Apple is about to close out its most successful year ever, but December will see a number of different new launches.
Apple will bring innovations to iOS 26.2 in December
Apple releases iOS 26.2 in December and that is an update with many new functions and features. We expect these innovations:
- Offline lyrics in Apple Music.
- ‘Urgent’ option with alarm in Reminders.
- New features for Podcasts (including automatic chapters).
- Improved Sleep Score in the Health app.
- Improvements in Apple Games.
- Support for tables in Freeform.
- Option to make lock screen clock more or less transparent.
- Spirit level from the Measuring app gets Liquid Glass.
- New Liquid Glass animations across the operating system.
- AirDrop gets a new sharing feature.
- Notifications become clearer.
- CarPlay can put more widgets on the screen.
- Command for creating events in the Invitations app.
- AirPods Live Translations is coming to the EU.
- Users in Japan can replace Siri.
- EU users can share limited Wi-Fi between iPhone and Apple Watch.
iPadOS 26.2 brings back multitasking with drag & drop
iPadOS 26, like iOS 26, was launched in September. New features were added, but a number of features that were available in iPadOS 18 were also removed. In iPadOS 26.1, an important feature was already brought back: Slide Over. With iPadOS 26.2, Apple is bringing back yet another multitasking feature in December: drag&drop support for managing Split View and Slide Over.
The Edge Light feature of macOS Tahoe 26.2
macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes some of the same great features as iOS and iPadOS, but adds the unique Edge Light video calling feature. Edge Light is Apple’s software solution to better illuminate your face during video calls. It provides a similar effect to physical ring lights, but without the extra cost and installation. The feature will be available in December on all Macs with Apple silicon.
The first betas for iOS 26.3
In recent years, Apple has released the first beta version of its x.3 iOS updates in mid-December, before the Christmas holidays. This year could be different, as Apple may choose to save iOS 26.3 beta 1 for January. But if the company follows its recent pattern, we’ll see the first beta builds for iOS 26.3 and its updates released in the coming weeks, shortly after iOS 26.2 launches to the general public.
F1 The Movie and other releases coming to Apple TV
Apple TV has one of its biggest premieres of the year in December: F1 The Movie will be available on Apple TV from Friday, December 12. So you can watch this big-budget summer blockbuster from Apple at home as part of your Apple TV subscription. Other highlights of Apple TV’s December schedule include more episodes of Pluribus and Down Cemetery Road, plus a new Christmas special and a docuseries about six adorable and endangered young animals.
Apple Arcade gets 5 new games
On Thursday, December 4, a number of exciting new games will be added to Apple Arcade’s more than 200 existing titles. Five new games will be launched on that day:
- PowerWash Simulator: a popular and relaxing game with special bonus packages.
- SpongeBob Patty Pursuit 2: a platform game starring SpongeBob Squarepants.
- Cult of the Lamb Arcade Edition: an award-winning Rogue-lite game.
- Subway Surfers+: an arcade version of the world’s most downloaded mobile game.
- Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm+: a 3D fighting game.
Apple Arcade is available as a standalone service for €6.99 per month or as part of it Apple Onepackage.
This is not what Apple is coming up with in December: hardware
Apple rarely releases new hardware products in December, so it’s unlikely we’ll see any new Apple devices before 2026. It has long been rumored that the company will soon introduce several new products, including the AirTag 2, a new Apple TV 4K, and the HomePod mini 2. It’s still possible that one or more of these products surprise us in December, but it’s more likely that we won’t see them until early next year.
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