The Digester

iOS 26: Key tips and hidden features to know

Mar 14th 2026

Apple's iOS 26 brought the Liquid Glass design plus privacy, camera and accessibility updates; here are the fastest, most practical tips and where to find them.

  • Liquid Glass is a system‑wide visual style introduced in iOS 26 and can be tweaked or reduced in Settings to change app icons and widget appearance.
  • You can replace or hide the alarm slider using Clock app settings or accessibility options to simplify alarm controls.
  • Call screening now blocks spam calls and iOS 26 can also screen incoming texts in Messages.
  • Recent iOS 26 updates added privacy controls, security fixes and hardware support such as Studio Display in iOS 26.3.1.
  • Adaptive Power can help extend battery life while short term battery drain after updating can be normal according to Apple.
  • Camera updates include an AirPods remote shutter option, dirty lens detection and other features that work on multiple iPhone models.
  • Parental controls and Screen Time received more options and AI news summaries returned with prominent warnings about content sourcing.