iOS 26 Today (November 15, 2025): Best iPhone Settings to Change, 12 Hidden Tricks, and What’s New in iOS 26.2

Apple’s big iOS 26 update has been out for two months now, but the story is still evolving. With iOS 26.1 already on devices and iOS 26.2 confirmed for a December release, new tips, hidden features and real‑world impressions keep landing — including fresh coverage today. ^[1]

Drawing on new guides from 9to5Mac, Geeky Gadgets, and Tom’s Guide, plus today’s iOS 26.2 news, here’s a complete, up‑to‑date look at:

The iOS 26 settings you should change right away
12 hidden iOS 26 tricks that unlock more from your iPhone
How iOS 26 really runs on older hardware like the iPhone 15 Pro Max
What’s new today around iOS 26.2 — and whether you should update now or wait

Where iOS 26 Stands Today

iOS 26 is Apple’s current major iPhone operating system, released globally on September 15, 2025, with a headline “Liquid Glass” redesign that brings rounded, translucent UI elements across the system. ^[2]

Key points as of November 15, 2025:

Latest stable version: iOS 26.1, released on November 3, 2025, focusing on stability and polishing the new design. ^[3]
Next update: iOS 26.2, currently in beta 2 (released November 12) with eight notable new features, including a Liquid Glass slider, offline Apple Music lyrics, and notification screen flash. ^[4]
Release window: Apple has confirmed iOS 26.2 will roll out to everyone in December 2025. ^[5]

So if you’ve just updated — or are still hesitating — this is a good moment to tune your settings and learn what’s coming next.

iOS 26 settings you should change immediately

A new 9to5Mac deep dive walks through the first settings their editor flipped after installing iOS 26 and 26.1. ^[6] Here are the most useful ones, plus where to find them.

1. Restore your Always‑On Display photo (turn off blur)

In iOS 26, Apple now blurs your Lock Screen wallpaper on the Always‑On Display by default so the new Liquid Glass clock stands out more. That looks stylish, but if you like seeing your photo clearly when your phone is idle, you’ll want to change this. ^[7]

How to change it:

Go to Settings → Display & Brightness → Always On Display
Turn “Blur Wallpaper Photo”off

This restores the Always‑On behavior from iOS 18: your photo appears sharp, not frosted.

2. Stop accidentally opening the Camera from the Lock Screen

For years, swiping left on the Lock Screen opened the Camera. With new controls like the Camera Control button, Action button shortcuts and Lock Screen controls, some users now trigger that swipe by accident more than on purpose. iOS 26.1 finally lets you disable it. ^[8]

How to change it:

Open Settings → Camera
Scroll down to “Lock Screen Swipe to Open Camera”
Toggle it off

You still have plenty of fast ways to open Camera without random mis-swipes.

3. Turn on Adaptive Power mode for smarter battery life

Low Power Mode has always been aggressive, throttling performance and visuals. iOS 26 adds Adaptive Power, a smarter option available on iPhones that support Apple Intelligence. ^[9]

Apple’s description says that when your battery usage is higher than usual, the phone can quietly adjust performance, brightness and enable Low Power Mode at 20% to stretch battery life — only when needed. ^[10]

How to enable it:

Go to Settings → Battery → Power Mode
Choose “Adaptive Power”

Most of the time you won’t even notice it’s on — it only kicks in on heavier‑than‑normal days.

4. Use AirPods sleep detection to pause audio when you nod off

iOS 26 introduces “Pause Media When Falling Asleep” for newer AirPods models (AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4). When your iPhone detects you’ve dozed off with AirPods in, it automatically pauses your audio, so you don’t wake up lost in a podcast or audiobook. ^[11]

To turn it on:

With your AirPods connected, open Settings → [Your AirPods]
Look for “Pause Media When Falling Asleep”
Toggle it on

It’s a small setting that feels like magic when you use your AirPods to wind down at night.

12 hidden iOS 26 tricks to master your iPhone

A new guide from Geeky Gadgets, based on an iReviews video, collects 12 lesser‑known iOS 26 powers that focus on everyday convenience and organization. ^[12] Here’s a quick tour of the highlights.

Reduce Loud Sounds for consistent audio
Use the Reduce Loud Sounds option to automatically cap sudden volume spikes in headphones, giving you a smoother listening experience across apps and media. ^[13]
Send low‑quality photo previews in Messages
On slow networks or limited data, you can send compressed photo previews in Messages for quicker delivery while maintaining enough detail to see what’s going on. ^[14]
Turn AirPods into a wireless microphone
iOS 26 lets AirPods act as a wireless mic for video recording — handy for vloggers or anyone who wants clearer voice audio without extra gear. ^[15]
Control the camera with AirPods gestures
You can trigger the Camera remotely via AirPods gestures (like pressing the stem on supported models) to snap group shots or hands‑free videos. ^[16]
Use the Action button for one‑tap reminders
Configure the Action button (on supported iPhones) to instantly create detailed reminders, including time‑ or location‑based alerts — perfect for “call when I get home”‑type tasks. ^[17]
Time‑zone aware reminders for travelers
iOS 26 can shift reminder times based on your current time zone, so travel doesn’t wreck your schedule of calls, meetings and alerts. ^[18]
Organize Apple Music playlists with folders
Apple Music now lets you group playlists into folders by mood, genre or projects, taming huge libraries into something you can actually navigate. ^[19]
Sensitive Content Warning in FaceTime
A new FaceTime option warns you before potentially sensitive content appears, giving you the choice to blur or view it — another layer of privacy and safety. ^[20]
Smarter call filtering
The Phone app can more clearly label and separate missed calls, video calls, voicemail and suspected spam, helping you prioritize which calls deserve your time. ^[21]
Color‑coded and emoji folders in Files
The Files app adds folder customization with colors, emojis or symbols, making big document collections easier to scan at a glance. ^[22]
Call‑related reminders right from Phone
Missed an important call? You can now create reminders directly in the Phone app to call someone back at a specific time. ^[23]
Dozens of tiny “life‑smoother” enhancements
The broader iOS 26 feature list includes redesigned Photos, smarter Maps, a new Apple Games app, improved order tracking in Wallet and more — most of which work quietly in the background to simplify your day. ^[24]

Taken together, these “small” additions are a big part of why iOS 26 feels more like a lifestyle upgrade than just a visual refresh.

iOS 26 on an older iPhone: real‑world verdict

Today, Tom’s Guide published a fresh feature where staff writer Josh Render finally upgraded his two‑year‑old iPhone 15 Pro Max from iOS 18.7 to iOS 26 — and then lived with it. ^[25] Here’s what he found.

Liquid Glass: nice in apps, odd on the Home Screen

Render admits he was skeptical of Liquid Glass, Apple’s new frosted, semi‑transparent design language, but found that in most apps it fades into the background. Where he still dislikes it is on the Home Screen, especially when apps are grouped:

Grouped apps can create a distorted “glass bubble” effect over your wallpaper
Fixing the look requires bouncing through multiple settings areas (Accessibility → Display & Text, Display & Brightness, plus Home Screen adjustments) ^[26]

His main complaint isn’t performance — it’s that customization options for Liquid Glass are scattered and confusing.

Updated apps: Camera is a win, Apple Music… not so much

On the app side, he reports:

Third‑party apps like Discord, Twitch and Kindle work essentially as before, mostly picking up cosmetic changes. ^[27]
The new Camera app layout is actually an improvement: options are more obvious and easier to use for casual shooters. ^[28]
The Apple Music redesign is mixed:
- A new navigation bar feels more like a stylistic tweak than a major win
- Swiping songs on the play bar only works inside the app — not from Dynamic Island or Lock Screen — which he finds unintuitive. ^[29]

Performance, Apple Intelligence and overall impression

Because the iPhone 15 Pro Max supports Apple Intelligence, it can run most of Apple’s new on‑device AI features. But Render notes that iOS 26 doesn’t dramatically expand those capabilities yet: it mostly refines existing tools like Visual Intelligence and Image Playground rather than introducing a huge leap forward. ^[30]

His bottom‑line verdict:

Performance: No major slowdowns — iOS 26 runs comfortably on the 15 Pro Max
Complexity: Settings feel more fragmented than in iOS 18
Value: The update feels like more of a side‑grade than a true upgrade on this older‑but‑still‑modern iPhone, though it’s far from a disaster. ^[31]

If you’re on a similar device (A17‑class or newer), his experience suggests you can safely update, but you should budget some time to tweak the design to your liking.

What’s new today: iOS 26.2, CarPlay tweak and future Siri 2.0

Beyond the guides above, November 15, 2025 brought several iOS 26‑related news hits.

iOS 26.2: December release, 8 big features

A detailed MacRumors report plus Apple’s own press material confirm that iOS 26.2 is scheduled for a December public release and will build on 26.1 with eight standout additions: ^[32]

Highlights include:

Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen clock
Adjust how strong or subtle the frosted clock effect is in Lock Screen customization. ^[33]
Offline lyrics in Apple Music
View synced lyrics even when you’re offline — useful for flights and low‑signal commutes. ^[34]
Revised Sleep Scores (with watchOS 26.2)
Apple has shifted the ranges for “Very Low” through “Very High” scores, aiming for more realistic sleep feedback when combining iPhone and Apple Watch data. ^[35]
Alarms for Reminders
Mark a reminder as “Urgent” with a time and you’ll now get a full alarm, not just a quiet notification. ^[36]
Apple Podcasts upgrades
Automatic chapters, timed links and better discovery of related shows inside the player and transcript view. ^[37]
Apple News “Following” tab and new shortcuts
A reorganized Apple News interface with a dedicated Following tab and quick‑access buttons for sections like sports and politics. ^[38]
Screen flash for alerts
Under Accessibility → Audio & Visual → Flash for Alerts, you’ll be able to flash the screen, not just the rear LED, when notifications arrive. ^[39]
AirPods Live Translation expands to the EU
The AirPods‑based real‑time translation feature becomes available across the EU, assuming you have compatible AirPods and an Apple Intelligence‑ready iPhone. ^[40]

A separate report today notes that iOS 26.2 is also part of Apple’s subtle retreat on some of Liquid Glass’s more controversial visual choices, giving users more control over intensity and transparency. ^[41]

New today: CarPlay can hide pinned conversations

One of the smaller but very real pain points for drivers has been that CarPlay’s Messages app always showed pinned conversations at the top, which some found distracting.

A new Appleosophy article, published today, confirms that iOS 26.2 beta 2 adds a toggle to disable pinned conversations in CarPlay: ^[42]

To change it (once 26.2 arrives):

Open Settings on the CarPlay interface
Find “Pinned Conversations”
Turn it off

The stable iOS 26.2 release is expected next month with this change included.

Looking ahead: Siri 2.0 and iOS 26.4 in early 2026

While Apple Intelligence in iOS 26 is still relatively modest, a new Geeky Gadgets piece today points to “Siri 2.0”, a major AI‑driven overhaul due in early 2026, reportedly tied to a later iOS 26.4 update. ^[43]

For now, that means:

Don’t expect Siri to suddenly transform in 26.2
The big AI jump is likely coming next year, making today’s updates more about usability, design and small‑scale intelligence than full‑blown reinvention.

Should you update to iOS 26 right now?

Based on everything above, here’s the November 15, 2025 snapshot:

Update now if:

You’re on a recent iPhone (15 series or newer) and want the Liquid Glass look, smarter battery tools, new Camera layout and hidden quality‑of‑life upgrades. ^[44]
You use AirPods heavily — features like sleep detection, camera gestures and expanded Live Translation (soon in the EU) all lean on iOS 26. ^[45]
You like to tinker: iOS 26 offers a lot of customization if you don’t mind diving into Settings.

Consider waiting (or at least preparing) if:

You’re sensitive to design changes: Liquid Glass is still divisive, and as Tom’s Guide notes, the customization controls are spread across different menus. ^[46]
You prefer mature releases: iOS 26.1 is already a stability step up from 26.0, and 26.2 next month will bring more refinements — including more control over design and notifications. ^[47]

Either way, today’s crop of guides and news makes one thing clear: iOS 26 is less about one headline feature and more about a long series of small, cumulative changes.

If you do decide to update, start by:

Turning off Always‑On blur (if you like your photos clear)
Adjusting Liquid Glass intensity once 26.2 hits
Enabling Adaptive Power
Trying a couple of those 12 hidden tricks — especially AirPods camera controls, low‑quality photo previews, and Files folder customization

Those alone will make your iPhone feel noticeably different — and more “yours” — on day one.

iOS 26 Settings You NEED To Turn Off NOW! [IMPORTANT]

Watch this video on YouTube.

References