Coming today, September 15, 2025, iOS 26: the new Apple operating system and one of the most important updates of recent years for those who use iPhone. The new operating system is already available from this evening (from 19:00 Italian) and brings three key elements with it: a new interface redesigned with the material “Liquid Glass”that is, a visual effect that makes the screens translucent and dynamic; the deepest integration of Apple Intelligencethe artificial intelligence platform designed to work directly on the device without sending data to the servers; and a long series of improvements to daily apps such as Messages, Telephone, Photo And Music. The update can be downloaded and installed in the usual way by the iPhone settings and, in this article, we will explain in detail how to do it.
The new iOS 26 of Apple for iPhone: what time comes out and the characteristics
The first aspect that can be seen by updating iPhone a iOS 26 from 19.00 Italian on Monday 15 September, it concerns thegraphics interfacethat he did not suffer such an important restyling from the time of iOS 7 (announced on June 10, 2013), when Apple abandoned the iconic design based on Scheumorphism In favor of a more “clean”, flat and minimalist graphics. The new graphics of iOS 26 introduced the concept of Liquid Glassa sort of liquid glass that refracts and reflects the contents of the screen, giving transparencies and plays of light that make icons, widgets and more dynamic and captivating controls. The clock in the lock screen adapts to the background, while the icons of the apps can be customized with transparent colors, methods and light or dark styles. It is an approach that Android has been offering for some time, but here Apple inserts it uniformly throughout its ecosystem (and which therefore also characterizes iPados 26, macOS 26, Watchos 26 and all the other operating systems of the products of the “bitten apple”). You can appreciate part of the new graphic experience of iOS 26 in the following demonstrative video produced by Apple.
On the functional front, the main novelty is the strengthening of Apple Intelligence. It is a series of tools based on artificial intelligence that operate directly on the iPhone, protecting the confidentiality of the data. Among the most interesting functions there is the Real time translation of texts, calls and video callseven if Italian is not yet supported. In Messages You can automatically filter unknown senders, create polls to organize group activities or generate personalized backgrounds with the Image Playground app. The so -called “Genmoji” They allow you to combine more emojis or text descriptions to create unique symbols, expanding visual language in chats.
Also the app Telephone receives a substantial update: the new function Call screening Show in real time who calls you and what it says, allowing you to decide whether to respond or not. With Hold Assiston the other hand, the iPhone warns you when an operator is finally available as you are waiting. Unfortunately, these two functions are not yet available in Italian.
Apple Music adds the translation of the texts and the mode Automix that fades the songs as a DJ would do. The app Wallet It is enriched with installment payments via Apple Pay and with boarding cards updated in real time. News also for the travel: theIntegration with maps and where it is It helps to better manage flights and luggage. Video games will find the New Apple Games Appdesigned to collect titles, events and updates in a single space, including Apple Arcade.
From a technical point of view they arrive Adaptive Powerwhich automatically optimizes consumption to prolong the battery, e New checks for audio which allow you to choose different microphones control center depending on the app in use. Attention to accessibility grows with Braille Access (a new interface for Apple smartphones connected to a Braille display) e Accessibility Reader (which offers a personalized reading level).
What are the compatible devices with iOS 26 and minimum requirements necessary
As for the minimum requirements To be satisfied to be able to install iOS 26, we list below all the compatible models.
- iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max
- iPhone Air
- iPhone 16e, 16 and 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max
- iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max
- iPhone Se (2nd generation) and subsequent
As pointed out by Apple, «The functions of Apple Intelligence described require compatible devices, which include all the models iPhone 16, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max (…) and subsequent versions with Apple Intelligence qualified and Siri and the language of the device set on the same supported language: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean or Chinese (always)».
The update to iOS 26 by the iPhones mentioned above is freebut before proceeding with his download, make sure you have sufficient free space (we advise you to have At least 10 GB free).
How to download iOS 26 from iPhone: update the operating system
For Download the update to iOS 26 you can proceed directly from iPhone, resorting to the so -called Update via OTA (Over the Air). Before proceeding, make sure you have at least 50% batteryto be connected to one Stable Wi-Fi network and to have made a data backup on iCloud.
After the 19:00 today, just enter the Settingsselect the items Generals> Software update (or A software update is availableif you have received the notification of the availability of the update). At that point the voice will appear Update to iOS 26: tap, insert the unlock codeprovide for accept the terms And the iPhone will download the necessary files. The download can take several minutes, but in the meantime the device remains usable. When ready, you can choose whether to install the update immediately (Update now) or postpone (Update tonight). During the installation, the iPhone will restart several times, showing an advance bar. At the end, few confirmations will be asked to activate the new functions.
