Apple launched iOS 26.2 on December 12, introducing the most recent model of iOS 26. iOS 26.2 is not the most important replace, but it surely brings fairly just a few useful new options to your iPhone.
We have rounded up all the new options your iPhone is getting in iOS 26.2.
Alarms for Reminders
The Reminders app has a brand new choice to have an alarm go off when a reminder is due. Establishing an alarm might be accomplished by toggling on the “Pressing” possibility when making a reminder.
When a Reminder alarm prompts, it shows a nap possibility or a slide to cease possibility. When you snooze it, it’ll present a Stay Exercise countdown on the Lock Display that features an possibility to finish the reminder or reschedule it. Apple distinguishes Reminders alarms from commonplace alarms with a brand new blue coloration.
Apple supplies a splash display letting customers know in regards to the characteristic, plus a small banner that reveals up if you go so as to add a brand new entry within the Reminders app after updating to iOS 26.2.
Lock Display
The Lock Display has a brand new Liquid Glass slider that allows you to customise the looks of the time. When utilizing the “Glass” possibility, you should utilize the slider to make the time look virtually completely clear, or give it a extra frosted look.
There’s nonetheless a separate Strong toggle that turns off the Liquid Glass look for the clock completely if you wish to go for a way more opaque design, and you may as well nonetheless use the colour choices for the time.
Liquid Glass Settings
When utilizing the Liquid Glass “Tinted” possibility that reduces transparency, there is a warning that the Tinted possibility can’t be utilized in tandem with the Scale back Transparency and Enhance Distinction Accessibility settings.
Turning on Tinted mode is ready to flip off Scale back Transparency and Enhance Distinction robotically. Within the prior replace, there was no choice to activate Tinted mode with out turning off these options manually.
AirDrop
iOS 26.2 will increase the safety of AirDrop. The replace provides an additional layer of verification when utilizing AirDrop with unknown contacts.
There may be an choice to generate an AirDrop code on the receiver’s gadget, which may then be entered on the sender’s gadget to finish the switch. Codes permit AirDrop to work for a 30-day interval.
Folks you’ve got shared a code with might be managed by opening up the Settings app, deciding on the Common part, selecting AirDrop, and tapping on “Handle Recognized AirDrop Contacts.”
Apple Music
Apple Music helps offline lyrics, so you possibly can see a music’s lyrics when not linked to Wi-Fi or mobile.
Your Favourite Songs playlist additionally now reveals up in Prime Picks on the house tab.
Sleep Rating
With iOS 26.2 and watchOS 26.2, Apple has adjusted the ranges for the Sleep Rating characteristic that it launched earlier this yr. The brand new Sleep Rating numbers higher match how folks could be feeling after an evening of sleep.
These are the brand new scores:
- Very Low – 0-40 (beforehand 0-29)
- Low – 41-60 (beforehand 30-49)
- OK – 61-80 (beforehand 50-69)
- Excessive – 81-95 (beforehand 70-89)
- Very Excessive – 96-100 (beforehand 90-100)
The “Very Excessive” rank was once “Wonderful,” however Apple modified the identify to be extra in keeping with the opposite labels.
Sleep Scores can be found on all Apple Watch fashions appropriate with watchOS 26.2 and might be discovered within the Well being app on the iPhone. Apple designed Sleep Rating to offer an total sense of sleep patterns, so customers can establish habits which may impression their sleep.
Sleep Rating takes under consideration sleep period, bedtime, and interruptions to assign a nightly rating that represents sleep high quality. Length is price 50 factors, bedtime is price 30, and interruptions (occasions woken up within the night time) are price 20, for a complete of 100 potential factors every night time.
Podcasts
The Podcasts app has three new options, together with robotically generated chapters, choices to see mentions of different podcasts from the transcript and the participant, and entry to hyperlinks talked about in a podcast on the episode web page.
Passwords
Within the Settings part of the Passwords app, there’s an choice to handle web sites the place passwords usually are not saved when signing in.
Freeform
The Freeform app now helps tables that may maintain textual content, photos, paperwork, and drawings. Cells intelligently resize to suit content material, offering construction.
Apple Information
Apple up to date the design of Apple Information, including fast entry prime buttons for classes like sports activities, puzzles, politics, enterprise, and meals.
There’s additionally a devoted tab for Following, which has been decoupled from the search interface.
Dwelling App
The Dwelling app now helps multipack accent pairing. You need to use the identical setup code to enroll a number of equipment which can be bought collectively.
Flash for Alerts
The Flash for Alerts possibility within the Accessibility part of the Settings app permits customers to have the display flash when there’s an incoming notification. Beforehand, this setting was restricted to the LED on the again of the iPhone.
Customers can swap to the display flash or have each flash on the identical time when notifications are available.
Enhanced Security Alerts
Within the Notifications part of the Settings app, there’s an Enhanced Security Alerts part for managing earthquake alerts, imminent menace alerts, and activating improved alert supply, a characteristic that makes use of location to enhance the reliability of alerts.
Apple says that Enhanced Security Alerts present wealthy info like a map of affected areas and hyperlinks to extra security steering.
Enhanced Security Alerts is restricted to the USA.
Measure App
Apple’s Measure app now encompasses a Liquid Glass design for the extent, with two Liquid Glass bubbles as an alternative of white circles.
Video games App
There’s an choice to kind video games within the Video games app Library by dimension, along with Title and Latest. In-game problem rating banners present real-time updates when somebody new has taken the lead in a recreation you are taking part in.
The Video games app additionally helps navigation with a controller and real-time updates to problem scores throughout gameplay, plus there’s enhanced help for controllers just like the Spine and Razer.
CarPlay
The CarPlay app helps disabling pinned messages within the Messages app for drivers preferring the traditional Messages view that was obtainable earlier than iOS 26.2.
For pop-out menus that broaden from a nook button, iOS 26.2 provides a faster, bouncier animation that appears just like the animation that Apple confirmed off at WWDC.
Privateness
While you entry your Apple Account for the primary time after putting in iOS 26.2, you will see an alert letting that Apple’s privateness info for Apple Accounts has been up to date to higher clarify how private info is collected and utilized by Apple.
AirPods Stay Translation for EU
iOS 26.2 expands AirPods Stay Translation to the European Union. Apple needed to delay the characteristic within the EU to finish the engineering work wanted to adjust to the necessities of the Digital Markets Act.
AirPods Stay Translation works with the AirPods Professional 3, AirPods Professional 2, and AirPods 4 with ANC. It’s obtainable in English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Chinese language (Simplified and Conventional Mandarin), Japanese, and Korean on the present time.
iPhone Adjustments in Japan
Siri Alternative
Apple is laying the groundwork for a brand new possibility that can let iPhone customers in Japan select a distinct default voice assistant. A press and maintain gesture on the Aspect Button solely prompts Siri in earlier variations of iOS.
iPhone customers in Japan will have the ability to choose a brand new voice-based dialog app to activate with the Aspect Button, permitting different assistants like Gemini or Alexa for use on the iPhone. Developer documentation confirms that it’s going to solely be obtainable for Japanese Apple Accounts owned by folks dwelling in Japan.
Search Engine Alternative
After putting in iOS 26.2, iPhone customers in Japan shall be prompted to pick out a most well-liked search engine. Choices embrace Bing, Google, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo Japan, or Ecosia, the identical choices obtainable globally within the Safari settings. In most different nations, Google is the default search engine and there’s no immediate to decide on a distinct possibility when the iPhone first begins up.
Whereas iPhone customers exterior of Japan can select one of many different choices, doing so requires going into the Safari part of the Settings app to make a change.
Third Occasion App Shops
iOS 26.2 will permit iPhone customers in Japan to set up different app marketplaces, just like the European Union.
Texas App Retailer Adjustments
With iOS 26.2, Apple is including instruments for builders that can assist them adjust to the App Retailer Accountability Act that goes into impact in Texas in 2026. Apple customers in Texas might want to affirm whether or not they’re 18 years or older when creating an Apple Account, and fogeys might want to present consent for his or her kids’s App Retailer downloads and in-app transactions.
Apple will share person age vary info with builders, and builders might want to implement programs for notifying dad and mom about vital app adjustments and permitting dad and mom to revoke a baby’s entry to an app at any time.
Bonus: iPadOS 26.2 Multitasking
In iPadOS 26.2, Apple is increasing on the up to date multitasking that it launched in iPadOS 26.1. There’s an possibility to pull and drop apps from the App Library, Dock, and Highlight into Slide Over and tiled views, restoring some performance that was eliminated within the iPadOS 18 to iPadOS 26 transition.
Bug Fixes
There are two notable bug fixes in iOS 26.2. Apple addressed a problem that might trigger pre-release albums within the Apple Music Library to not be playable at launch time, and it addressed a problem the place a Privateness and Safety setting might be incorrectly marked as managed by an enterprise group.
Safety Updates
iOS 26.2 addresses over 20 vulnerabilities, together with two bugs which can be identified to have been actively exploited.
There are a pair of WebKit vulnerabilities that might permit maliciously crafted internet content material to execute code or trigger reminiscence corruption. Apple says that the bugs may need been exploited in an assault towards focused people on variations of iOS earlier than iOS 26.
One of many WebKit bugs was fastened with improved reminiscence administration, whereas the opposite was addressed with improved validation.
There are a number of different vulnerabilities that had been fastened too, throughout apps and providers. An App Retailer bug might permit customers to entry delicate fee tokens, processing a malicious picture file might result in reminiscence corruption, photographs within the Hidden Album might be considered with out authentication, and passwords might be unintentionally eliminated when remotely controlling a tool with FaceTime.
Now that these vulnerabilities have been publicized by Apple, even people who weren’t exploited earlier than could be taken benefit of now. Apple recommends all customers replace their gadgets to iOS 26.2, iPadOS 26.2, and macOS Tahoe 26.2 as quickly as potential.
Compatibility
iOS 26.2 is on the market on all iPhones that help iOS 26.
What’s Subsequent
Apple is more likely to launch the primary beta of its subsequent replace, iOS 26.3, as quickly as subsequent week.