Apple Finally Adds Call Screening to iPhones with iOS 26
For many iPhone users, the anxiety of an unknown caller is all too familiar. But with the release of iOS 26 on September 15th, Apple is introducing a feature designed to alleviate that stress: automatic call screening.While the visually striking “Liquid Glass” design refresh is grabbing headlines, this addition could considerably change how iPhone owners manage incoming calls.
The new feature will initially support nine languages, including English, Spanish, and Japanese. When enabled, iOS 26 will automatically answer calls from numbers not saved in the user’s contacts. A robotic voice will then politely request the caller’s name and the reason for their call.
This information is then relayed to the iPhone user via a notification, allowing them to decide whether or not to answer. This eliminates the need to answer immediately or wait for a voicemail and live transcription to determine the call’s importance.
While call screening is new to iPhones, Android users – particularly those with Google Pixel phones – have enjoyed a similar feature, called Call Screen, since 2018. According to Google’s product manager Lyubov Farafonova, millions of pixel users in the US alone utilize the tool, making it a “fan favorite.”
Google has continually refined its Call Screen feature, focusing on making the synthetic voice sound more natural and adding features like tappable quick replies for easy communication without directly answering the call. This fall, google is expanding Call Screen’s availability, beginning with a beta version of manual Call screen for Pixel 10 owners in India, supporting English and Hindi with more languages planned. The feature is also slated to roll out to Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the UK, offering both manual and automatic screening options.
Apple’s implementation of call screening brings a long-awaited feature to iPhone users, offering a new level of control and peace of mind when dealing with unknown callers.
