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In addition to hundreds of bug fixes, iOS 26.2 will bring much-needed refinement to the iPhone's operating system -- along with more than 20 new features.
Produced by Extra Ordinary for Cult of Mac
Music composed by Will Davenport, arranged by D. Griffin Jones
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:27 Top Features
2:27 Liquid Glass
3:49 Changes in other apps
5:48 System features
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
iOS 26.2 is an update that brings some
0:03
much needed refinement to the system.
0:06
With this update, iOS 26 now feels ready
0:09
to be adopted by the masses. And my
0:12
guess is that this is the update Apple
0:14
will start pushing on everybody still on
0:16
iOS 18. In addition to hundreds of bug
0:20
fixes, there are over 20 great new
0:23
changes. Here's the complete list.
0:27
A great new feature is that you can now
0:29
add an alarm to a reminder. If you have
0:32
a bad habit of ignoring your
0:34
notifications and badges if you already
0:36
have a reminder set with a time and
0:38
date, you can also mark it as urgent to
0:41
add an alarm when it goes off. It'll
0:44
ring your phone even if you have a focus
0:46
mode enabled. The podcasts app features
0:49
in iOS 26.2. For one, it'll
0:52
automatically generate chapters if an
0:55
episode doesn't have its own already.
0:58
This only works on public podcast
1:00
episodes, not private or membersonly
1:02
shows. In my testing with Dear Hank and
1:05
John, a podcast that typically has an
1:08
intro, five to six listener questions,
1:11
and a closing segment, it incorrectly
1:13
grouped a few of the middle segments
1:15
together. But I can still see this being
1:18
useful if it lets you skip a section
1:20
you're not interested in. You'll see
1:22
pop-ups whenever another podcast is
1:24
mentioned right from the now playing
1:26
screen. You can tap it to see details
1:28
about that show. And when you go back to
1:30
the episode description, you'll see a
1:32
full list of all the shows mentioned in
1:35
that episode. You'll also see timed
1:37
links to other content like Apple News,
1:39
Apple Music, Apple TV, and more. This is
1:43
kind of like chapter links, a feature
1:45
supported in the MP3 format and other
1:48
podcast apps like Overcast, except it
1:51
only works when the link in question is
1:53
to Apple's own content. Apple changed
1:56
how the sleep score is graded on the
1:58
Apple Watch and in the health app. The
2:01
feature launched in Watch OS 26 and
2:03
gives you a score out of 100 based on
2:05
your sleep, calculated from your
2:07
bedtime, sleep duration, and
2:10
interruptions throughout the night. The
2:12
threshold for each grade was raised a
2:14
little higher than before. Some users
2:17
thought it was a little optimistic. The
2:20
excellent category was also renamed to
2:23
very high to match the other scores. A
2:27
few changes come to liquid glass,
2:29
Apple's new user interface style that's
2:31
all over iOS 26. To start, context menus
2:36
have a new animation that's more fluid,
2:39
flashy, and glassy than before. It's
2:42
more similar to the original concept
2:44
that was shown off at WWDC earlier in
2:47
June. Now, when you tap on a menu, it
2:49
shoots out and grows into a big bubble
2:52
and morphs into a rectangular shape that
2:55
the menu items appear inside. When you
2:57
dismiss the menu, the same animation
3:00
plays in reverse. You can now adjust the
3:02
transparency of the clock on the lock
3:05
screen. While you're editing your lock
3:07
screen, you tap on the clock. And if you
3:09
have it set to the glass style, you can
3:11
now change it from a little more opaque
3:14
to completely transparent. To set it
3:16
back to its default, you just tap on
3:18
solid and then tap on glass again. The
3:22
transparency slider is available no
3:24
matter which lock screen style you have
3:26
set or which clock font you have set.
3:28
The Measure app now has liquid glass on
3:31
its level tool. The bubbles are now
3:34
liquid glass bubbles floating over a
3:37
grid. You can see how they interact and
3:40
flow into each other, as well as how the
3:42
light chromatically refracts and bends
3:44
the light beneath it. Now, let's move on
3:46
to some of the changes found in Apple's
3:48
apps. Apple Music now keeps song lyrics
3:51
downloaded to your phone, so you can
3:53
toggle them on instantly. This will be
3:56
useful if you want to have the words
3:57
while you're jamming out, even in an
3:59
underground subway or while driving in
4:02
the car through an area with no service.
4:04
Passwords has a new setting where you
4:06
can see the list of all the websites
4:09
you've prevented from saving a password.
4:12
If you've ever been offered to save a
4:13
password and you accidentally hit never
4:16
for this website, now you can make sure
4:18
your password will be saved the next
4:20
time. Go to settings, apps, passwords,
4:25
and tap show excluded websites where you
4:28
can remove them from the list. Free
4:31
form, the collaborative infinite
4:33
whiteboarding app, now supports adding
4:36
tables to a board. Apple News and iOS
4:38
26.2 has some improved navigation.
4:42
There's now quick links at the top to
4:43
access its puzzles, politics, business,
4:46
sports, and food sections. There's also
4:49
a separate following tab separated from
4:52
the search tab. You can now turn off
4:54
pinned messages in CarPlay. The CarPlay
4:57
messages app added support for pinned
5:00
conversations in iOS 26, but it received
5:03
some criticism. The layout isn't the
5:06
same as it is on the iPhone, which
5:09
breaks muscle memory. and the unread
5:11
badges aren't in the same spot on your
5:13
pinned conversations as they are in the
5:16
conversations below, making it hard to
5:18
see what's new. When you go into
5:21
settings and turn off pinned messages,
5:24
CarPlay will show your messages in a
5:26
simple most recent list. Apple Games has
5:29
three new enhancements. You can now sort
5:32
the games in your library by size,
5:34
title, or how recently you've played
5:36
them. Support for navigating the user
5:39
interface with a controller has
5:40
improved, and your scores and challenge
5:44
progress now update in real time as you
5:47
play a game. And now, some of the
5:49
changes across the system. On an iPad,
5:52
you can drag an app directly into split
5:55
view or slide over. Apple continues to
5:58
merge the old method of split screen
6:00
multitasking with its new free form
6:03
multi-windowing mode. Just like before,
6:06
you can drag an app icon out of the dock
6:09
or spotlight. When you let go, it'll
6:12
automatically fill that half of the
6:15
screen like in split view. And you can
6:17
drag another app icon on top of it to
6:20
replace it. When you drag an app icon to
6:23
the edge of the screen, it'll make a
6:25
floating slide over window. You can now
6:27
airdrop with strangers using a temporary
6:30
code. This will be a convenient way to
6:33
exchange videos, pictures, and files
6:36
with people outside your contacts.
6:39
Generating a code lets you airdrop with
6:40
somebody for up to 30 days, which is
6:43
much longer than the current 10minute
6:46
limit. You can manage this in settings,
6:49
general, airdrop, by tapping manage
6:52
known AirDrop contacts. However, how you
6:56
create a code isn't yet known at the
6:59
time of making this video. Enhanced
7:02
safety alerts are a new type of
7:04
emergency notification enabled by
7:06
default. There are earthquake alerts and
7:10
imminent threat alerts, whatever those
7:12
may be. You can now make the screen
7:14
light up in addition to or instead of
7:18
the LED camera flash on the back. Find
7:21
this setting in settings, accessibility,
7:24
audio and visual, flash for alerts. With
7:27
flash for alerts enabled, you can have
7:29
it set to LED flash screen or both. In
7:34
Japan, iOS 26.2 supports replacing Siri
7:38
with a third-party voice assistant.
7:40
Holding the side button will allow other
7:42
apps like Google's Gemini, Amazon Alexa,
7:46
Chat GPT's voice mode, or more to be
7:49
activated instead according to the
7:51
user's preference. Now, this is a new
7:54
feature that third party apps still have
7:56
to adopt, so they might not be available
7:59
on day one. Also, users will be able to
8:02
install alternative app marketplaces
8:06
like Alt Store or the Epic Game Store
8:09
just like in the European Union. Last
8:12
and least, users in the European Union
8:14
can now use live translation if they
8:18
have AirPods Pro 2, Pro 3, or AirPods 4
8:21
with active noise cancellation. The
8:23
feature lets you get a live translation
8:25
as you're talking to somebody in a
8:27
foreign language.
8:29
And those are all of the features in iOS
8:33
26.2. If you're fresh updating from iOS
8:35
18, be sure to watch my recap videos on
8:38
everything new in iOS 26.0 and 26.1.
8:43
I'm Deer Jones with Cult of Mac.