FaceTime "Communication Safety" feature: A newer addition to iOS 26 appears to be the FaceTime "Communication Safety" feature that pauses communications if and when nudity is detected. The feature appears to be a child safety feature that uses on-device detection, thus obviating any cloud-based privacy issues.

While the majority of Apple users have likely already jumped on the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 bandwagon, plenty of iPhone and iPad owners may notice they can't update their devices to the newest version at all. If that's the case for you, the most likely reason is simple: your device is no longer supported.

Looking at the home screens, the primary difference you'll find is that in iOS 26, the dock background and the search option that sits between the dock and the home screen icons are more transparent and have a sheen to the edges, whereas in iOS 18, these are slightly darker.

When you first open Software Update in Settings, you'll notice two different upgrade options: iOS 18.7 and iOS 26. Apple released the former to address security issues, so you can at least download that one if you're unsure about all the big changes on iOS 26. It also gives you more time to wait for Apple to take care of any bugs on the new OS.

Apple’s latest iOS 26 update has rolled out globally, bringing several new features and improvements. However, a large number of iPhone users are reporting serious issues after updating their devices.

Apple has added eight new Background Sounds in iOS 26, including Babble, Steam, Airplane, Boat, Bus, Train, Rain On Roof, and Quiet Night. Add the Background Sounds control to Control Center to try them out, or go to Settings ➝ Accessibility ➝ Audio & Visual ➝ Background Sounds.

According to a MacRumors forum post, users who want to downgrade back to iOS 18 will first need to make sure they have a full device backup from the previous iOS, not a backup from iOS 26 — and come to terms with potentially losing all of their data in the process.