iOS 26: Liquid Glass or Just a Fancy Mess? is it worth the uprgrade?

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🎨 Visual Overhaul: Welcome to the Liquid Glass Age

Apple has gone big on design this year. Liquid Glass is the buzzword, and yes, it’s pretty. The animations, overlays, buttons — everything feels sleek… until it doesn’t.

"It’s cool, until you try to actually read something."

 


Problems?

  • UI feels cluttered

  • Text readability takes a hit

  • Animations are everywhere — overwhelming much?

We switched to dark mode real quick. Most users might admire it for a few hours and then head right back to a calmer setup.

🔒 Lock Screen & Camera: Tweaked, Not Transformed

The lock screen clock now resizes automatically based on wallpaper. It’s adaptive and visually pleasing, but not a game-changer.

The Camera app is more focused. Photos and videos are now at the center. Less swiping, more shooting. Again, nothing revolutionary — just sensible updates.

🖼 Redesigned Photos & Phone App: Clean, but Expected

The Photos app now has:

  • Clearer interface

  • Separated library & collection tabs

  • Liquid Glass menu overlays

The Phone app has a translucent bottom bar. Favourites, Recents, Voicemails — all are now one scroll away. Efficient, but nothing Android didn’t do years ago.

🔍 Visual Intelligence: Apple’s Circle to Search, with Extra Steps

Apple introduces a Visual Search tool — scan an item, get info.

But here’s the thing:

  • Android: Tap on screen, done

  • Apple: Screenshot first, then search

"Feels oddly un-Apple to add more steps."

🎤 Live Translation & Music Karaoke Mode: Apple Finally Has Fun

Live Translate now works in:

  • Text

  • Audio messages

  • FaceTime calls

And yes, it’s all on-device — no cloud lag!

Karaoke Mode in Apple Music is genuinely delightful:

  • Translated lyrics

  • Pronunciation help

  • Sing along like a pro 🎶

🕹 New Games App & Genmoji: Meh or Marvel?

The new Games app combines Arcade, Library, and social features in one place. It’s tidy but not essential.

Genmoji lets you merge two emojis into one. It’s fun, sure — but purely cosmetic.

🔋 Battery: Hot, Hungry & Huge

Let’s talk heat:

  • Our phone stayed warm all day

  • Animations + redesign = GPU stress

  • Beta version = lots of bugs & glitches

Worst part?

"The update eats up to 22GB of space!"

If you’re on a 64GB iPhone (hello, iPhone 12 users 😬), this is going to sting.

🔌 Smarter Charging with AI (But Limited)

Apple introduces AI-based battery optimization, showing smart charging progress like:

  • 0–80% phase

  • 80–100% slow charge

✅ Only works on newer models (iPhone 15 Pro Max & above)
❌ Doesn’t support older iPhones

🔁 eSIM Transfer to Android (Yes, You Read That Right)

Apple now lets you shift your eSIM to Android. That’s... unexpected. But if you’re jumping ship, this transition is finally smoother.

📄 Preview App & CarPlay Updates

Preview App is now on iOS. You can annotate PDFs just like you could on Mac.

Apple Maps & CarPlay now have Liquid Glass overlays and smart AI features that remember your route, suggest stopovers, and streamline your commute.

🎧 AirPods Just Got a Camera Shutter!

Yes — your AirPods can now act as a remote shutter for your iPhone camera. A neat touch for content creators and selfie addicts.

📲 iPadOS & macOS: Secret Stars of the Show

Forget iOS — the real magic is in iPadOS & macOS.

✨ iPadOS 26 Highlights:

  • Multitasking with floating windows

  • Liquid Glass design looks better on bigger screens

  • Works more like Android tablets

💻 macOS 26 Highlights:

  • New Spotlight with Intelligent Search

  • Send emails, search, and manage tasks right from search bar

  • Clipboard history (yes, you can now paste that thing you copied this morning)

"The integration across Apple’s ecosystem has never felt tighter."

⚖️ Final Verdict: Beauty Over Brains?

iOS 26 is a looker — no doubt. But under the surface? It’s mostly catch-up. Android users have seen much of this before.

  • ✅ Best parts? MacOS Spotlight, iPad multitasking, and Apple Music karaoke.

  • ❌ What’s missing? Any big AI leap (No Siri upgrade!), true innovation.

🔗 Ready to Try iOS 26, iPadOS 26, or macOS 26?

If you're wondering whether your device supports the latest Apple update, here's a quick list of all compatible models. If you already own one — awesome! If not, here's where you can grab them:

📱 iPhones Compatible with iOS 26:
iPhone 11 / 11 Pro / 11 Pro Max
iPhone 12 / 12 mini / 12 Pro / 12 Pro Max
iPhone 13 / 13 mini / 13 Pro / 13 Pro Max
iPhone 14 : https://fktr.in/sZfbmiD / 14 Plus : https://fktr.in/Rv59Dmg / 14 Pro / 14 Pro Max
iPhone 15 : https://fktr.in/4p8Svhi / 15 Plus : https://fktr.in/oeO2ld5 / 15 Pro : / 15 Pro Max
iPhone 16e : https://fktr.in/ztkyidq / 16 : https://fktr.in/Tph5xMa /16 Plus : https://fktr.in/zDYqR8r / 16 Pro : https://fktr.in/dGj6X74 / 16 Pro Max : https://fktr.in/0EyTs9W

💻 Macs Compatible with macOS 26:
MacBook Air (2020 and later, M1/M2/M3 chips) : https://fktr.in/yOy3dEv
MacBook Pro (2018 and later) : https://fktr.in/y6w8x01
iMac (2019 and later)
Mac Mini (2018 and later) : https://fktr.in/zl2j7y4

📱 iPads Compatible with iPadOS 26:
iPad Pro (M1 chip and newer) : https://fktr.in/dUAJlcI
iPad Air (3rd gen and newer) : https://fktr.in/KMmyzC1
iPad (8th gen and newer) : https://fktr.in/Ncjkju7
iPad mini (5th gen and newer) : https://fktr.in/K6wxvMa

🛒 Use the links above to check pricing, offers, and availability. (Affiliate-supported — helps us keep testing and reviewing so you don’t have to!)

💬 What Do You Think?

Which iOS 26 feature are you actually going to use? Or are you skipping this one?

Comment below and share your thoughts 👇

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