iOS 26 and Android 16: This is how your phone will soon change.

If you have an iPhone, iPad, or Android phone from brands like Motorola, Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, Honor, Tecno, Infinix, TLC, and others, know that September will bring important changes and improvements to the way your phone works. This is due to the upgrade to the new versions of Google's Android 16 and Apple's iOS 26, which promise to deepen the symbiosis between the user and their phone with significant advances in intelligence, productivity, design, and security, primarily.

For Android, Google's Pixel devices, as well as Motorola devices, will be the first to get this update . Other brands have a "customization layer" that must be rewritten with Android 16, so its arrival will be gradual over the coming months.

This new version features several new features, such as "Live Updates," which allow you to track processes like home deliveries in real time, directly from the notification bar, without having to open the app.

It also brings smarter alert management, grouping alerts from the same app to reduce visual clutter.

In terms of security, it will feature Advanced Protection, a new feature designed for high-risk users, incorporating multiple layers of defense against malware, fraud attempts, and unauthorized access. It will come with improved scam detection for calls and messages, as well as new privacy controls, such as Trade-in Mode, which ensures private and verifiable data deletion when switching devices.

Android 16 will also optimize the experience on large screens and foldable devices with an improved desktop mode that allows you to open and resize multiple app windows more smoothly.

In terms of multimedia, the camera will enable hybrid exposure for more natural captures in challenging lighting conditions, and expanded support for hearing aids with LE Audio technology, improving sound quality and communication in noisy environments.

The biggest overhaul of Apple's phones will be visual, with Liquid Glass, a new, transparent and more functional interface featuring icons, menus, and widgets with translucent and shaded effects that dynamically adapt to the wallpaper, creating a sense of realism and depth.

Users will be able to customize icons with different finishes, from traditional color to a translucent mode.

In the intelligence space, Apple Intelligence will be open to developers through new tools (APIs) that will allow Apple models to be integrated into third-party applications. Existing features such as Visual Intelligence, for analyzing screenshots, and Genmoji, for creating custom emoji, will be enhanced. True to its philosophy, the company maintains its focus on local processing to ensure privacy; this feature will be available starting with the iPhone 15 Pro.

Native apps will also receive significant functional improvements. The Phone app will intelligently detect when a call is on hold to notify the user, and both the Phone app and FaceTime and iMessage will incorporate real-time automatic translation. iMessage will add wallpapers for group chats and polls.

Meanwhile, Apple Music will debut AutoMix, a feature that uses AI to create smooth transitions between songs, while the Camera app will simplify its interface for a cleaner, more immersive experience.

At Apple, the update will be available for all iPhones with the A13 Bionic chip or later: iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 13, iPhone 14, iPhone 15, and the new iPhone 16. Second- and third-generation iPhone SEs will also be supported. The iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR models will not receive iOS 26.

On Android, the list of devices that will receive version 16 depends on each manufacturer. The first to get the update will be Google phones, from the Pixel 6 series onwards. Then Motorola phones, followed by the Galaxy S series from the S22, and the Z Fold and Z Flip foldable phones from the fourth generation onwards, as well as numerous models in the A series. Xiaomi from the 12 series onwards and its sub-brands Redmi and Poco. Other brands such as Honor, Oppo, RealMe, TLC, Tecno, and Infinix will gradually update in the coming months.