Call Screening and Hold Assist<\/p>\n
Screen Call dates back to Android 12<\/a>, and Pixel phones have offered a version of the feature even longer. Earlier versions required you to manually invoke the feature, but on the Pixel 7 and newer you can have it automatically answer and screen incoming calls likely to be spam. Apple\u2019s version launching with iOS 26 picks up automatically.<\/p>\n Screen Call is something I certainly miss when I move from Android to iOS, so as long as it works reasonably well, I think it\u2019s going to be a welcome feature on the iPhone.<\/p>\n Screen Call is such a godsend. Image: Barbara Krasnoff \/ The Verge<\/p>\n Hold assist is another familiar phone feature. Google\u2019s version debuted in 2020 on Pixel phones<\/a> and then started trickling out to the rest of the ecosystem last year. The feature works much the same way as it will on iOS 26: instead of having to stay on the line and listen to hold music, you can put your phone down and you\u2019ll get an alert when a human is ready to talk to you.<\/p>\n It\u2019s super handy! I find myself being pushed to work my problems out with web-based customer service chatbots more than on the phone lately, but in the rare times when I need to hold it\u2019s usually for an unreasonable amount of time. I\u2019ll take it. <\/p>\n Translations! At the phone app<\/p>\n Recent Samsung phones already offer live language translation that\u2019s baked into the phone app that looks a lot like what Apple unveiled this week. They both provide real-time, spoken translations from the caller\u2019s language to the recipient\u2019s and vice versa. Don\u2019t expect to have a lengthy, nuanced conversation using either of these features, but at least Samsung\u2019s version is capable enough for its intended use: short, transactional exchanges like reserving a table or a hotel room. <\/p>\n On Apple and Samsung phones (pictured here) chat translations go both ways so both participants can benefit. Image: Vjeran Pavic \/ The Verge<\/p>\n In both cases, translations extend to messaging, too. Samsung\u2019s version will offer to tailor your messages to different writing styles in an effort to avoid sounding too casual at the wrong time. Could come in handy!<\/p>\n Suggesting actions based on what\u2019s on your screen<\/p>\n Google has been chasing the whole \u201cusing contextual awareness to surface information\u201d since the dawn of time \u2014 or at least since 2012<\/a>. Same with searching what\u2019s on your screen, courtesy Google Lens. In the generative AI era, this has extended to Circle to Search, which uses intelligence to try and better identify what it is you\u2019re searching for. Now, Apple is offering a version of this based on screenshots. <\/p>\n iOS gets its own version of Circle to Search. Image: Apple<\/p>\n On phones with Apple Intelligence, you\u2019ll see some new options when you take a screenshot. If there\u2019s a time and date on the screen, it\u2019ll suggest making a calendar event. You can also circle, er, highlight something on screen to search for it.<\/p>\n Apple\u2019s version always starts with a screenshot, which is clever. People who are unaware of the new feature will likely find it pop up in a place they\u2019re already familiar with. Google\u2019s Circle to Search requires unique navigation, usually double tapping the handle at the bottom of the screen. Personally, I\u2019m still training myself to use that gesture rather than just opening a new tab and typing out a search in Chrome. I doubt I\u2019m alone.<\/p>\n Tabbing between photo and video recording in the camera app<\/p>\n iOS 26 shakes up the camera app UI by hiding most of the shooting modes by default except for two: photo and video. The rest appear when you scroll to the left or right, so you can still find your portrait or panorama options. But the simple video \/ photo dichotomy calls to mind the toggle between those two options on Pixel phones.<\/p>\n The Pixel camera app includes a persistent video\/photo toggle.<\/p>\n In iOS 26, the switch between video and photo modes is given more prominence.<\/p>\n In the Pixel camera app, it\u2019s a standalone toggle, so it\u2019s always in reach no matter what mode you\u2019re shooting in. But I appreciate that both options put this core functionality front and center. And hey, if you want to turn your regular photo into a panorama, you can always use AI after the fact<\/a>. Right??<\/p>\n![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot_20211123_154051.jpg\"\/)
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