30. View your entries on a map : The Journal app stores location metadata to help you find entries by location.

  31. Export notes to Markdown : Apple Notes is gaining support for exporting to Markdown .

  32. Create multiple journals : The Journal app now allows you to create more than one journal.

  33. Screen sharing and SharePlay during a phone call : It appears these features are no longer exclusive to FaceTime calls .

  34. Create reminders with the Action button : The Action button gets another useful action.

  35. Blocked contacts list in settings : This appears to be an improvement to the way blocked contacts are handled.

  36. New incident report types in Maps : If you want to report an incident in Apple Maps, you’ll find more report types in the iOS 26 app.

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