iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe Include Phone App With Call Screening, Hold Assist and More
With iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe, Apple is expanding the Phone app to the Mac and the iPad for the first time. It might not make a lot of sense for these platforms to have a Phone app, but you can actually make phone calls from your iPad and Mac using Apple's Wi-Fi calling features.
The Phone app on iPad and Mac features all of your incoming phone calls, voicemails, contacts, and FaceTime calls, and it has all the new features that Apple announced for the iPhone's Phone app, too.
Here's what's new in the Phone app across all of your devices:
- Call Screening - Calls from unknown callers are automatically answered, and they're asked to share a name and reason for calling. Then you can decide whether or not you want to pick up the call.
- Live Translation - Live Translation automatically provides translations when you're talking to someone that speaks another language. They'll hear an AI translation of you, and you'll hear an AI translation of them.
- Hold Assist - If you need to wait on hold when you place a call, Hold Assist keeps your place in line and you don't have to stay on the phone. It'll call you when an agent is detected.
The Phone features on Mac and iPad work through Continuity, which is what Apple calls its device interoperability feature set. The Phone app is available in iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe, updates that developers can download today. Public betas are coming in July, and a launch will follow in September.
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