iOS 26 is now available. Here's how to install it on your iPhone

After a summer of beta updates, iOS 26 is here. As long as you have a compatible iPhone, you can install the new software right now. Head to Settings > General > Software Update, and get ready for a Liquid Glass makeover.

iOS 26 offers Apple's biggest visual change to its software since iOS 7. (That was when Jony Ive's flat design replaced Scott Forstall's skeuomorphic one.) This time around, the software adopts a translucent material theme: Liquid Glass. Although it isn't a return to skeuomorphism, it does reincorporate a sense of depth, simulating a pleasantly refractive glass. Expect colors and visual effects that respond to their onscreen surroundings.

Apple has taken flak from industry pundits for not rushing headfirst into AI. (Or, at least it hasn't with the same manic frenzy as its competitors.) The company is taking a more measured approach ...