Are iOS 26 and Android 16 Innovators or Copycats?

User Interface & Personalization - Android 16 and iOS 26 feature completely redesigned user interfaces, with Google emphasizing personalization through "Material 3 expressive" [1][2] - Apple's new "liquid glass" design for iOS 26 aims for a more expressive and delightful experience, though reception has been mixed, with some drawing comparisons to Microsoft Vista [2][3] - Both Android and iOS are introducing the ability to create custom emojis by mixing existing ones [13] Notification Enhancements - Android 16 will incorporate live activities, similar to iOS, providing real-time updates within notifications without needing to open the app [5] - Google is implementing grouped notifications for single apps, consolidating multiple notifications into one [6] Call Management - iOS 26 introduces a "hold assist" feature that keeps the phone on hold, mutes hold music, and notifies the user when a person becomes available, mirroring Google's "hold for me" feature [7] - Apple's new call screening feature automatically answers calls from unknown numbers, asks the caller for their name and reason, and provides the user with this information before they decide to answer [8] AI Integration - Apple Intelligence is integrated into iOS 26, offering live translations for texts, FaceTime captions, and audio translations over the phone [10] - Android 16 introduces "expressive captions" using AI to enhance captions with contextual information, such as capitalization for loud words and brackets for noises [11][12] Feature Parity & Copying - iOS is gaining visual intelligence, enabling users to search for items on their screen, similar to Google's "circle to search" [12] - Android is introducing a desktop mode for tablets, developed in collaboration with Samsung [12][13]