Katarzyna Petru
This could be the biggest change for Polish iPhone users since… the iPhone has existed at all. According to an analysis of the code of the latest beta version of iOS 26.2, Apple – under pressure from European Union regulations – is preparing a feature that Poles and other countries have been waiting for years: the ability to change the default voice assistant. Yes. That means exactly what you think.
The side button, which so far activated Siri (which is basically nothing), will be able to be assigned to Gemini, ChatGPT, Groka, or another app that actually understands Polish. And this is not a rumour, but concrete information from the code of iOS 26.2. But that's not all – this update also brings several new features that will actually improve everyday use of the iPhone. So if you are updating the system not just to have a higher number in Settings, there is definitely something to gain here.
What did the leaks from iOS 26.2 confirm?
In the third beta, developers found a number of messages regarding entirely new settings for the side button. Among them:
“Choose another default side button app”
“Default side button app cannot be hidden”
“[App name] is not available in your region”
And this last fragment says it all:
the feature will only be available in the EU – just like the earlier changes that Apple had to implement due to the DMA.
Why is Apple doing this?
Because it has to. The EU Digital Markets Act requires users to be able to freely change their default apps – including the voice assistant. So Apple isn't doing us a favour. Apple is doing this because otherwise it will face billion-euro fines. But the end result is that… finally we will be able to have an assistant on the iPhone that doesn’t pretend that the Polish language doesn’t exist.
Gemini, ChatGPT, Grok – you choose, pin it to the side button and you're done.
Finally, the iPhone is becoming normal.
iOS 26.2 – what else do you get besides the major assistant change?
This is not a minor, cosmetic update. Apple has actually added a few new features that impact daily phone use. And fortunately – most of them work immediately, without rummaging through menus, like in Android from 2014.
1. Automatic chapters in Apple Podcasts - You no longer have to guess where the topic that interests you begins. Chapters are created automatically. You click and you're done.
2. Adjustable transparency of the clock on the lock screen - A nice gimmick that no one asked for, but everyone will be sliding the bar for 10 minutes to find “that perfect effect”.
3. Screen flashing with notifications - The whole screen joins the flashlight. Useful if your phone often lies screen up – or if you want to look like you're using a strobe light with every text message.
4. Offline lyrics in Apple Music - You have downloaded music? You have lyrics. Even in a tunnel, on the tube, and in the countryside where LTE arrives in a registered letter.
5. Alarms in Reminders - Finally real alarms. Not a notification that you can ignore, but a RINGING that won't let you pretend you “didn't see it”.
6. Games app – they’ve tidied things up there - Sorting, filters, easier management of the mess. In other words, what should have been there since iOS 18… but shhh.
7. AirDrop with a one-time PIN and 30-day connection - Sending something to someone not in your contacts? PIN, click, and it’s done. And that for a whole month.
9. Live Translation in the EU - System-wide live translations – finally available in Europe. No more pretending you know French just because you can say “baguette”.
Is iOS 26.2 a big update?
For Poles and other countries without access to their language? Definitely. The ability to replace Siri with Gemini or ChatGPT is a breakthrough. This is a change that Apple has defended for years. It's the end of the "dead button" in Poland.
Other new features? Nice additions that improve life and will occupy you for a week of fun before you return to scrolling TikTok in bed at 2 in the morning.
