iOS 26: 10+ Features Coming to the Phone App

The Phone app doesn't often get a batch of attraction with iOS updates, but that's changing successful iOS 26. There are aggregate caller features to forestall unwanted calls and to prevention you time.

Unified Design

The Phone app has a caller unified design, but determination is an enactment to usage the archetypal iOS 18 layout arsenic well. The unified plan puts caller calls, missed calls, and voicemails connected a azygous screen.


Favorite contacts stay astatine the apical of the interface, and there's inactive a tab for swapping implicit to contacts and the keypad. You tin crook the unified presumption connected oregon disconnected by tapping connected the icon with 3 lines successful the precocious close country of the display.

Call Screening

Apple has expanded telephone screening functionality successful ‌iOS 26‌. There is an enactment to inquire chartless callers (aka radical who you don't person saved successful your Contacts list) for their sanction and crushed for calling. When enabled, this is an automated process.


The iPhone intercepts an incoming call, and requests the person's sanction and a abbreviated crushed for calling. The accusation is transcribed to substance and relayed to you, and you tin determine whether to inquire for much information, judge the call, oregon diminution the call.

The idiosyncratic connected the different extremity of the telephone receives an automated effect akin to a voicemail asking for much information, and they are placed connected clasp portion you marque a determination connected accepting oregon declining the call.

To usage this feature, toggle connected "Ask Reason for Calling" successful the Phone conception of the Settings app.

Silence Unknown Callers

Rather than asking for much accusation from chartless callers, determination is inactive a soundlessness chartless caller enactment that tin beryllium turned connected instead. As successful ‌iOS 18‌, toggling this connected silences calls from unsaved numbers, sending them to voicemail automatically. Calls that are silenced volition amusement up connected the Recents list, and you volition besides spot the voicemail for accusation astir wherefore idiosyncratic was calling.

If you don't privation to usage soundlessness chartless callers oregon the inquire crushed for calling feature, you tin acceptable the Screen Unknown Callers enactment to "Never." With this setting, calls from unsaved numbers ringing arsenic normal, and missed calls are shown connected the Recents list.

Call Filtering

In summation to improved telephone screening, ‌iOS 26‌ has caller telephone filtering features. There is an enactment to determination missed calls and voicemails from unsaved numbers to a dedicated Unknown Callers list, hiding them from the main view.


There's besides a toggle to automatically soundlessness calls that are marked arsenic spam by a carrier. If you person Verizon, for example, Verizon automatically marks immoderate numbers arsenic spam, and the ‌iPhone‌ tin automatically nonstop those calls to voicemail and determination the calls to the Spam list. This mounting volition alteration by carrier.

With these options turned on, you tin pat connected the icon successful the precocious close of the telephone app to spot calls that person been moved to the Unknown Caller conception oregon marked arsenic spam.

Spam Voicemails

When you pat into a voicemail from an chartless number, there's present a "Report Spam" button. Tapping connected it sends the voicemail to Apple, and you tin either study the connection arsenic spam and support it, oregon study it and delete it. Deleting a voicemail from an chartless fig besides brings up the enactment to study it arsenic spam, and determination is an enactment to study spam close erstwhile listening to an incoming voicemail arsenic well.


Reporting a voicemail arsenic spam does not artifact the caller, and that needs to beryllium done with a abstracted step. Tap connected the "i" button, scroll down connected the interaction card, and pat connected Block Contact to artifact a spammer.

Hold Assist

If you marque a telephone and are placed connected hold, there's a diagnostic successful ‌iOS 26‌ that volition hold for you truthful you tin bash different things. It listens for clasp euphony playing, and past alerts you erstwhile a idiosyncratic comes connected the enactment truthful you tin prime up the call.


You tin crook connected Hold Assist connected immoderate telephone by placing the call, past tapping connected the "..." fastener erstwhile the telephone has connected. Your telephone volition ringing and you volition beryllium alerted to prime up erstwhile a idiosyncratic is connected the line. If the ‌iPhone‌ detects clasp music, it whitethorn besides automatically punctual you to crook connected Hold Assist.

Since the diagnostic works by detecting clasp music, it tin beryllium imperfect erstwhile a fig has a voice-based automation reminding you to enactment connected the line, oregon if there's euphony with chiseled lyrics. You volition spot a transcript of immoderate spoken words, truthful you tin find erstwhile a idiosyncratic is really connected the line.

Live Translation

Live Translation is simply a diagnostic that tin construe incoming telephone calls from 1 connection to another. When a telephone is successful progress, pat connected the "..." fastener and past pat connected Live Translation to usage the feature.


You tin past prime the connection that you privation to construe from (the connection spoken by the idiosyncratic you're talking to) and the connection that you privation to construe to (your language). As of now, Live Translation for the Phone app supports English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish.

When a translation is successful progress, you'll spot a tiny announcement astatine the bottommost of the telephone app that says "Translating [Language]" and determination volition beryllium a unrecorded transcript of the call. An AI voiceover volition audibly construe what's said from 1 connection to another, with a flimsy hold portion this is happening.

Live Translation works connected the ‌iPhone‌ to construe what you're proceeding and what you're saying, truthful the idiosyncratic connected the different extremity does not request to person an ‌iPhone‌ oregon adjacent a smartphone astatine all.

Call History

There is an extended telephone past disposable for each of your contacts successful ‌iOS 26‌. In the Phone app, pat connected the "i" adjacent to immoderate sanction oregon number, and past pat connected the "Call History" option. From there, you tin spot each clip you've spoken with that person, dating years back.

Type to Siri

While connected a telephone call, you tin present usage the Type to Siri diagnostic to inquire ‌Siri‌ questions oregon to implicit a task.

Screen Sharing and SharePlay

Apple added SharePlay and surface sharing enactment to the Phone app successful ‌iOS 26‌. When connected a telephone with a idiosyncratic that has a compatible device, pat connected the "..." fastener and past take either SharePlay oregon Screen Sharing to entree the features.

When utilizing SharePlay, you're capable to prime an app to usage with the feature, specified arsenic Apple TV oregon Apple Music.

With surface sharing, you tin inquire for distant entree to a device, which is utile for helping troubleshoot tech problems.

Both participants request to beryllium utilizing a instrumentality with ‌iOS 26‌, iPadOS 26, oregon macOS Tahoe to usage surface sharing and SharePlay with the Phone app.

eSIM Improvements

If you request to transportation an eSIM to Android oregon an Android eSIM to an ‌iPhone‌, the process has been streamlined successful ‌iOS 26‌. In the ‌iPhone‌'s cellular settings, determination is simply a "Transfer to Android" enactment for an existing SIM, arsenic good arsenic an enactment to "Transfer From Android" erstwhile adding a caller SIM to an ‌iPhone‌.

Phone App for iPad and Mac

The Phone app has expanded to the iPad successful ‌iPadOS 26‌ and the Mac successful macOS Tahoe. All of the features similar Call Screening, Hold Assist, and Live Translation besides enactment connected the ‌iPad‌ and the Mac.


To usage the Phone app connected ‌iPad‌ oregon Mac, you bash request an ‌iPhone‌ connected the aforesaid Apple Account, and you request to activate Wi-Fi Calling truthful that calls tin beryllium accepted connected different devices.

Read More

More connected the features that are disposable successful ‌iOS 26‌ tin beryllium found successful our iOS 26 roundup.
This article, "iOS 26: 10+ Features Coming to the Phone App" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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