June 11, 2025 • 8 mins
Apple's latest iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 betas introduce a sleek Liquid Glass design, smarter features powered by Apple Intelligence, and powerful multitasking tools. Between Two Pixels and Finn Circuit break down the biggest changes, debate the true impact, and share real-world examples of how these updates could reshape your digital life.
Takeaways:
- The liquid glass design offers a fresh, customizable look.
- Messages now support custom backgrounds and polls.
- Apple Intelligence introduces AI features like call screening.
- Battery management has been significantly improved.
- iPadOS 26 enhances multitasking with a new windowing system.
- The Preview app allows for advanced PDF editing.
- Background processes are now supported for apps.
- Customization options are expanded across various settings.
- The beta version may have rough edges but shows promise.
- Future updates are anticipated to refine these features.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to iOS and iPadOS 26 Beta
03:00 New Features and Customization Options
06:09 Apple Intelligence and AI Innovations
08:41 Battery Management and Performance Enhancements
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hey everyone, welcome back to Tech Between the
Lines.
I'm Between Two Pixels, and I'mhere with the one and only Finn
Circuit.
Today's episode is honestly abig one.
Apple just dropped the iOS 26and iPadOS 26 betas, and I've
barely slept since the keynote.
There's so much to unpack.
Yeah, you look like you've beenup all night, kid.
I'm Finn Circuit, and I'm hereto make sure Between doesn't try
(00:23):
to convince you your iPhone'sabout to become sentient.
We're talking about what'sactually new in iOS and iPadOS
26 Beta 1.
What's cool, what's hype, andwhat's probably gonna break
before it ships.
I mean, it's not sentient...
yet.
But seriously, this is thebiggest iPadOS update ever, and
iOS is getting a total glow-up.
(00:44):
Let's get into it.
Okay, first up, the liquid glassdesign.
I know it sounds like somethingout of Star Trek, but it's real.
Apple's gone full glossy withthese wild, almost 3D animations
on the home and lock screens.
Every swipe feels, like, alive.
It's not just eye candy, either.
You can finally customize appicons and widgets with light or
(01:05):
dark tints, so your home screencan be super minimal or, you
know, totally neon if that'syour thing.
Yeah, it's shiny.
I'll give you that.
Reminds me of when everyoneslapped glass panels on their
stereo systems in the 80s.
Looked great until you gotfingerprints everywhere.
But, uh, the customization'snice.
I do like being able to make theicons less blinding at night.
(01:27):
The new light and dark modes areactually useful.
No more getting flash-bangedwhen you check your phone at 2
a.m.
Totally! And it's not just thehome screen.
Core apps, Mail, Safari, AppleTV, Music, they all got this
cleaner look, bigger touchtargets, smoother transitions.
Even Control Center andNotification Center are
customizable now, so you cantweak layouts, adjust text size,
(01:50):
or crank up the contrast if youneed it.
It's like accessibility meetssci-fi UI.
I'll believe it's sci-fi when myiPad beams me a coffee.
But yeah, the new look is slick.
Just hope it doesn't slow downolder devices.
Apple's got a habit of makingthings pretty and then, well,
your phone starts acting likeit's running Windows 95.
(02:10):
Messages got a bunch of upgradestoo.
You can set custom backgroundsfor chats, photos, gradients,
patterns, whatever.
It syncs across devices so yourgroup chat with your D&D crew
can finally have that pixel artdragon you drew.
And group chats now have polls,like you can actually vote on
pizza toppings without a milliontexts.
Plus, typing indicators in groupchats so you know who's about to
(02:32):
drop a hot take.
I'll admit, the polls are handy.
Beats the old reply with anumber chaos.
But what I really like is thenew filtering for unknown
senders.
Now messages from strangersor...
You know, those endless, you'vewon a cruise texts, go into
their own folder.
You can mark them as known,request info, or just delete
(02:54):
them.
It's not perfect.
Sometimes it thinks my dentistis a scammer, but it's a start.
Yeah, and there's even a filterfor transactions and promos, so
your main inbox isn't justreceipts and random codes.
Oh, and Apple Cash and groupchats.
Only in the US for now, but it'sgreat for splitting bills.
I tried it with my roommates,and it actually worked.
(03:15):
No more I'll Venmo you laterlies.
All right, let's talk CarPlay.
They gave it the liquid glasstreatment too, so your dashboard
looks like, well, a spaceship.
The new compact call view isless distracting and you get
widgets, so you can seenavigation, music, and, I don't
know, your next calendar eventall at once.
It's cleaner, but I'm still notletting my car update itself.
(03:38):
Last time I did that, my radiothought it was a toaster for a
week.
Ha! But seriously, the widgetsand live activities are awesome.
You get real-time updates, likeif you're navigating, you see
the next turn and your playlistat the same time.
Messages integration is bettertoo, with tapbacks and pinned
conversations.
It's not quite Knight Rider, butit's getting there.
(03:59):
I just wish they'd let youcustomize more, like let me put
my weather widget front andcenter, you know?
Maybe an iOS 27, kid.
For now, it's a nice upgrade aslong as it doesn't crash
mid-drive.
Beta's still a little rougharound the edges.
Okay, this is the big one.
Apple intelligence.
It's like the brain of iOS 26.
You get call screening, so AIanswers unknown calls and asks
(04:22):
who's calling.
It transcribes voicemails, too.
There's live translation andmessages, FaceTime and phone.
Nine languages at launch andmore coming.
Visual intelligence is wild.
You point your camera at a signand it pulls up info, like
reviews or menus.
It's only on the latest iPhones,though.
Yeah, and let's not forget, thisisn't the first time Apple's
promised intelligent features.
(04:43):
Remember the Newton?
Or, heck, Siri when it firstlaunched?
Half the time it thought I wasasking for pizza when I wanted
to call my wife.
I'm not saying this stuff won'twork, but Beta 1's already got
some lag and missing features.
Apple intelligence is only onthe newest devices, and even
then it's a little, let's say,aspirational.
Fair, but Genmoji is super fun.
(05:05):
You can make your own emojis,and Image Playground lets you
generate images in differentstyles, like oil painting or 3D
render.
I made a robot cat in like twoseconds.
And intelligent shortcuts,summarize emails, generate
images for presentations, trackorders automatically.
It's not perfect, but it's aglimpse of what's coming.
I mean, yeah, there are bugs,but that's beta life, right?
(05:27):
Sure, but let's see if itactually ships on time.
Apple's been struggling to getall these AI features out the
door.
I'll believe it when my iPhonestops thinking my dog is a
sandwich in photos.
For now, it's a lot of promise,not a lot of delivery.
But hey, maybe I'm just old andcranky.
All right, battery nerds, thisone's for you.
(05:47):
The battery setting's got atotal overhaul.
There's a new interface with agraph showing your usage over 24
hours or 7 days, color-coded byapp and system stuff.
You can see exactly what'sdraining your battery, finally.
And there's a time-to-chargeestimate.
So you know how long till youhit 100%.
It's pretty accurate with wiredchargers, but wireless is still
(06:08):
a bit iffy.
I like the new adaptive powersetting.
It uses machine learning, yeah Iknow, more AI, to adjust
performance based on how you useyour phone.
So if you're low on battery,it'll throttle background apps
or dim the screen.
Sometimes it's a little tooaggressive.
My screen went dark in themiddle of a crossword.
But, uh, it's a step in theright direction.
(06:30):
And you can finally customizelow power mode, picking what
features to turn off.
About time.
Okay, iPadOS 26 is where thingsget wild.
The new windowing system is likedesktop-level multitasking.
You can open multiple appwindows, resize, move, tile
them, just flick a window tosnap it next to another.
(06:50):
There's expose to see all youropen windows, and stage managers
better, especially with 6Kexternal display support.
It's honestly the closest theiPad's ever felt to a real
laptop.
Yeah, it's impressive.
I remember when multitaskingmeant two apps in split view,
and even that crashed half thetime.
Now you've got a menu bar, quickaccess to commands, and you can
(07:13):
assign default apps for filetypes.
The Files app is actually usefulnow.
List view...
folder colors, drag and drop tothe dock.
It's almost like Apple finallyrealized people use iPads for
work, not just Netflix.
And the new Preview app is agame changer.
You can annotate PDFs with ApplePencil, fill out forms with
(07:34):
autofill, crop and markupimages, and it all syncs across
devices.
I tried editing a contract on myiPad, then finished it on my
Mac.
Worked like magic.
Plus, new audio options,studio-quality recording with
AirPods, local capture forhigh-quality calls, and you can
pick which mic to use per app.
It's like Pro Tools foreveryone.
(07:54):
Don't forget, apps can finallyrun background processes, so you
can render a video or process abig file without babysitting the
app.
And the Preview app's ApplePencil support is actually good,
though I still can't draw astraight line.
The only thing missing is, well,a decent export option in the
Journal app.
Maybe next beta.
(08:15):
All right, that's our whirlwindtour of iOS and iPadOS 26 Beta
1.
There's a lot to love, a fewrough edges, and honestly, I
can't wait to see what changesin the next beta.
If you're brave enough toinstall it, let us know what you
think.
Just maybe not on your maindevice.
Yeah, don't blame us if yourphone turns into a paperweight.
We'll be back soon with a deepdive on Mac OS 26, so if you're
(08:36):
a Mac nerd, stay tuned.
Between, try to get some sleepbefore then, all right?
No promises, Finn.
Thanks for listening, everyone.
Hey everyone, welcome back to Tech Between the
Lines.
I'm Between Two Pixels, and I'mhere with the one and only Finn
Circuit.
Today's episode is honestly abig one.
Apple just dropped the iOS 26and iPadOS 26 betas, and I've
barely slept since the keynote.
There's so much to unpack.
Yeah, you look like you've beenup all night, kid.
I'm Finn Circuit, and I'm hereto make sure Between doesn't try
(00:23):
to convince you your iPhone'sabout to become sentient.
We're talking about what'sactually new in iOS and iPadOS
26 Beta 1.
What's cool, what's hype, andwhat's probably gonna break
before it ships.
I mean, it's not sentient...
yet.
But seriously, this is thebiggest iPadOS update ever, and
iOS is getting a total glow-up.
(00:44):
Let's get into it.
Okay, first up, the liquid glassdesign.
I know it sounds like somethingout of Star Trek, but it's real.
Apple's gone full glossy withthese wild, almost 3D animations
on the home and lock screens.
Every swipe feels, like, alive.
It's not just eye candy, either.
You can finally customize appicons and widgets with light or
(01:05):
dark tints, so your home screencan be super minimal or, you
know, totally neon if that'syour thing.
Yeah, it's shiny.
I'll give you that.
Reminds me of when everyoneslapped glass panels on their
stereo systems in the 80s.
Looked great until you gotfingerprints everywhere.
But, uh, the customization'snice.
I do like being able to make theicons less blinding at night.
(01:27):
The new light and dark modes areactually useful.
No more getting flash-bangedwhen you check your phone at 2
a.m.
Totally! And it's not just thehome screen.
Core apps, Mail, Safari, AppleTV, Music, they all got this
cleaner look, bigger touchtargets, smoother transitions.
Even Control Center andNotification Center are
customizable now, so you cantweak layouts, adjust text size,
(01:50):
or crank up the contrast if youneed it.
It's like accessibility meetssci-fi UI.
I'll believe it's sci-fi when myiPad beams me a coffee.
But yeah, the new look is slick.
Just hope it doesn't slow downolder devices.
Apple's got a habit of makingthings pretty and then, well,
your phone starts acting likeit's running Windows 95.
(02:10):
Messages got a bunch of upgradestoo.
You can set custom backgroundsfor chats, photos, gradients,
patterns, whatever.
It syncs across devices so yourgroup chat with your D&D crew
can finally have that pixel artdragon you drew.
And group chats now have polls,like you can actually vote on
pizza toppings without a milliontexts.
Plus, typing indicators in groupchats so you know who's about to
(02:32):
drop a hot take.
I'll admit, the polls are handy.
Beats the old reply with anumber chaos.
But what I really like is thenew filtering for unknown
senders.
Now messages from strangersor...
You know, those endless, you'vewon a cruise texts, go into
their own folder.
You can mark them as known,request info, or just delete
(02:54):
them.
It's not perfect.
Sometimes it thinks my dentistis a scammer, but it's a start.
Yeah, and there's even a filterfor transactions and promos, so
your main inbox isn't justreceipts and random codes.
Oh, and Apple Cash and groupchats.
Only in the US for now, but it'sgreat for splitting bills.
I tried it with my roommates,and it actually worked.
(03:15):
No more I'll Venmo you laterlies.
All right, let's talk CarPlay.
They gave it the liquid glasstreatment too, so your dashboard
looks like, well, a spaceship.
The new compact call view isless distracting and you get
widgets, so you can seenavigation, music, and, I don't
know, your next calendar eventall at once.
It's cleaner, but I'm still notletting my car update itself.
(03:38):
Last time I did that, my radiothought it was a toaster for a
week.
Ha! But seriously, the widgetsand live activities are awesome.
You get real-time updates, likeif you're navigating, you see
the next turn and your playlistat the same time.
Messages integration is bettertoo, with tapbacks and pinned
conversations.
It's not quite Knight Rider, butit's getting there.
(03:59):
I just wish they'd let youcustomize more, like let me put
my weather widget front andcenter, you know?
Maybe an iOS 27, kid.
For now, it's a nice upgrade aslong as it doesn't crash
mid-drive.
Beta's still a little rougharound the edges.
Okay, this is the big one.
Apple intelligence.
It's like the brain of iOS 26.
You get call screening, so AIanswers unknown calls and asks
(04:22):
who's calling.
It transcribes voicemails, too.
There's live translation andmessages, FaceTime and phone.
Nine languages at launch andmore coming.
Visual intelligence is wild.
You point your camera at a signand it pulls up info, like
reviews or menus.
It's only on the latest iPhones,though.
Yeah, and let's not forget, thisisn't the first time Apple's
promised intelligent features.
(04:43):
Remember the Newton?
Or, heck, Siri when it firstlaunched?
Half the time it thought I wasasking for pizza when I wanted
to call my wife.
I'm not saying this stuff won'twork, but Beta 1's already got
some lag and missing features.
Apple intelligence is only onthe newest devices, and even
then it's a little, let's say,aspirational.
Fair, but Genmoji is super fun.
(05:05):
You can make your own emojis,and Image Playground lets you
generate images in differentstyles, like oil painting or 3D
render.
I made a robot cat in like twoseconds.
And intelligent shortcuts,summarize emails, generate
images for presentations, trackorders automatically.
It's not perfect, but it's aglimpse of what's coming.
I mean, yeah, there are bugs,but that's beta life, right?
(05:27):
Sure, but let's see if itactually ships on time.
Apple's been struggling to getall these AI features out the
door.
I'll believe it when my iPhonestops thinking my dog is a
sandwich in photos.
For now, it's a lot of promise,not a lot of delivery.
But hey, maybe I'm just old andcranky.
All right, battery nerds, thisone's for you.
(05:47):
The battery setting's got atotal overhaul.
There's a new interface with agraph showing your usage over 24
hours or 7 days, color-coded byapp and system stuff.
You can see exactly what'sdraining your battery, finally.
And there's a time-to-chargeestimate.
So you know how long till youhit 100%.
It's pretty accurate with wiredchargers, but wireless is still
(06:08):
a bit iffy.
I like the new adaptive powersetting.
It uses machine learning, yeah Iknow, more AI, to adjust
performance based on how you useyour phone.
So if you're low on battery,it'll throttle background apps
or dim the screen.
Sometimes it's a little tooaggressive.
My screen went dark in themiddle of a crossword.
But, uh, it's a step in theright direction.
(06:30):
And you can finally customizelow power mode, picking what
features to turn off.
About time.
Okay, iPadOS 26 is where thingsget wild.
The new windowing system is likedesktop-level multitasking.
You can open multiple appwindows, resize, move, tile
them, just flick a window tosnap it next to another.
(06:50):
There's expose to see all youropen windows, and stage managers
better, especially with 6Kexternal display support.
It's honestly the closest theiPad's ever felt to a real
laptop.
Yeah, it's impressive.
I remember when multitaskingmeant two apps in split view,
and even that crashed half thetime.
Now you've got a menu bar, quickaccess to commands, and you can
(07:13):
assign default apps for filetypes.
The Files app is actually usefulnow.
List view...
folder colors, drag and drop tothe dock.
It's almost like Apple finallyrealized people use iPads for
work, not just Netflix.
And the new Preview app is agame changer.
You can annotate PDFs with ApplePencil, fill out forms with
(07:34):
autofill, crop and markupimages, and it all syncs across
devices.
I tried editing a contract on myiPad, then finished it on my
Mac.
Worked like magic.
Plus, new audio options,studio-quality recording with
AirPods, local capture forhigh-quality calls, and you can
pick which mic to use per app.
It's like Pro Tools foreveryone.
(07:54):
Don't forget, apps can finallyrun background processes, so you
can render a video or process abig file without babysitting the
app.
And the Preview app's ApplePencil support is actually good,
though I still can't draw astraight line.
The only thing missing is, well,a decent export option in the
Journal app.
Maybe next beta.
(08:15):
All right, that's our whirlwindtour of iOS and iPadOS 26 Beta
1.
There's a lot to love, a fewrough edges, and honestly, I
can't wait to see what changesin the next beta.
If you're brave enough toinstall it, let us know what you
think.
Just maybe not on your maindevice.
Yeah, don't blame us if yourphone turns into a paperweight.
We'll be back soon with a deepdive on Mac OS 26, so if you're
(08:36):
a Mac nerd, stay tuned.
Between, try to get some sleepbefore then, all right?
No promises, Finn.
Thanks for listening, everyone.
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