The arrival of iOS 26 has been a breath of fresh air in terms of design, but it may also be a disappointment for many who believed some rumors that ultimately didn’t come to fruition. It’s a common occurrence every year: many rumors are written about Apple, and a large portion of them end up being false.
In this case, I’ve searched the newspaper archives and compiled four rumors about iOS 26 that haven’t come true. And these aren’t just small rumors; they’re recurring rumors we’ve heard several times over the past few months.
Round icons
It was one of the first rumors to appear. Everything indicated that iOS 26 would be based on VisionOS, which has completely round icons, like the Apple Watch. However, this hasn’t been the case, and the iPhone retains its characteristic square icons with rounded corners.
Although it’s true that the icons aren’t exactly the same as in previous years, if we stack one on top of the other, we’ll see that the iOS 26 icons are more rounded, with a curve that starts earlier and is more pronounced.
Stage Manager on the iPhone
Apple has revolutionized multitasking in iPadOS 26 with a new window system that practically turns the iPad into a Mac. However, there was another rumored feature that would have expanded the iPhone’s capabilities like never before.
This rumor claimed that Apple was going to boost the iPhone and its productivity, allowing it to be connected to an external display and displaying apps in windows, very similar to what we saw in iPadOS 26. This would have turned the iPhone into almost a computer when connected to a display.
Of course, we haven’t seen anything like this. iOS 26 hasn’t even changed the iPhone’s multitasking, and we still don’t have features like split screen.
Smarter Siri
Another of the most talked-about new features was an improvement to Siri thanks to Apple’s proprietary language models. These models are said to be on par with other Apple Intelligence alternatives like ChatGPT.
However, Apple seems to be further behind than expected in the development of its artificial intelligence, and nothing has been mentioned about a new Siri. What’s more, there are features that were introduced with iOS 18 that have yet to arrive. So Siri, in iOS 26, remains the same and continues to rely on ChatGPT.
No integration with Google Gemini
And speaking of AI, another rumor indicated that Apple would open the system to other language models like Google’s Gemini. However, the only option in iOS 26 remains ChatGPT. Furthermore, Apple didn’t mention anything related at WWDC25, so it seems like something that won’t happen anytime soon.
Ultimately, iOS 26 has brought many interesting new features, but it’s also served as a reminder of something important: don’t believe every rumor. Every year, leaks, predictions, and “reliable sources” emerge that aren’t always accurate, and often raise expectations that ultimately fail to materialize. While it’s fun to imagine what might come next, it’s best to wait for Apple’s official announcements and enjoy what actually arrives.
