Apple’s new IOS 26 public version is officially extinguished, and after testing it, I can admit that I like the most controversial thing on this subject: the new liquid glass design. Yes, this can make your phone feel a little slow sometimes, but it makes everything transparent (in case the default look is not liquid enough for you, here is our tutorial on how to really make any transparent).
But after having used iOS 26 beta on my main phone for a while, I realized that there is a functionality which is almost always on the way, instead of being useful.
I’m talking about the new unified look for the telephone application. It is not activated by default, but the iPhone will ask you if you want to activate it, what (of course) I said yes. The unified look combines your stories, your favorites and your voice messages in a single page, and it also deletes the top of the screen search bar and replaces it with an icon at the bottom right.
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This may seem like a logical change that rationalizes the application of the phone and reduces congestion, but the way I use my phone, it was just confused. As a rule, I will open the telephone application to answer a missed call, either to call one of the few people I call regularly. And I often do this in a hurry – maybe a delivery is at my door and I have missed the call, and now I am frantically jostling to call the guy to see if he has already chased. And in most situations, I don’t need favorites or voicemail, I just need a clear and simple list of recent calls with a search bar at the top.
Fortunately, you can always return to the classic look.
Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable
Fortunately, it still exists. It is called the classic look, and you can bring it back by bringing it back to the Calling tab, typing the three lines at the top right and choosing Classic. Boom – Everything is as it was in the past.
As a bonus, the classic look also offers a filter to an easy tap between all and the missed calls above the screen, which is not available in the unified look.
Apple probably knew that the new look could get used to it, which is why the old version is still available. But I bet that there will be a lot of people, like me, who will be bored by the new design without even realizing that they can go back. So you have it: if you like the unified look, turn it on by all means; But if you prefer to stay in the classic view, it is always available.
