A large part of the iPhone Photos application in iOS 26 has focused on current design adjustments to your photo library that Apple offers in its latest software. And although this is understandable, there are some other upcoming changes in the photos in iOS 26 – and I think they really add a lot to the application.
But first, about this design update. As you may remember, iOS 18 has introduced a new radical look to the application that has essentially stacked your library in addition to collections, albums and other organizational tools in the photos. Although I was used to the look over time, it was clearly not a universally popular change, because Apple is back with a photo design update for iOS 26.
Now there are library and collections tabs in iOS 26 photos, and you press them to switch between the two sections of the application. This certainly prevents you from the apparently endless scrolling that you had to do to navigate the iOS 18 photos, and I appreciate how these tabs shrink with a parchment down.
But this new design is only part of the story with iOS 26 photos. The other major changes add new features and features to the application, and as a result, I think they will be much less dividing.
The view of collections now has extended personalization tools which allows you to modify the size of the display. And the Photos Application becomes intelligent enough to recognize events such as concerts and sports, by drawing information on this event directly in the application.
Let’s talk about each of these IOS 26 photos changes and where you can find them in the application.
Personalize the collection of the collection in the photos
If you remember iOS 18, you can already personalize the arrangement of the Photos application, reorganizing ordering things like memories, trips, recent days and other different collections have appeared in the application. All you had to do is scroll down the Photos application on your iPhone and press customize and reorganize to reorganize things on the next screen.
It is always possible in iOS 26 photos, although the button at the bottom of the collections tab is called reorganization. But you get other organizational skills in the new iPhone software, and access it by pressing the More menu – these three points – at the top of the screen.
When you do, a context menu will appear with different as personalized options, which will bring you to the same place as the reorganization option at the bottom of the screen. There are also controls to switch between personal and shared photo libraries and the collapse of all your collections in a single list.
But it was the three icons at the top of this context menu that drew my attention. Because they are the ones who allow you to modify the layout of your different collections.
The first option – represented by an icon with a three -point block – is the default look of the collections. It gives priority to the collection at the top of the screen – memories in my case – while shrinking the size of the subsequent collections below. It is a good look if there is a particular collection that you like to highlight above all the others.
The average option has an icon with a 3×3 point grid. Press this and all your collections will appear in the same size.
The final option, an icon with a 2×2 grid, is very similar to the environment option, only with the collections appearing with larger miniatures.
Admittedly, this is not a large list of layout options. I would like to see one where you can alternate between a prominent box and a smaller line – or even better, by tightening more than one collection on the same line, so there is not as much vertical scrolling. But as proof of concept to change the appearance of photos in iOS 26, it’s a good start.
Show the details of the event on the photos
If you take photos during a concert or a sporting event, the Photos Application will now include additional information to which you can access your photo library. For example, last September, I accompanied my daughter when she and a friend went to a concert by Gracie Abrams. When I slide from a photo of this event to see information on the image – location, date and other metadata – there is now a link to the event itself.
In the case of this concert by Gracie Abrams, the link brings me to an information page with the date and location of the concert. But there are also links to Music Gracie Abrams, as well as a direct link to the Apple Music application on my phone if I want to play or buy some of the songs. Further on the screen, there is a list of upcoming events – in this case, additional performance by Gracie Abrams.
The functionality also works for sporting events, although there is less to see at this stage. I can jump on information pages on university football matches and the baseball matches that I have also been, but there is no score data, and the coming games are not particularly relevant. (On the Info screen for a Cal-Unlv football match I attended in December, the next event section lists each university football game played at the end of August, not only those featured the two teams I watched.)
It also seems that information on events is limited to the main sports leagues. I attended matches for the roots of Oakland, a second division football team near me, and no event information is organized for the photos of these outings.
I do not want it to meet as if I complained – just a recognition that it is a functionality still in beta version, like the rest of iOS 26. I think that the fact that Apple builds this feature in photos adds value – especially since it does not involve any effort on my part.
Outlook photos
Whether you are a fan of the evolution of the photos or not, you must appreciate Apple’s attempts to refine the application and put more control in the hands of users. It is really worth checking once you have installed iOS 26 on your iPhone, whether via the public beta version that comes out this month or the full version arriving later this year.
