At the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple rolled out iOS 26, giving the iPhone a fresh new vibe. With its shiny Liquid Glass design and smarter AI tools, your phone now feels more personal. It is now more useful and a lot more fun to use.
The update gives iPhones a stylish makeover with translucent icons, dynamic wallpapers, and more ways to personalise the Lock Screen and Home Screen.
Apps like Photos and Phone have been redesigned, and a new Passwords app makes managing logins easier. You can even mirror your iPhone to your Mac now.
Smarter Siri, Genmoji, and More
Siri gets a major upgrade, too. It can now do live translations, recognize what’s on your screen, and help with things like message summaries or event reminders.
New features like Genmoji and Image Playground let users create custom emojis and images for a more playful experience.
There’s also a new Apple Games app to track and explore games, and AirPods now support studio-quality audio and even let you snap photos with a tap.
Safari, CarPlay, and Apple Music also see upgrades. CarPlay now shows calls without blocking directions, and Messages support pinned chats and quick reactions.
Why is iOS 26 Being Trolled Online?
Apple’s big reveal of iOS 26 may have turned heads at WWDC, but not entirely for the reasons the tech giant hoped. While the update introduced a striking “Liquid Glass” design, social media users had a very different take, comparisons to the shiny, translucent design of Windows Vista, a system often remembered more for its clunkiness than its aesthetics.
Across X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Reddit, memes are pouring in.
iOS 26 users trying to read their screens: pic.twitter.com/7R1hqLI8N1
— Ben Woodward (@ben_woodward) June 10, 2025
One viral post joked, “Apple just dropped iOS Vista,” while another quipped, “iOS 26 looks like it was designed in 2008 and left in the sun too long.” The new interface, which blends vibrant translucence with animated depth, was clearly meant to feel futuristic, but to some, it just feels like déjà vu.
My 85% battery health iPhone 13 trying to run Liquid Glass on iOS 26 pic.twitter.com/zbupWb1X17
— GSX (@GigaSyntax) June 9, 2025
Adding fuel to the online fire is Apple’s decision to suddenly leap from iOS 19 to iOS 26. Skipping several version numbers entirely did not sit right with people online.. The move, which aligns iOS with iPadOS and macOS naming conventions, has sparked its own wave of mockery.
“Wait, did I sleep through iOS 20 to 25?” one user joked, while another posted, “iOS 26? Bold strategy. Can’t wait for iPhone 40 next year.”
