iOS 26’s latest update is great for Apple Music fans

• You can swipe in Apple Music
• Apple Intelligence is expanding
• Live Translation gets a boost
• Notification Forwarding can help you know what’s going on
• More fixes include security advancements

The latest iPhone operating system, iOS 26, has delivered many new features for Apple lovers. The Liquid Glass display is a significant change from a design perspective, with its bubble-like, see-through look. You can now screen calls and get full recaps of voicemails with transcriptions. There’s even hold assist, meaning if you’re on hold waiting to talk to someone like a customer service representative, your phone will put you on hold and answer the phone back up when someone picks up.

The design comes Apple’s part of continuing to push the boundaries for its flagship device. Another major program that received a face lift during iOS 26 was Apple Music. The streaming audio service is constantly battling Spotify for supremacy in the space, and its latest update has leaned hard into what makes it stand out from its competition.

New features have included lyric translation to help you better understand songs you’re listening to, lyric pronunciation to help you sing better, and the ability to adjust your mic on Apple Sing, if you are doing karaoke. These features have been a welcomed sight for Apple Music users, as Apple continues to try to gain an advantage. But iOS 26 isn’t done with its updates. There are more updates, including ones for Apple Music, slated for the next iteration of the software, iOS 26.1, which is currently in beta testing. Users could see these features as soon as the end of the month.

You can swipe in Apple Music

Makes it easier to get from one song to another — or back

Apple Music is going to simplify the process of skipping or going back to a song. If you’re listening to music on Apple Music, the Now Playing screen shows you the song title, the album, the artist, and then a photo of the album cover. Below it are buttons that let you fast-forward the song, pause it, stop it, and rewind it. If you press on the fast-forward button, it can also skip to the next song.

Rather than forcing users to tap a tiny button (and risk accidentally skipping a song they were just trying to fast-forward), the next version of iOS 26 introduces a smoother solution: swipe gestures on the album artwork. This will work if you are listening to an album straight through, or if you’re listening to a playlist. Swiping left or right will either take you to the previous song or the next song in the playlist. This is just a simpler way to get to another song.

Apple Intelligence is expanding

A big one that didn’t get addressed during the first round

For those who have iPhones that offer it, Apple Intelligence has been a strong addition to iPhone features. The assistant can help you with more than Siri did by assisting with tasks, designs, communication, and more. It’s adding AI technology to the device and helping your phone run more efficiently and effectively. As with most cases of AI use, the idea is to simplify tasks and do more in a shorter period of time. Rather than you having to look up certain things, your Apple Intelligence can do it.

Right now, Apple Intelligence is supported in the following languages:

• English
• Chinese (Simplified)
• French
• German
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Portuguese (Brazil)
• Spanish

When the next iOS 26 comes out, it will also include Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. This helps expand the technology to more users, making it a more complete and diverse AI engine.

Live Translation gets a boost

This is truly wild technology

Another new feature for iOS 26 was Live Translation. It’s an Apple Intelligence feature that works for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. It helps break down any language barriers that users might experience by either translating a conversation live via Messages or even on the phone or via video call.

You can also make this work if you’re using one of the new AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2, and AirPods 4, which can translate in-person conversations.

As of now, Live Translation has six languages available. It is about to expand to 11 languages. You’ll be able to hear Live Translation in Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English (US), English (UK), French, German, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Spain). Your phone or AirPods will translate instantly after receiving or hearing another language.

Notification Forwarding can help you know what’s going on

Keep an eye on all your devices

Do you want to know what’s happening on your iPhone even when you aren’t on it? Notification Forwarding is a new iOS 26.1 feature that lets you customize your home screen to have notifications from it sent to another non-Apple device. You can already sync your Apple Account on your Mac or iPad, so you can see your notifications on those if you enable them.

With Notification Forwarding, you’ll be able to view iPhone notifications on non-Apple devices. You can designate one other device — like a work laptop — to receive them. For example, if you’re using your laptop during the day and don’t want to be seen constantly checking your phone, you can have push notifications sent directly to it. That way, you can stay on top of what’s happening in your life without reaching for your phone.

More fixes include security advancements

iOS 26.1 should be out soon

More fixes and features are coming in iOS 26.1. The new Background Security Improvements will automatically apply security patches. Currently, you have to download a full iOS update to get the latest patches, but this new feature handles it for you in the background. iOS 26.1 will also bring improved compatibility between iPhones and third-party smartwatches and devices.

There will also be overall animation smoothing and easier menus to navigate. Overall, iOS 26 has been one of the more significant advancements for the iPhone, and it has made it not only easier to use but also better as a phone. It will be interesting to see how these upgrades in iOS 26.1 will go and what else is to come.