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One of Your iPhone’s Best New Features Is About to Get Even Better

It’s one of the many new upgrades your current iPhone is about to receive with iOS 26.

Flight information widget on a smartphone screen showing a Southwest Airlines flight WN 336 from SJC (San Jose) to DAL (Dallas) departing at 7:40 AM and arriving at 1:05 PM with a duration of 2 hours 24 minutes. The arrival gate is 19 and bag claim is 25. The widget also displays an updated time of 30 minutes ago. The phone screen background is blue with flashlight and camera icons at the bottom corners.Apple

By Tucker Bowe

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Apple introduced Live Activities almost three years ago, in October 2022, and since then, it’s become one of my favorite iPhone features.

For those not up to speed, Live Activities is a feature that provides you with access to real-time information directly useful to you, right from your Lock Screen. No need to unlock your iPhone or open an app.

When you are using your iPhone, these Live Activities can be seen in your iPhone’s Dynamic Island (should you have a newer iPhone), too.

A hand holding a smartphone displaying a lock screen with the time 4:07 and the date Wednesday, February 21. The wallpaper features a close-up photo of a black dog with a red collar, sticking its tongue out. A sports score notification shows Liverpool (LIV) leading 3-1 against Luton Town (LUT) with a message about Alexis Mac Allister crossing from the left defensive wing.
Live Activities allow you to see real-time activities, such as live sport scores, right from your Lock Screen.
Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

I primarily use Live Activities with Apple’s Sports app to keep track of Yankees and Devils games when I’m away from home. (Fun fact: these updates are often so quick, I’ll get a score update before the action happens on the TV, which is cool but also a bit annoying.) I also use it every day when listening to Spotify to control music playback.

But Live Activities has a ton of other use cases and works with numerous third-party apps. Most commonly, ride-sharing and food delivery apps, like Uber and Uber Eats, support Live Activities, so you have easy access to real-time progress updates for orders.

That said, when iOS 26 is released in the coming days, Apple is making Live Activities even more useful and versatile than ever.

Live Activities, upgraded

Smartphone displaying a lock screen with the time 9:41 and date Mon Jun 9. The background image shows two children with braided hair leaning on a blue inflatable structure under a partly cloudy sky. A flight tracking widget is visible, showing a Southwest flight from SJC (7:40 AM) to DAL (1:05 PM), with arrival gate 19 and bag claim 25. The phone has icons for flashlight and camera at the bottom.
With iOS 26, digital boarding passes from your Wallet app will be shown as Live Activities.
Apple

There are four significant updates related to Live Activities. Two are directly iPhone-related, while two are related to other devices.

First, Apple has rolled out Live Activity support for the Wallet app when using digital boarding passes. This means you’ll be able to see boarding and flight information right from your Lock Screen. You can also quickly share flight information with family or friends, so they can keep track of your travels.

Map of LAX Terminal 3 displayed on a smartphone screen, showing gate numbers 30A to 38 and options for Security, Check-ins, Gates, Bag Claims, Food, Drinks, Shops, and Restrooms. The screen also shows the current temperature as 53°F with an AQI of 22.
A tap into the digital boarding pass will get you access to airport maps (among other info).
Apple

Additionally, a quick press of that Live Activity will get you quick access to a map of the airport you’re in, as well as Find My to track important luggage (provided an AirTag is attached).

Second, one of the coolest things about Apple’s Sports app is that it lets you schedule Live Activities for later. For example, you can go to a baseball game or tennis match that will happen tomorrow or later in the week, click the Live Activity icon, and that Live Activity will pop up when the game or match starts happening.

Smartphone screen showing a tennis match schedule for the US Open quarterfinal at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The match is between 8th seed A. Anisimova from the USA and 2nd seed I. Swiatek from Poland, scheduled for 1:10 PM. Betting odds are displayed with Anisimova at +330 and Swiatek at -425. The screen also shows ESPN as the broadcaster and DraftKings as the odds provider. The phone battery is at 93%.
In the Sports app, you’ve been able to schedule Live Activities for later (as seen by the clock icon).
Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

With iOS 26, Apple is giving third-party developers access to the API for scheduling Live Activities, meaning more and more apps will be able to do something similar.

Coming to your Car, Mac and iPad

Third, CarPlay is getting a redesign and several new features with iOS 26 … and one of them is support for Live Activities. This means whatever Live Activities you have on your iPhone will also appear on your car’s screen.

Car infotainment screen displaying a navigation map with a route to Apple Park, showing 0.5 miles remaining and an estimated arrival time of 9:44. The screen also shows music playback controls with a paused song, and a flight status from JFK to SJC arriving in 10 minutes. The temperature is 50°F, and the time is 9:41. Below the screen are climate control buttons and air vents.
CarPlay is getting support for Live Activities, too.
Apple

The benefit here is that you’ll be able to keep track of that same real-time information — such as sport scores, travel information, music playback and driving navigation — on your car’s display. No need to look down at your iPhone while driving.

And lastly, the upcoming software will bring Live Activity support to the Mac and iPad, thanks to macOS 26 and iPadOS 26.

Notification from Uber Eats showing "Heading your way" with Alex arriving in 1 minute, including a progress bar and latest arrival time by 9:43 AM. The desktop background is blue with three blue folders labeled "Project Files," "Research," and "Decks" on the right side. The menu bar at the top shows the date and time as Tuesday, April 1, 9:41 AM, along with icons for battery, Wi-Fi, and other system controls.
And Live Activities is coming to the Mac and iPad, too, although they won’t work quite the same.
Apple

On your Mac, your iPhone’s Live Activities will appear on its menu bar (located in the top-left of your Mac’s screen). If you click that Live Activity, that app will open in iPhone Mirroring.

On your iPad, the Live Activities feature appears to be more limited. Instead of mirroring your iPhone’s Live Activities, only Background Tasks will appear as Live Activities. This is designed as a more professional-grade tool, giving creators a better idea of what long-running processes (such as video exports) are running in the background.

These updates to Live Activities will roll out with iOS 26 — as well as macOS 26 and iPadOS 26 — which is expected to happen sometime after Apple’s big iPhone 17 event, which is taking place on September 9th.

About the Author:

Tucker Bowe has been on Gear Patrol’s editorial team since 2014. As a Tech Staff Writer, he tracks everything in the consumer tech space, from headphones to smartphones, wearables to home theater systems. If it lights up or makes noise, he probably covers it.

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