Liquid Glass? iOS 26 and iPhone 17 are Apple’s Biggest Upgrades in Over a Decade

Matthew Willar

News Editor

Apple announced its newest lineup of iPhone models on Sept. 9. With four new devices: the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the all-new iPhone Air, the multi-trillion dollar company made major changes to its most popular product this year, paired with their latest software update, iOS 26.

On June 9, Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, announced iOS 26. The new software, which was released to the on Sept. 15, is the biggest update to the iPhone software since iOS 7 in 2013.

According to Federighi, the software is called iOS 26 to coincide with its primary operating year, 2026, unlike the other versions of iOS. Last year, Apple released iOS 18.

iOS 26 is unique in the sense that it brings a new display to the iPhone: liquid glass. Federighi emphasized the display being purely digital, natural, and alive, and its translucent design being just like glass in the real world. The new display also allows for icons to be clear or in tinted colors, a design that works across all apps.

Vice President of Human Interface, Alan Dye, said of liquid glass, “It beautifully refracts light and dynamically reacts to your movement with specular highlights.”

The update also incorporates new features to the camera, photos, iMessage,  Phone, and Apple Music apps.

With iMessage, users can add backgrounds to their chats. Group chats also now have the feature of seeing when someone in the group is typing, and the ability to create polls for your group to make plans easier. Emily Brill, an avid Apple product user, said of the new iMessage features, “The backgrounds add a happy medium between light and dark mode, and it’s fun to customize different backgrounds for different people.”

The phone app also has a new feature: call screening and hold assist. With call screening, when people receive a call from an unknown number, it determines if it is important for the user or if it is a likely spam number.

The hold assist feature keeps your spot in line when you are on hold, making you no longer have to listen to music and be stuck looking at your screen. Your iPhone will now alert you when it is your turn in line.

Apple Music has received a brand new feature with iOS 26: AutoMix, which is made possible by Apple Intelligence. Apple Services Software Engineering Manager Kathy Lin described the feature as“seamlessly mix[ing] from one song to the next, like a DJ, time stretching and beat matching at the perfect moment.”

iOS 26 has been a game-changer for iPhone users, but especially those who purchased one of the newly released iPhone 17 models. The new lineup of phones, announced on Sept. 9 by Apple CEO Tim Cook, marks a big upgrade for the iPhone. Cook said, “This new iPhone lineup represents the biggest leap ever for iPhone.”

When showcasing the pro models, Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Greg “Joz” Joswiak, said, “A key element of the design is the forged plateau, which efficiently dissipates heat and creates extra space for components, making room for a larger battery.”

Apple also announced a brand new model to the iPhone lineup: iPhone Air. Taken from the iPad lineup with iPad Air, it is a bridge model between the base iPhone 17 and 17 Pro models. Cook said of the model, “With iPhone Air in the lineup, we were able to take our two Pro models to an entirely new level of performance and capabilities. So our goal was simple: to build the most Pro iPhone yet, by a lot. We started from scratch and rebuilt it from the inside out.”

The camera system is another upgrade for users, especially for content creators. All three cameras are 48 megapixels for the first time, and the telephoto lens has a zoom of up to 8x.

Combined with Apple Intelligence, which was introduced with the iPhone 15 lineup, the new phones incorporate artificial intelligence with the new features. Now, with Visual Intelligence on the iPhone 17 models, the simple scan of an object you see in public can take you to the website where to buy it. It is the fastest way to learn about the objects and places around you.

iOS 26 and the iPhone 17 models are available now. Users with an iPhone 11 or newer can download the software by going to their settings under the software updates tab.