The iOS 26 update is officially here. Alongside featuring an all-new Liquid Glass design, the latest update also expands AI capabilities to more apps and introduces two new apps—Preview and Games—among other enhancements.
While some of these changes address my concerns with previous iOS versions and bring quality-of-life improvements, others fail to fulfill their promise. As such, I went through and changed several settings on my iPhone after upgrading it to iOS 26.
Enable Dirty Lens Warning to Avoid Blurry Captures
Capturing photos and videos with your iPhone only to find them blurred because of a dirty or smudged lens can be incredibly frustrating. Sure, you may clean the lens and try again, but sometimes you only get one shot at capturing a moment.
Apple addresses this issue in iOS 26 with a new feature called Lens Cleaning Hints. It does exactly what it sounds like, and you can enable it by heading to Settings > Camera and toggling on the “Lens Cleaning Hints” option.
Once done, you’ll see a suggestion, such as “Clean the camera lens” or “Clean the front camera” in the Camera app anytime you try to capture a photo or video with a dirty lens. Clean up the lens, and the suggestion will go away. This feature only works if your iPhone has Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15 Pro, 16, and later).
Disable Full-Screen Previews for Screenshots
Until iOS 18, you’d see a small thumbnail in the bottom-left corner of the screen every time you took a screenshot. You could easily swipe this thumbnail away to continue taking more screenshots. However, in iOS 26, Apple has introduced full-page previews, which open the screenshot in a full-screen editor to facilitate cropping, annotation, and markup.
As someone who frequently needs to capture several screenshots in quick succession, I find the full-page preview intrusive and counterintuitive for my workflow. It requires me to tap the checkmark and choose where to save each screenshot before I can take another one, which severely slows me down.
Hence, I disabled it on my iPhone. It’s easy to turn off full-page previews. Head to Settings > General > Screen Capture and flip the “Full-Screen Preview” toggle off.
Prevent Accidentally Initiating Calls in the Photos App
One of my biggest frustrations with the iOS Phone app has been that tapping a contact or number in the Recents list would immediately start a call. Apple finally offers a way to change this behavior in iOS 26, helping you avoid accidental calls when trying to check call details.
The setting is called Tap Recents to Call, and you can disable it from the Phone app’s settings. Head to Settings > Apps, select “Phone” on the list, and toggle off the “Tap Recents to Call” option.
Keep in mind that this option is only available if you’re using the new “Unified” layout for the Phone app, which combines Recents, Favorites, and Voicemail into a single Calls tab. If it’s set to “Classic” instead, you’ll need to switch to the “Unified” view first to see the setting in the Phone app settings. You can do this by opening the Phone app, tapping the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner, and selecting “Unified.”
Prevent Auto-Switching Audio Devices
Another annoyance I have with iPhones is automatic audio switching, which routes audio to another paired Bluetooth device as soon as the iPhone connects to it. For instance, I could be listening to music on my headphones, and then walk into a room where a Bluetooth speaker is available, only to have my iPhone connect to it and route the audio, disrupting my listening experience.
Thankfully, Apple lets you fix this by toggling a simple setting. Navigate to Settings > General, select “Airplay & Continuity,” and toggle on the “Keep Audio with Headphones” option. Once enabled, your iPhone will no longer automatically switch audio from your wireless headphones to other Bluetooth devices when they connect.
Return to the Default App Icon Style
Having used iOS 26 for a few months now, the Liquid Glass design has grown on me, and I’m beginning to enjoy some of the UI elements. That said, there are some exceptions. The Clear icon appearance, which transforms the app icons and widgets into translucent, glass-like panels, is one of them.
Sure, it blends well with other UI elements, but I have two problems with this appearance. First, it makes the Home Screen look lifeless. And second, since I’ve long relied on color schemes to identify apps on my Home Screen, the clear appearance, which strips away colors from icons, makes identifying apps on the screen harder. Hence, to make life easier, I’ve returned to using the Dark icon appearance.
Switching icon appearance on your iPhone is easy. First, tap and hold on an empty area on the Home Screen to enter jiggle mode. Then, tap “Edit” in the top-left corner, select “Customize,” and choose “Default” or “Dark.” You can select “Tinted,” too.
Add Flash and Live Photo Indicators to the Camera App
The iPhone Camera app has undergone a complete design overhaul in iOS 26. Among the various changes, a notable one is the new pop-up menu that brings all the controls—Flash, Live, Timer, Exposure, Styles, Filter, Aspect, and Night Mode—under one roof. While this helps declutter the app’s interface, it requires an extra step to access those controls.
For this reason, Apple has added the Night Mode control next to the pop-up menu, enabling easy toggling. Additionally, it also lets you add the Flash and Live Photo controls next to the pop-up menu. Since I use both options quite frequently, I enabled them immediately.
To add these toggles to the Camera app, go to Settings > Camera. Scroll down to the “Composition” section, select “Indicators,” and toggle on the buttons next to “Flash” and “Live Photo.”
Disable Screening of Unknown Senders to Avoid Missing Messages
Similar to the Call Screening feature, which screens unknown calls to help avoid unwanted calls, iOS 26 has something similar for tackling messages from unknown senders. It’s called Screen Unknown Senders, and it essentially hides notifications and moves texts from unknown senders to a separate folder in the Messages app called “Unknown Senders.”
However, I’ve had multiple instances where the feature blocked notifications for messages from courier services or e-commerce sites, requiring me to go into the Messages app to find them. Mind you, this was with the feature configured to allow notifications for verification codes. Hence, I had to turn the feature off.
To disable it on your iPhone, go to Settings > Apps, scroll down, and select “Messages” on the list. Scroll down to the “Unknown Senders” section and toggle off the “Screen Unknown Senders” option.
Alternatively, you can configure the feature to notify you about messages with verification codes and transactions. Tap “Allow Notifications” and ensure the toggles next to the kinds of notifications you want to receive are on.
Enable Adaptive Power to Extend Battery Life
I don’t like AI being crammed into creative workflows, but I appreciate it when it tries to solve everyday problems. The Adaptive Power feature in iOS 26 is one such useful application of AI.
It works in the background and uses on-device intelligence to analyze your usage and predict when you’ll need extra battery life. If required, it’ll tweak some of the device settings accordingly to help ensure the battery lasts longer. I’ve had the feature enabled for a few weeks, and I’m noticing better battery performance on my iPhone 15 Pro Max.
To enable Adaptive Power on your iPhone, head to Settings > Battery. Tap “Power Mode” and toggle on the switch for “Adaptive Power.” Make sure the “Adaptive Power Notifications” is enabled, too, so you’re notified when it kicks in. This feature is limited to devices that work with Apple Intelligence.
Use AirPods as a Camera Remote
When using an iPhone, I always miss the convenience my Galaxy S23 Ultra’s S Pen offers, especially its ability to take photos remotely. iOS 26 finally brings a similar trick to AirPods—notably the AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2, and new AirPods Pro 3, since they have an Apple H2 chip—turning them into a hands-free camera remote.
Since my AirPods support the feature, I immediately turned on the new Camera Remote feature. You can also do this on your compatible AirPods. First, update your AirPods to the latest firmware. After that, pair the AirPods to your iPhone and tap on their name at the top of the “Settings” app. Scroll to the “Camera Control” section, tap “Camera Remote,” and select “Press Once” or “Press and Hold,” based on your preference.
Once done, the next time you want to take a picture, open the Camera app and perform the assigned gesture on any of the AirPods stems. It should capture a photo or start video recording, depending on the mode you’re in. In the case of a video, perform the gesture again to stop recording.
Disable CarPlay Screenshots
I use Apple CarPlay all the time, and one of the things that frustrates me about the whole experience is that whenever I take a screenshot on my iPhone, it also captures the contents on my car’s display. As a result, my Photos app library gets cluttered with unwanted CarPlay screenshots, and I need to delete them manually to keep things organized.
Thankfully, I no longer have to deal with it, as Apple has finally listened to users’ complaints and introduced a setting in iOS 26 to prevent this. Some users have reported that the setting is disabled by default, but it wasn’t on mine.
To check if it’s disabled on your iPhone, navigate to Settings > General > Screen Capture and check the status of the “CarPlay Screenshots” toggle. Flip it off if it isn’t.
I’ve tweaked the iOS 26 settings above to suit my preferences. However, you don’t need to change everything the way I did; feel free to pick and choose the settings that work the best for your needs.
Also, if you haven’t already, take a moment to explore some of the lesser-known features in iOS 26 that may have gone under your radar.