iOS 26: Subtle Upgrades That Make a Big Difference
Apple’s iOS 26 doesn’t try to impress with just one headline feature—it refines the iPhone experience through a series of thoughtful, smaller improvements. While the much-talked-about Liquid Glass design language introduces a sleek, translucent look across the system, some of the most impressive updates are the ones you might not notice at first glance. Beyond the widely covered Live Translation and Spatial Scenes, here are five underrated enhancements that make iOS 26 shine.
1. AirPods as a Camera Remote
One of the coolest hidden tricks in iOS 26 is the ability to use certain AirPods (AirPods 4, AirPods 4 with ANC, AirPods Pro 2, and AirPods Pro 3) to control the iPhone camera. A quick tap on the stem snaps a picture, while pressing and holding starts or stops a video recording. When enabled in AirPods settings, you’ll even hear a three-second countdown in your earbuds before a photo is taken.
Even for casual photographers, this is a game-changer. It’s especially handy when the phone is mounted on a tripod—you can take shots without touching the device and risk shifting your perfect setup.
2. Smarter Visual Intelligence for Screenshots
Apple’s Visual Intelligence has grown into one of iOS’s most powerful features. With iOS 26, it now works directly with screenshots. After taking one, you’ll see two new options: Ask, which sends the image to ChatGPT for deeper insights, and Image Search, which uses Google to find visually similar content.
You can also highlight specific parts of the screenshot to refine your query. Depending on what’s in the image, Visual Intelligence suggests actions—like adding an event to your calendar, summarizing text, identifying plants or animals, pulling up product listings, or displaying business info. It’s a versatile tool that quickly feels indispensable.
3. Custom Backgrounds in Message
Personalization takes another step forward in iOS 26 with customizable chat backgrounds. Open a conversation, tap the contact name at the top, and select Backgrounds. You can choose from Apple’s preset options, pick an image from your photo library, or create something new with Image Playground.
While you can’t yet match bubble colors to your chosen background, it’s still a fun way to bring personality to conversations. Just note: both you and the person you’re chatting with need to be running iOS 26 for the backgrounds to display.
4. Copy Only the Text You Need in Messages
This long-requested quality-of-life update makes everyday messaging easier. Previously, copying text from a message meant grabbing the entire bubble, forcing you to paste it elsewhere and trim it down.
With iOS 26, you can now select specific words or phrases directly within a message bubble. Whether you’re saving just an address, a link, or a few lines from a longer text, the process is much smoother and faster.
5. Adjustable Snooze Times for Alarms
Apple finally lets you take control of the snooze button. In earlier versions, snooze was always locked at nine minutes, but iOS 26 allows you to set custom snooze durations between 1 and 15 minutes for each alarm.
You’ll find the option when editing or creating an alarm in the Clock app. It might not transform your sleep schedule, but it gives you more flexibility—whether you want a quick one-minute buffer or a full quarter-hour before starting your day.
iOS 26 may not reinvent the iPhone, but it introduces a variety of subtle enhancements that add up to a noticeably smoother and more personalized experience. From smarter screenshots to customizable alarms, these smaller upgrades prove that sometimes it’s the details that make the biggest impact
