8 Great Hidden Features in iOS 26

Apple's iOS 26 comes with a new Liquid Glass design and some new Apple Intelligence features. But the hidden features scattered throughout are arguably more interesting. After using iOS 26 for over a week, here are some of the small but useful features you might find.

8. Set your own custom snooze time for the alarm

If you rely on setting multiple alarms in the morning, you know that Apple's default Clock app has long used 9 minutes as its only snooze time option. Not being able to change this option is disappointing, as most Android competitors have offered the ability to change snooze times for years.

With iOS 26, Apple finally lets you change the snooze duration between alarms. In iOS 26, you can change the snooze duration in the Clock app to anything from 1 to 15 minutes. The default is still 9 minutes, but you can easily change it by tapping and selecting the desired duration.

7. Check call history for a contact

Before iOS 18, your iPhone only showed your last 100 calls in the Phone app. With iOS 18, Apple raised that limit so that the device can store up to 1,000 call records. Now, with iOS 26, call history is getting an upgrade: You can now look up a specific contact's call history in the Phone app.

To do this, select a specific contact in the Phone app and tap the Call History option. iOS will then display that specific contact's entire call history.

6. Tap on a recent contact to call them immediately

Until now, tapping on a recent call in the Phone app would open the contact information screen. To make a call, you had to tap the call or video call button in the recents history to the right, which was annoying because the tap target was quite small.

Now you can change this and start a call immediately when you tap a call history entry. To enable this feature, go to Settings > Phone and turn on Tap Recents to Call . Once enabled, tapping a recent entry in your history will place a call to that contact—no intermediate steps required.

5. Feel a slight vibration when the call connects or ends

One of the most annoying drawbacks in the history of the iPhone is that it doesn't provide any feedback when the person on the other end picks up or when the call ends. Android phones from OnePlus and Samsung have offered this feature for quite some time, and with iOS 26, Apple has finally added it to the iPhone.

Now, whenever someone picks up or hangs up the call, your iPhone will give you a subtle feedback that the call has been connected or disconnected. This is quite useful when you're busy doing something else during a call.

4. Display charging time on lock screen

Most new iPhone models support fast charging, but the iPhone still doesn't show how long it will take to fully charge. With iOS 26, Apple added this feature.

Now, whenever you plug your iPhone in to charge, a new lock screen label will show you how long it will take to charge your phone to 80%. This small but useful addition can make it easier to plan your phone usage around fast charging.

3. Adaptive Power Mode automatically controls iPhone battery usage

Another small but useful addition to the battery section of iOS 26 is a new Power Mode option. Your iPhone now lets you turn off Adaptive Power Mode, which automatically adjusts battery usage when it needs more resources—making small adjustments like dimming the screen or letting some activities take a little longer.

You can now turn this mode off in Battery > Power Mode > Adaptive Power , so your iPhone delivers the best performance at all times.

2. iPhone will warn you about dirty camera lens

We've all been there: You click a photo and then realize it's blurry because your camera lens wasn't cleaned. With iOS 26, Apple added a pop-up label in the Camera app when your lens is dirty and needs cleaning. This will save you a lot of trouble.

1. Change podcast playback speed easily

Apple updated a lot of apps with iOS 26, including Apple Music, Messages, and even the Phone app. Another app that got a largely unnoticed change was Podcasts.

While Apple Podcasts is easily one of the best podcast apps, it lacks some of the features of competitors like Spotify or YouTube Music . With iOS 26, Apple is finally adding a feature that lets you change the playback speed of podcasts with just a few taps.

These are just some of the lesser-known features that will be coming to iPhones with iOS 26. Apple may add more features during the beta testing phase, but for now, these are the most notable tweaks. However, it's worth noting that not all of iOS 26's features will be available on iPhones, as Apple is limiting some features to newer models.

Jessica Tanner

Update 27 June 2025