iOS 26 Beta Review: Bold, Beautiful, and a Little Bonkers

I installed iOS 26 Beta on my iPhone 16E and 15 Pro the minute it dropped after WWDC 2025, and two days in, I can confidently say this: it's a breath of fresh air with a few design choices that will definitely divide opinions. Apple has reimagined large parts of the OS, and while some of it feels futuristic and fluid, other parts might make Steve Jobs do a ghostly double-take.

Let's break down what's new and what actually matters in real-world use - from the flashy Liquid Glass UI to redesigned apps, new features, bugs, and how your battery holds up.

The New Look: Liquid Glass

This is the biggest visual overhaul since iOS 7. Apple's new "Liquid Glass" design language brings translucent layers, glowing blur effects, and dynamically colored UI elements that adapt to your wallpaper. Everything from notifications to app panels floats like glass sheets.

It's gorgeous. It's immersive. And sometimes, it's impractical.

While I appreciate the clean, fluid feel, in bright sunlight or with busy wallpapers, visibility takes a hit. Menus occasionally blend into the background, and color-coded app icons lose their distinctiveness in "Clear Look" mode. You can toggle off some of this via Accessibility settings, but it feels like style got a bit more attention than usability in some places.

That said, the cohesiveness across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and even VisionOS is impressive. It genuinely feels like Apple is laying groundwork for its spatial computing future.

Also Read: WWDC 2025: A Glassy Overhaul or Another Slow Burn?

Music App: Visual Vibes & DJ Feels

The Apple Music app got a glow-up that actually matters. My favorite part? Tap the lock screen album art and boom - it explodes into a full-screen animated visualizer. If you're using supported albums, the covers even come to life.

Playback controls float on translucent layers, making the lock screen feel alive. Inside the app, the navigation bar minimizes on scroll, album art gets a bigger spotlight, and you can finally pin playlists right to the top. Huge time-saver.

And in the last image, you can see the bad side of the design, on lighter backgrounds, the text becomes unreadable. So, that will be across the board including the Music app. Unless Apple releases a fix in the next update.

New features include:

• AutoMix for DJ-style transitions
• Lyric Translation and Pronunciation for global music fans

Aside from one crash during aggressive scrubbing, it's been a flawless and fun experience. This is Apple finally adding flair to function in Music.

Photos & Camera: Welcome Changes

Photos is no longer a mess of tabs. It's now streamlined into just two sections: Library and Collections. It's cleaner, faster to navigate, and the big Search button makes sense. I didn't realize how cluttered the old layout was until I started using this one.

There's also a new Spatial Photos feature. You pick a regular photo and iOS creates a depth-based 3D scene. It works shockingly well, even on older shots, and it's a fun hint at future AR/VR integration.

As for the Camera app - major reset here. The UI now prioritizes just Photo and Video modes on launch. Others like Portrait, Slo-Mo, etc., are tucked into a swipe-up menu. It feels a bit weird at first, but the design is cleaner and lets you focus on framing your shot.

Bonus: New toggles let you switch formats (HEIC, JPEG, RAW) and resolution (24MP, 48MP) quickly.

Overall? A more intuitive experience for regular users, and a neat quality bump for camera nerds.

New Features That Actually Help

• Call Screening: Spam calls get intercepted and transcribed in real-time. You get a live text of what the caller's saying before deciding to answer. It worked like a charm on a telemarketer.
• Hold Detection: Your iPhone offers to wait on hold during service calls and pings you when a human picks up. Love this.
• Messages Upgrades: You can now set custom wallpapers in group chats, auto-sort unknown senders, and even create polls. Chat feels more personal and organized.
• Live Voicemail Summaries: Long voicemails are transcribed and summarized using on-device AI. Handy for people who still leave 2-minute monologues.

These aren't gimmicks. They save time and reduce friction in everyday use.

Performance & Battery: Surprisingly Stable

For a beta, iOS 26 is remarkably stable. No major crashes, all my apps are working, and animations are mostly smooth. There was one respring during Safari use and a couple of UI hiccups, but nothing deal-breaking.

Battery life? Surprisingly solid. Apple's new Adaptive Power Mode works behind the scenes to balance performance and efficiency. Even with all the new animations and AI magic, I'm seeing only a small hit on daily endurance.

And yes, the new charging screen finally shows estimated time to full charge. Why did this take 17 years?

Bugs & Beta Warnings

It's a beta, so expect:

• Occasional stutters (especially in Photos and Safari)
• Slight heating during heavy AR or camera use
• A few animations dropping frames

But for early adopters, this is surprisingly usable. I'd still advise backing up your device before installing. Some of the UI changes, once enabled, can't be rolled back without a full wipe.

Verdict: Fresh, Risky, Mostly Worth It

iOS 26 beta is not just a coat of paint. It's a full rethinking of how your iPhone looks and feels. Some of it is genius (Music, Photos, Call Screening), some of it needs refinement (icon visibility, UI contrast), but none of it feels boring.

Apple took real risks here - and while some design decisions may divide the fanbase, I'm personally enjoying the freshness. After years of iterative updates, this is the shakeup I didn't know I needed.

So, should you install it? If you like living on the edge (with backups), go for it. Just know that you're signing up for a ride that's equal parts "wow" and "hmm." So do it on a secondary device, and not the one your life relies on.

But make no mistake - iOS 26 is the beginning of something big. Possibly spatial. Definitely bold. Slightly bonkers. And I'm here for it.