Whereas the brand new glass-like design will be the most seen change inside iOS 26, the working system additionally has 5 options that is perhaps notably interesting for enterprise customers.
iOS 26 made its debut on June 9 at WWDC 2025, in a comparatively subdued keynote occasion. Whereas Apple put a powerful emphasis on its cross-platform “Liquid Glass” design language, there’s extra to iOS 26 than meets the attention.
Among the upgrades and enhancements in iOS 26 help you specific your creativity extra simply, like the brand new ChatGPT-powered types for Picture Playground. Different options, in the meantime, will allow you to get work completed, they usually is perhaps particularly helpful for these within the enterprise world.
Telephone screening and voicemail spam reporting
With iOS 26, Apple is stepping up its combat in opposition to spam calls and voice messages by enhancements and new choices within the Telephone app.
iOS 26 has a brand new Name Screening function that helps you filter out spam callers.
The iPhone maker has rolled out a brand new Name Screening function, which saves you the effort of answering calls from unknown numbers. It makes issues simpler, as you needn’t manually confirm whether or not or not the particular person on the opposite line is somebody you need to communicate with.
As a substitute, when an unknown quantity calls, your iPhone will immediate the caller to offer a reputation and a cause for calling. That data is then relayed to the top person, permitting for fast decision-making with successfully no effort.
Apple’s Name Screening function helps filter interruptions, comparable to telemarketers and scammers, with out blocking unknown telephone numbers indiscriminately.
The decision screening function is very helpful in case your telephone quantity is publicly accessible and affiliated with a enterprise, group, or different authorized entity.
The Telephone app in iOS 26 additionally helps you to report spam voicemails on to Apple. When you get a voicemail from an unknown quantity, tapping on the message now reveals a “Report Spam” button.
You now have the choice to report it and maintain the voicemail or report it and delete it. Both approach, the message is flagged and despatched to Apple for evaluate.
These studies do not robotically block the caller. You may nonetheless must take that additional step manually, identical to earlier than. However the data could possibly be used to enhance Apple’s filtering algorithms, particularly if a lot of customers flag related messages.
Polls in Messages
Whereas the Messages app additionally has the same spam-detection function, it is not the one enchancment the app obtained with iOS 26.
The Messages app has a brand new ballot function on iOS 26 and iPadOS 26.
There’s now a brand new choice to create polls inside group chats. These in-app polls help you suggest choices and forged votes, with out the effort of downloading a separate app. It is all baked into iMessage.
With the brand new polling function, it is doable so as to add a number of choices, and all members of the group chat can vote, with outcomes showing in actual time. The in-app ballot functionality is supposed to be fast and intuitive, which means that utilizing it’s pretty simple.
Apple’s polling function additionally leverages Apple Intelligence, the corporate’s on-device AI software program, accessible on the iPhone 15 Professional and newer. When Apple Intelligence detects plan-related questions, you will robotically see an choice to create a ballot.
As an example, if somebody writes “What film ought to we see tonight?” the Messages app will immediate the person to arrange a ballot with advised titles. This solely works with iMessage, nonetheless, because the in-app ballot function will not be accessible for SMS or cross-platform chats.
Whereas apps like Telegram and WhatsApp have had polling options for years, their presence within the Message app makes issues a lot simpler for end-users, who not must cope with third-party apps only for polling choices.
The in-app ballot function will enable for near-instant resolution making, whether or not you are discussing a enterprise technique with coworkers or planning with mates.
Stay Translation is now a system-wide function
Additionally accessible in Messages is Apple’s new Stay Translation function, which helps customers break down language obstacles in actual time.
Stay Translation is offered in FaceTime, Messages, and the Telephone app.
The corporate’s Stay Translation function is powered by on-device AI processing fashions. It really works throughout first-party apps like FaceTime, Messages, and Telephone. There’s even a brand new Name Translation API that builders can use for third-party functions.
For instance, the Stay Translation function can instantly translate textual content into different languages as you kind out a message in iMessage. As texts in different languages are available, the Apple Intelligence function can immediately translate them for you.
In FaceTime, the function gives dwell captions throughout video calls. For audio-only calls, it could actually translate and communicate the dialog aloud.
The function gives real-time, on-device interpretation of conversations with out sending information to the cloud. Nevertheless, you have to an iPhone 15 Professional or newer to make use of Stay Translation, because the function requires an Apple Intelligence-compatible gadget.
Help for languages varies by app, although Stay Translation is offered in three first-party functions.
The supported languages fluctuate by app. In Messages, dwell translation works with English (U.S., UK), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Chinese language Simplified.
For Telephone and FaceTime, help is narrower at launch. It is restricted to English (U.S., UK), French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. Apple says extra languages will likely be added by the top of 2025.
Stay Translation is a significant improve for enterprise customers working throughout borders. It is also nice for vacationers or for speaking with members of the family from completely different elements of the world.
Not like present standalone apps, Apple’s answer is embedded in on a regular basis communication instruments which can be already current in iOS. The corporate’s Stay translation would not depend on cloud-based processing the best way Google and Samsung’s options do, both.
Messages now has typing indicators for group chats
Together with Stay Translation and enhanced spam-detection options, Apple’s Messages app has gained one other long-overdue enchancment — Typing indicators.
The Messages app in iOS 26 now shows typing indicators in group chats.
Whereas communication functions comparable to Slack, Discord, Fb Messenger, and WhatsApp have all had typing indicators for years, the function was notably absent from iMessage.
With iOS 26, nonetheless, you will lastly have the ability to know who’s typing at any given second. It will make group communication considerably simpler, with interactions being seen in real-time. It additionally works in one-on-one chats.
This function is nice for enterprise customers with a number of iMessage group chats. It makes it simpler to manage the stream of a dialog, and provides perception into who’s actively collaborating, or who is perhaps hesitating to offer enter, or an concept.
Shortcuts at the moment are extra highly effective with Apple Intelligence
iOS 26 brings Shortcuts and Apple Intelligence nearer collectively, permitting you to finish duties with AI way more shortly.
The Shortcuts app in iOS 26 now helps Clever Actions, which leverage Apple Intelligence.
The entire Apple Intelligence instruments thus far at the moment are accessible in what Apple calls Clever Actions.
Within the first and second developer betas of iOS 26, the principle actions are:
Change the tone of textual content
Make checklist from textual content
Make desk from textual content
Proofread textual content
Rewrite textual content
Summarize textual content
Use mannequin
That final is probably essentially the most vital as a result of it lets Shortcuts customers specify which mannequin of AI they need to use. The choices listed here are:
Personal Cloud Compute
On-System
Extension
Ask Every Time
Personal Cloud Compute leverages Apple’s privacy-enabled cloud-based processing techniques, whereas On-System makes use of the domestically saved Apple Intelligence LLM. Extension at present refers to ChatGPT, but it surely may enable for different AI mannequin choices sooner or later, comparable to Google Gemini.
Ask Every Time understandably lets customers select a mannequin each time a selected shortcut is used.
Clever Actions can be utilized independently or alongside conventional Shortcut choices, which might significantly simplify workflows. As a substitute of getting to navigate to Writing Instruments at any time when textual content alteration or summarization is required, as an illustration, a shortcut may also help you make a textual content extra concise in just some clicks.
Apple’s AI-infused Clever Actions can be found on iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe.
Apple’s instance is a powerful one which has a pupil sharing their notes and an audio recording of a lecture right into a shortcut. The shortcut then makes use of present actions to transcribe the audio, after which the brand new Clever Actions to match that to the notes.
Equally, a shortcut could possibly be used so as to add the date and time to textual content, then summarize all of it, and e-mail the abstract to somebody.
The brand new-and-improved Shortcuts app provides infinite potentialities, and Clever Actions are certain to profit college students and enterprise customers alike, provided that conferences could possibly be processed like lectures in Apple’s instance.
General, iOS 26 provides a large number of recent options that may allow you to get work completed extra simply. Whether or not it is the Stay Translation function for speaking with worldwide associates or the Name Screening functionality, which filters out spam callers, there’s one thing for almost everybody.
Apple’s macOS Tahoe and iPadOS 26 share a number of the productiveness options with iOS 26, however the two opearating techniques even have platform-specific enhancements which can be simply as spectacular.
