- Built-in document editor: Apple’s latest iOS 26 update introduces a new Preview app on iPhones, finally giving users a native way to view, edit, sign, and scan PDFs and images without third-party tools [1] [2]. The app automatically appears on the home screen after updating.
- Mac features on mobile: Preview on iPhone brings over familiar capabilities from the Mac’s Preview app, letting you open PDFs or images, annotate with Markup, add text boxes or signatures, crop/rotate images, and even scan documents straight from the camera – all in one place [3]. Apple essentially “eliminates the need to download separate apps” for these tasks by bundling them into iOS 26 [4].
- Easy document scanning: Using your iPhone’s camera, the app can digitize physical pages into clean PDFs. It automatically detects the page edges and captures the document, producing a corrected, aligned scan [5]. If the scan isn’t perfect, you can retake it, then save the final version as a PDF. This makes converting paper to digital “quick and painless,” and it’s now preinstalled on every updated iPhone [6].
- Paperless signing & forms: Preview will recognize fillable fields in PDFs and allows inserting your saved signature or text, making it simple to fill out forms on the go [7]. It even integrates Autofill so you can instantly populate common details (like your name or address) into PDF forms [8] – a huge time-saver for frequent form-fillers.
- Image editing on the fly: The new app isn’t just for PDFs. It includes basic photo editing tools: you can draw or highlight on images, crop or resize them, rotate or flip, and even remove backgrounds with a tap [9] [10]. Files can then be exported in various formats (HEIC, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, PDF, etc.) and sizes directly from your iPhone [11].
- Long-awaited convenience: iPhone users have wanted this for years. A rudimentary scanner has existed in the Notes app since 2017’s iOS 11 [12], but many never knew about it or found it clunky. “Many iPhone users have long wanted an easier way to edit, annotate and scan documents without relying on third-party tools. Now Apple’s built-in Preview app fills that gap,” one tech columnist noted [13].
- Positive early reviews: Tech experts are praising Preview as a “game-changer” for productivity. It consolidates tasks that once required multiple apps into one seamless workflow, which “makes editing and scanning documents easier than ever” [14]. Early users have responded enthusiastically – the app holds an impressive 4.6 out of 5 rating on the App Store so far [15] – though a few have quipped that Apple could have just added these features to the existing Files app [16].
Apple Finally Brings Preview to iPhone in iOS 26
Apple has officially released iOS 26 (the 2025 iPhone software update), and tucked inside is a surprise new app called Preview [17]. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Mac computers have had a Preview app for decades – in fact, it first appeared way back in 1989 on the Mac’s predecessor OS [18]. On macOS, Preview became the go-to utility for quickly opening images and PDFs, doing light edits, and digitally signing documents. Until now, iPhone users never had an equivalent built-in tool, relying instead on a mix of the Files app, Markup in Photos, or third-party apps to handle these chores. With iOS 26, Apple has finally brought this versatile app to its mobile devices [19], instantly recognizable by the Mac-like icon that appears after you upgrade [20].
Despite its name, the new Preview app isn’t about “previewing” upcoming features or anything futuristic – it’s all about productivity. Think of it as an all-in-one document and image editor for your iPhone. As Apple describes it, “the Preview app is now available on iPhone so you can easily view, edit, and share PDF documents and images”, scan new documents with the camera, fill out forms with Autofill, and export files to different formats [21]. In essence, it brings the core capabilities of the Mac’s beloved Preview program right to your phone, “giving iPhone users a native tool for editing and managing documents” – no downloads required [22]. This addition is part of Apple’s broader iOS 26 refresh, which also delivered a revamped visual style and other apps (like the new Apple Games app), but Preview is the standout feature that has many people excited [23] [24].
What the New Preview App Can Do
Just like its desktop counterpart, Preview on iPhone is packed with useful features, yet it keeps things simple for users. After installing iOS 26, you’ll find a new Preview icon on your home screen or App Library. Open it, and you’re greeted with a straightforward menu: New Document, Scan Document, and a file browser (which lets you access files stored on your device or iCloud) [25]. This clean interface will feel familiar – Apple notes it resembles the markup toolbar you get when editing a screenshot [26], so if you’ve ever annotated a photo on your iPhone, you’ll be right at home.
So, what can you actually do with Preview? Quite a lot:
- View and Annotate PDFs/Images: You can open PDF files or images directly in Preview (either from within the app or by tapping a file in the Files app – it’ll now default to Preview). Once open, you have a suite of markup tools at your disposal [27]. Need to highlight text, circle an important detail, or draw arrows on an image? Just tap the pen icon to doodle or highlight. There’s also a text tool for adding typed notes or labels, and you can drop in shapes or even stickers (features carried over from Markup on iOS). Essentially, it’s the same kind of annotation toolkit iPhone users have used in Mail or Photos, but unified in one place for any PDF or picture.
- Sign Forms Digitally: One of the handiest features is the ability to sign documents. Preview lets you create and save a digital signature (using your finger on the touchscreen or an Apple Pencil on iPad) which you can then insert into PDFs as needed [28] [29]. If you open, say, a contract or consent form, the app will automatically detect blank signature lines or form fields. You can drag your saved signature onto the line, or tap a field to type in text – no printing or scanning needed. In fact, Preview “automatically detects fillable text boxes and lets you add your signature” to PDFs, making signing agreements on the go incredibly convenient [30]. For repetitive forms, the app’s integration with iOS Autofill means it can auto-populate common fields (like your name, address, email) with a tap [31].
- Basic PDF Editing: While it’s not Adobe Acrobat Pro, Preview covers the essentials. You can fill out forms, as mentioned, and also rearrange or delete pages within a PDF (by tapping the page thumbnails). There are options to rotate pages or jump to a specific page number for navigation [32] [33]. You can even merge documents or insert new pages: for example, scanning a page and inserting it into an open PDF. And when you’re done, you can share the edited PDF via email, Messages, or save it back to Files. Apple has essentially turned the iPhone into a mini PDF workstation.
- Image Adjustments: Preview isn’t just for PDFs – it works with images too (JPEG, PNG, HEIC, and many other formats). If you open a photo or picture, you’ll get tools to crop or resize it, rotate or flip orientation, and even remove the background from an image with a single tap [34] [35]. That last trick is powered by iOS’s image analysis (similar to how you can long-press a photo in iOS 17 to lift the subject from the background). It’s great for turning a photo of a paper document into a clean-looking scan, or for isolating a subject in a photo. These quick edits cover most daily needs – for anything more advanced, you’d still use a pro app, but the beauty of Preview is not having to fire up a heavy editor for simple tasks. “Most image formats are supported by Preview… and it’s lightweight and straightforward to use,” notes Popular Science, which means you don’t have to wait for a big app like Photoshop just to check or tweak a file [36] [37].
- Export and Share: After marking up your document or image, Preview makes it easy to share or save in the format you prefer. According to Apple, you can export images and PDFs as different file types like HEIC, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, or PDF – even adjust the resolution or file size on export [38]. So if you scanned a document but need to send it as a JPEG image, or if you annotated a photo and want to save a compressed version, you can do that right from the app. Naturally, it ties into the iOS Share Sheet, so you can AirDrop a file to your Mac, attach it to an email, or save it into your Files app folders. One tap on the “share” icon gives options for Save to Files (which will save the scan or edited file as a PDF by default) or to share via AirDrop, Messages, Mail, etc. [39] [40]. If you choose “Save to Files,” you can pick a folder (e.g. On My iPhone > Preview > Scans) and hit Save – the scan or edited document will be there, ready to access later in Files [41].
In short, Preview turns your iPhone into a portable document hub. Open a file, mark it up, sign it, scan new pages in, and share – all with a few taps. It’s the kind of utility that power users have been piecing together with multiple apps for years. Now it’s baked into iOS.
Scanning Documents Made Easy (No Apps Required)
One feature that’s getting a lot of attention is the document scanner built into Preview. Digitizing paper used to be a bit of a pain point for mobile users – if you go back some years, you either needed a dedicated scanner device or a third-party app on your phone to capture pages and make PDFs [42]. Apple started addressing this by adding a scanner function to the iPhone’s Notes app in 2017 (with iOS 11) [43], and later to the Files app. But many users never even knew about those hidden scanners or found them unintuitive. With iOS 26, Apple has put scanning front and center: Preview’s home screen literally has a big “Scan Document” button.
Using it is delightfully simple. Tap Scan Document, point your iPhone’s camera at the page you want to capture, and hold it steady. The app will automatically find the edges of the page and snap the picture when everything is aligned [44]. You’ll see a preview thumbnail of the scanned page; if it looks good, tap the blue check mark to confirm, or hit Retake to try again [45]. You can scan multiple pages in a row – just keep pointing the camera at the next page, and it will keep adding pages to the scan. When you’re done, tapping Save will finalize the document. In a test run, Tom’s Guide reported that “It makes scanning pages with your camera quick and painless. You point your camera at a page and hold still, and the app turns it into a document.” [46] It’s a terrific way to convert a stack of papers into a tidy PDF on your phone. And unlike some older scanning apps, Preview takes care of the fiddly stuff like perspective correction and contrast: it will auto-crop to the paper’s edges and enhance the image so the text is legible. The result is usually indistinguishable from a proper scanner’s output – good enough for business or official use.
Once you’ve scanned one or more pages, Preview compiles them into a PDF file. From there, you can rename the file (e.g. “Scanned Contract Oct2025.pdf”) and choose what to do with it. Saving it to the Files app is often the best move (so you have it backed up and accessible later) – you just tap Save to Files, pick a folder (say, On My iPhone > Scans or an iCloud Drive folder), and tap Save [47]. The document will be waiting for you in the Files app whenever you need it [48]. If you need to send the scan to someone immediately, the Share menu lets you do that without leaving the app: you can AirDrop it to your Mac or a colleague’s iPhone, attach it to an iMessage or email, or even print it if necessary [49].
Notably, if your scanned document is something you need to sign or annotate, Preview lets you do that on the spot. After scanning, you can use the Markup tools to highlight text or add a signature before saving/sharing. This streamlines what used to be a multi-step process involving several apps. Kurt Knutsson, a tech columnist, observed that centralizing everything in Preview means “no switching between multiple apps” when dealing with documents – it’s all done in one place now [50] [51].
For anyone who’s been using the old Notes app scanner: don’t worry, it’s essentially the same capability, just more accessible. (In fact, the scanning interface in Preview looks very similar to the one in Notes, just with iOS 26’s updated design.) The big improvement is workflow. Before, if you scanned a document in Notes, it would stay tucked in a note unless you manually exported it. Now, you’re explicitly creating a PDF file that you can easily save to your file system or send off. It feels more like using a “real” scanner. Plus, because it’s a dedicated app, Apple can update and refine the scanner over time. We’ve already seen them add better algorithms – for example, Google upgraded its own scanning tool in 2025 with AI enhancements for cropping, shadow removal, and color filters [52]. Apple will likely continue to improve Preview’s scanner in future iOS updates (perhaps adding OCR text recognition or other advanced features down the line).
In short, scanning a document on iPhone is now dead simple. If you have an invoice, receipt, or signed form in hand, you can point your phone at it, instantly create a PDF, sign it on the spot, and email it out — all within a minute or two, using only built-in iPhone features. It’s a big win for productivity and one of the reasons people are calling Preview a game-changer.
Why Users and Experts Are Buzzing About It
The Apple community’s reaction to the new Preview app has been largely positive, if not downright enthusiastic. For years, power users have cobbled together solutions to handle PDFs and scans on iPhone — now Apple has handed everyone a one-stop solution. Tech experts and commentators are framing this as Apple catching up to what users have been asking for. “Apple’s new Preview app in iOS 26 makes editing and scanning documents easier than ever,” writes Fox News tech contributor Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson, emphasizing that it “brings together familiar tools from Files, Markup and the camera into one place, saving you time and steps.” [53] In his view, document management on the iPhone has “never been more convenient.” He even sees it as “another step toward a unified Apple ecosystem where productivity tools just work” across devices [54] – a nod to how Preview on iPhone complements the same app on Mac, so users can seamlessly work on documents between devices.
Other reviewers echo that sentiment. Dave LeClair at Tom’s Guide was impressed after testing Preview, calling it “convenient” and predicting “it’ll be the go-to option for editing and scanning documents on the go” now that Apple has consolidated these features into one app [55]. Having all the markup and scanning tools in an easy, pre-installed app means more people will actually use them. It lowers the barrier for average users to do things like sign a PDF or scan a receipt — tasks that used to require downloading an app like Adobe Scan or Scanner Pro. SlashGear noted that the app has sparked “curiosity in the Apple user community” and thus far has earned an excellent user rating of 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store [56]. Early adopters are commenting that they appreciate the capabilities it offers on iPhone, which previously might have required a PC or separate apps.
Of course, no change comes without a few quibbles. A handful of users have questioned why Apple made a whole new app for this instead of just expanding the Files app. On Reddit, one person remarked that these features “should have already [been] in Files,” since managing documents is what Files is for [57]. Another user, however, responded that keeping PDF editing separate in Preview is actually better, arguing that “PDF markup and annotation are separate activities from file management” [58]. In other words, there’s some logic to having a dedicated app with a focused interface for editing/scanning, rather than burying those functions inside Files. Apple likely agreed with that line of thought, and also with the benefit of giving the app a recognizable brand (Preview) consistent with Mac.
It’s also worth noting that Apple’s strategy of introducing a new first-party app can have ripple effects. By offering a robust scanning and PDF tool for free, Apple is directly encroaching on territory occupied by third-party apps like CamScanner, Microsoft Lens, or Adobe’s scanning and fill-and-sign apps. Many users are happy to ditch those now. “This update delivers if you’ve ever wished you could scan, sign, or edit a file in seconds,” Knutsson writes, “without having to download extra apps.” [59] [60] For developers of those apps, Apple’s move might be unwelcome competition. But for users, it’s a clear win on convenience and cost.
All told, the excitement is justified – Preview genuinely makes the iPhone a more powerful tool for everyday life and work. Routine chores like scanning documents to PDF or marking up a form that used to be frustrating on mobile can now be done in a few taps. That “game-changing” feeling Apple promised has resonated with many who have tried it [61] [62]. As one early user review put it, the app “can open large PDF files without crashing” – a subtle dig at the sometimes flaky Files app – and generally “just works” as you’d hope an Apple solution would [63]. While there will always be power users who need specialized PDF tools, for the vast majority of iPhone owners Preview covers the bases. It’s one more reason you can leave the laptop behind and still get serious stuff done on your phone.
How It Stacks Up Against Android and Windows
Apple’s move with Preview also highlights a broader trend: smartphones and operating systems are building in document scanning/editing capabilities as standard features. iPhone users may have felt behind the curve, but in reality Apple has been steadily moving this direction too (with Notes, Files, and now Preview). On the Android side, Google has offered a built-in scanner through its Google Drive app for years, and it recently supercharged it. In September 2025, Google rolled out an upgraded scanning experience in Drive with AI enhancements – it now gives sharper previews, smarter cropping and rotation, improved shadow removal, and color filters that make scans look cleaner and more professional [64]. It even added a carousel for multi-page scanning that lets you easily reorder pages before saving [65] [66]. In short, Android phones (as long as you have the Google Drive app) are quite capable of the same scan-to-PDF tasks. The difference is, Google’s approach lives inside the Drive app (which doubles as cloud storage), whereas Apple opted to create a separate app specifically for documents.
On desktop, Microsoft Windows doesn’t have a dedicated “Preview” app equivalent, but the Microsoft Edge browser doubles as a PDF viewer with some annotation tools. Edge lets you open PDFs, highlight text, draw or sign with a pen tool, and add comments [67]. It’s useful in a pinch, but even Microsoft would admit it’s not a full PDF editor – for example, you can’t easily rearrange pages or perform OCR with just Edge. Many Windows users still download third-party PDF editors (Adobe Acrobat, Foxit, etc.) for advanced needs [68] [69]. In that sense, Apple’s bundling of a full-featured PDF editor into iOS is a step beyond what Windows provides out-of-the-box. Mac users, of course, have long had Preview as part of macOS, and now Apple is bringing its mobile OS to parity with its desktop OS in this area.
It’s interesting to see all major platforms converging on the idea that scanning and annotating documents are core features of a modern device, not niche extras. Apple’s late to the party on iPhone, but they’ve delivered an extremely polished solution that’s tightly integrated with the rest of the system (sharing, Autofill, iCloud, etc.). As tech writer Ayush Mukherjee put it, “Preview brings the essential capabilities of macOS’s long-standing Preview app to iOS… giving iPhone users a native tool for editing and managing documents” so they no longer need to juggle multiple apps for those tasks [70]. The playing field between iPhone and Android is more level now in this regard, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Apple’s built-in approach inspires Google to surface its scanning tools more prominently, or vice versa.
The Bottom Line
With the iOS 26 update, Apple has quietly empowered millions of iPhone and iPad users to go paperless and handle documents with new-found ease. Need to scan and email a signed form? Done in moments with Preview. Have a PDF that needs comments or a quick tweak? Open it in Preview and mark it up right on your phone. For busy professionals, students, or anyone trying to keep digital records, this is a long-awaited improvement in the iPhone’s capabilities. It closes a functionality gap and further blurs the line between what we need a PC for versus what can be accomplished on a handheld device.
Early expert reviews and user feedback suggest that Preview is living up to the hype. It’s not a flashy game or a shiny new gadget – it’s the kind of practical tool that actually makes life easier. And that resonates with people. “If you’ve ever wished you could scan, sign, or edit a file in seconds, this update delivers,” writes Knutsson, underscoring how significant this is for ordinary users [71]. The convenience of having this “built-in, game-changing document feature” readily available is something iPhone fans have indeed been waiting for [72]. Now that it’s here, you might wonder how you ever lived without it.
Looking ahead, the Preview app will likely get even better as Apple iterates on it (perhaps adding OCR text recognition or more advanced editing tools). But even in its debut form, it fundamentally changes the document workflow on iOS for the better. If you haven’t updated to iOS 26 yet, this new app alone is a compelling reason to do so. Apple has effectively turned the iPhone into a pocket document scanner and PDF editor – a move that once again shows how our phones continue to evolve into all-in-one devices for everything life throws at us.
Sources: Fox News [73] [74] [75]; Moneycontrol [76] [77]; Technobezz [78]; Popular Science [79]; SlashGear [80] [81]; Tom’s Guide [82] [83]; Apple Support [84].
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