The new app Games aggregates event feeds, community tabs, and "Play Together" features. The Photos app has returned to the "Library" and "Collections" tabs and now supports spatial photo effects. Battery settings now include estimates for charging time and adaptive power mode.

The Phone and Music apps have undergone significant changes. The Phone app features a new design, call filters, and enhanced capabilities for iPad and Mac. Apple Music offers full-screen animated album covers, track pinning, an AutoMix feature, and lyrics translation.

The Maps app now includes a "Visited Places" feature that uses on-device intelligence. At the same time, new capabilities for visionOS users have emerged, including placing widgets in physical space and saving their positions, as well as the "Look to Scroll" gesture for convenient navigation. Users can now unlock their iPhone using Vision Pro.

In watchOS 26, an updated Workout app interface and the Workout Buddy feature — an AI fitness coach that uses voice prompts to achieve goals, provide statistics, and celebrate records — have been introduced. Apple Watch can now suggest music for workouts, and the Smart Stack interface has become more intelligent. The wrist twist gesture dismisses notifications, and volume adjusts automatically. The Notes app also made its debut.

visionOS 26 allows users to place widgets in physical space and save their positions. The "Look to Scroll" gesture has been introduced for more intuitive navigation, and users can now unlock their iPhone using Vision Pro. The update also added new customizable Personas and improved collaboration in guest mode.

New accessories, such as the Logitech Muse — a stylus with six degrees of freedom, and PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers, are now supported.

iPadOS 26 has adopted many features from macOS: now there is a full-screen mode with resizing options, traffic management, window placement via gestures, and the Exposé feature. A persistent menu bar and an updated cursor provide PC-like navigation. The Files app has gained support for customizable columns, folder personalization, and drag-and-drop support in the Dock.

Standalone apps for View and Journal have been introduced, and developers have received APIs for local audio input, video call recording, and background tasks. macOS 26 Tahoe supports Liquid Glass in all aspects, introduces color and emoji folder settings, and Shortcut automation. Spotlight has become a fully functional launcher with intelligent suggestions, app actions, keyboard shortcuts, clipboard history, and App Intents support for developers.

The new app launch experience replaces Launchpad. Apple Intelligence expands with the ability for private, offline AI integration through a new API. Visual Intelligence allows actions to be performed directly in screenshots, and Image Playground has gained support for image creation using ChatGPT. Built-in live translation is available for messages, calls, and FaceTime subtitles — these tools now have APIs for developers.

This episode also features renowned YouTuber Kevin Nether, known as "Kevin Tech Ninja." Check out his work on his YouTube channel. The MacRumors Show has its own channel, subscribe to not miss new episodes and clips. You can also listen to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or your favorite podcast app. You can copy our RSS feed into your player for listening.

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