9to5Mac Daily: August 21, 2025 – News on iOS 18.6.2 and Apple TV+ Price Hike

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New Enhancements and Improvements for FaceTime in iOS 26

# iOS 26: Innovative Enhancements in FaceTime

iOS 26 presents a reimagined FaceTime app, elevating user experience with a novel design, cutting-edge features, and enhanced functionality. Here’s an in-depth look at what’s new in FaceTime.

## Revamped Home Screen

When users open FaceTime, they will see a thoroughly overhauled home screen. The former layout of recent calls and contacts has been substituted with a card-style interface. Each card prominently features contact photos of recent FaceTime users or recommendations for possible calls.

These cards showcase the contact photo, the date of the last call, the call type (audio or video), and a button to start a new call. For contacts with a complete display card set, the presentation is visually striking. If a contact does not have a full set, their photo is shown as a circle. Moreover, if a video message has been received, it will auto-play while scrolling. A green ‘New Call’ button is positioned at the bottom, complemented by filtering tools in the top-right corner.

## Liquid Glass Aesthetic

The newly designed Liquid Glass aesthetic represents a major visual enhancement in FaceTime. Menus and buttons throughout the app embrace this contemporary style, boosting visual attractiveness. During calls, buttons automatically recede, ensuring they do not obstruct the video feed and allowing for a more immersive experience.

## Real-Time Translation

iOS 26 introduces the ingenious Real-Time Translation feature to FaceTime, facilitating live captioning for discussions. Users with an AI-equipped iPhone can access automatically translated captions, letting them listen to the speaker while viewing the translated text on-screen. Initially, this feature is available for one-on-one calls in English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish.

## Mute Unknown Callers

To address spam calls, iOS 26 offers an option to mute FaceTime calls from unknown callers. This feature can be activated to ensure that incoming calls from unrecognized numbers remain silent and are listed separately within the filters menu.

## Nudity Recognition Warning

Apple enhances its Communication Safety tools with a new nudity recognition feature, primarily targeting child accounts but also accessible for adult accounts as an optional setting. When activated, if nudity is detected during a FaceTime call, the call will freeze, presenting a warning. Users can opt to continue or terminate the call. This feature employs on-device machine learning to analyze content without transmitting any data to Apple.

## Summary

The updates in FaceTime with iOS 26 markedly improve user experience through a contemporary interface, groundbreaking features like Real-Time Translation, and additional safety measures. As Apple further develops its communication tools, users can anticipate more enhancements in forthcoming updates. What extra features would you like to see in FaceTime in the future?

Spotify Unveils Audio Previews and Instant Music Sharing Capabilities for Instagram Stories and Notes

Spotify is elevating how users share their music on Instagram with the launch of two new global features. These enhancements are designed to foster a more engaging and interactive experience for those who love to share their musical preferences with friends.

### Audio Previews in Stories

One of the key features is the addition of audio previews when users share tracks in their Instagram Stories. This implies that when a user posts a song, a brief audio snippet will automatically accompany the post. Friends viewing the Story can listen to this preview instantly and have the choice to tap on the music sticker, which will lead them to the complete track on Spotify. Moreover, tapping the song title will direct users to Instagram’s audio page, where they can discover related Reels or save the track to their Spotify “Liked Songs.”

### Real-time Music Sharing in Notes

Another noteworthy update is the real-time music sharing capability in Instagram Notes. This feature enables Notes to automatically display the currently playing track or the subsequent track within a 30-minute timeframe. Friends can react to these updates or save the song directly to their library. Additionally, Spotify has unveiled a new sharing option that streamlines the posting of any track directly to Notes, improving the connection between the two platforms.

These features not only simplify how users share their music choices but also stimulate interaction among friends, nurturing a community of music enthusiasts.

In conjunction with these updates, Instagram is also introducing a new opportunity for creators to link multiple Reels in a sequence. This adjustment aims to facilitate viewer engagement with related content, enriching the overall user experience on the platform.

As Spotify continues to evolve, it recently revealed a new feature similar to Apple Music’s AutoFix, which is anticipated to debut with iOS 26. This initiative underscores the ongoing rivalry between music streaming services to enhance their integration with social media platforms. Additionally, Spotify has recently raised prices for paid subscribers globally, signaling a shift in its business strategy as it seeks to improve its service offerings.

For further details about these new features from Spotify, you can read the complete announcement