Live Activities have become one of the best iPhone features, and they’re getting even better in iOS 26. Here’s what’s new.
Scheduling Live Activities for later
Last year, Apple’s Sports app gained support for scheduling Live Activities so that they automatically trigger when a game starts.
In iOS 26, that same scheduling capability is now available to all third-party apps via a new developer API.
Once apps implement the scheduling feature, there could be all kinds of fascinating new use cases for Live Activities.
Live Activities for Wallet’s boarding passes
Apple’s Wallet app is getting a lot of new features in iOS 26, including an upgraded boarding pass experience.
One feature of iOS 26’s new boarding passes is Live Activity support.
Live Activities will let you see important flight information that goes beyond what Wallet previously showed on your Lock Screen.
Additionally, these boarding pass Live Activities will be shareable, so you can send one to a friend or family member who needs to track your flight.
CarPlay in iOS 26 adds Live Activities
One major Apple focus for Live Activities this year involves bringing them to more platforms.
Among the many other new CarPlay features coming, iOS 26 adds Live Activity support to CarPlay.
Live Activities running on your iPhone will be automatically added to your CarPlay Home Screen, so you can track things like flights, food deliveries, sports scores, and more.
Mac and iPad now support Live Activities too
Finally, alongside the above iOS 26 improvements to Live Activities, Apple is also bringing the feature to Mac and iPad this year via macOS Tahoe and iPadOS 26.
Each platform offers a unique implementation of Live Activities:
On the Mac, your iPhone’s Live Activities will automatically be available in macOS Tahoe as an extension of iPhone Mirroring.
On the iPad, Live Activities are used as part of the new Background Tasks feature for intensive app processes.
macOS Tahoe uses the menu bar to display Live Activities, but you can always expand them to see the full view. Clicking a Live Activity will open the corresponding app from your iPhone via iPhone Mirroring.
iPadOS 26 offers a much more limited use for Live Activities, but Background Tasks will prove especially handy for professionals doing intensive tasks like video exports. Thanks to Live Activities, you’ll be able to track a lengthy export without needing to keep that app on screen.
Which new iOS 26 changes to Live Activities are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments.
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