iOS 26 Rumored to Bring These Upgrades to Messages, Music, Notes, and CarPlay

Next Monday's WWDC25 keynote is already shaping up to be a big one, with Apple expected to unveil a major OS redesign and a significant renaming of its operating systems. But a new report from 9to5Mac suggests there are some quieter, yet welcome, enhancements coming to everyday apps like Messages, Music, Notes, and even CarPlay, potentially as part of iOS 26.

While the "Solarium" UI refresh and a renewed gaming push are likely to grab headlines, 9to5Mac's sources point to Apple also refining some core app experiences.

In Messages, word is Apple's working on automatic translation for both incoming and outgoing texts, a feature that would leverage AI. This sounds like a nice complement to the live translation capabilities previously rumored for AirPods. Polls might also finally be coming to Messages, a feature long available in other apps, and Apple Intelligence could even help suggest poll structures based on your conversation.


For Music, it looks like the Lock Screen's Now Playing view could get a bit more dynamic. Apple is reportedly planning to bring full-screen animated album artwork to the Lock Screen, similar to the animations already seen inside the Apple Music app.

Apple Notes users might finally get a much-requested feature: the ability to export notes in Markdown. While a niche addition for some, it's a significant one for those who rely on the format and brings Notes closer to parity with many third-party apps.

And CarPlay isn't being left out. The report suggests the standard CarPlay interface is also in line for a UI refresh to match the new iOS 26 design language. This should be good news for those wondering if the regular CarPlay would get attention alongside the recently launched CarPlay Ultra.

These potential tweaks could add some nice polish to Apple's core apps, alongside the bigger OS changes we're expecting to see unveiled at WWDC.


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