Looking at the home screens, the primary difference you'll find is that in iOS 26 the background of the dock and the search option that sits in between the dock and the home screen icons are more transparent and have a sheen to the edges, whereas in iOS 18, these are slightly darker.

Apple has officially dropped the iOS 26 public beta, offering curious users an early look at the company's first major OS overhaul since iOS 7, featuring the new Liquid Glass interface

During one of the iOS 26 developer previews, Apple dialed back the effects of its Liquid Glass UI, but it’s back in force in the public beta.