iOS 26 Preview: 7 features to explore in your iPhone’s newest app

iOS 26 preview app icon — (Image credit: Apple)

Apple's Preview app doesn't seem like it would be well-suited for the iPhone, given the screen size limitations relative to an iPad or Mac. And while I suspect Apple decided to add Preview to iOS 26 as part of an overall push for a unified software experience across its different devices, there's certainly a benefit to having an app where you can mark up and fill in documents right there on your iPhone.

Preview can handle everything from scanning documents to filling in PDF forms, all on a device that's usually close at hand. You can even do some light image editing with the app. I've been spending some time with iOS 26 Preview lately to find out more about this newly added iPhone app. Here are the seven tips, tricks and features that have stood out to me.

Change the layout of your files

The Preview app gives you some control over how your files appear when you launch the app. You can opt to show off documents either in a list or with icons — essentially a thumbnail of the document along with its title.

changing the layout of documents in Preview — (Image credit: Future)

To sort the layout in Preview, just tap the More button — the three dot icon at the the top of your list of documents — and select Icons or List from the drop-down menu. You can also choose to order things by name, the file type, the date, the size or tags. (More on tags in just a moment.) With date, you can tap on that item to either start with the oldest or newest files.

Tag your documents for easier retrieval

adding tags to documents in preview — (Image credit: Future)

I mentioned tags as a way to sort the files you've got stored in Preview. Just like tags in the Reminders app, these are labels you create that make it easier to find what you're looking for later on.

To create a tag, tap and hold on the file, and then tap Tags on the pop-up menu that appears. At the bottom of the list of tags, there's an Add New Tag option, where you can create a tag name and assign a color to it. Then tap the circle next to the tag to apply that tag to the document.

searching for documents in preview by tag — (Image credit: Future)

Why go through all this effort? Because you can now search for documents with that tag, making it easier to find what you're looking for.

Scan documents on to your iPhone

scanning documents in preview — (Image credit: Future)

The Notes app in iOS 26 has the ability to scan documents, but that feature is a little too buried for my tastes. (You access the scanning feature by tapping on the Attachment icon in the menu bar above the keyboard within an individual note — not the most intuitive place to look, in my opinion.) Scanning is much more direct in Preview.

Launch the Preview app and a Scan Documents button is waiting for you on the main screen. Tap that and you'll be prompted to hold your iPhone camera over the document you want scanned. There's a shutter button you can press manually, but the scanner feature is smart enough to capture the document automatically.

To scan multiple pages, just move the camera to what you want to scan next, and repeat the process. When you're done, tap the blue check mark in the right corner.

A scanned document in preview — (Image credit: Future)

The result will be a scanned document, stored in preview that you're able to mark up, highlight and reference to your delight.

Fill in PDFs

Adding multiple signatures to a PDF in preview — (Image credit: Future)

I've already sung the praises of how Preview lets me fill in and sign documents on my iPhone — honestly, one of the main features I use the new iPhone version of this app for. When I get a document I need to sign, it's convenient for me to do it right there on my phone, without having to wait until I get back home.

At the risk of repeating myself, all you have to do to sign a document on your iPhone is to tap on Preview's Text box from within a document and select Add Signature from the pop-up menu. (That same menu has an Add Text Form Box command if there's areas on the document you need to fill in — a printed name, say, or a date.)

If you already use the signature feature on the desktop version of Preview and you're signed into iCloud, the signatures should be synced up in the mobile version of the app. If not, creating a new electronic signature is as easy as drawing on your iPhone screen.

Protect PDFs from prying eyes

locking a file in Preview with a password — **Tap the downward-pointing triangle** next to the file name in a document, and on the pop-up menu, **select Lock**. You'll be prompted to **add a password** that opens up this file. (Image credit: Future)

Some documents you just don't want other people to see, especially if they're glancing at your iPhone screen. Fortunately, the Preview app contains a privacy-minded feature that lets you lock things down.

a locked file in Preview — (Image credit: Future)

Once you've set a password, the thumbnail will now be replaced by a lock icon in the main view of Preview.

Remove image backgrounds

remove the background from an image in Preview — (Image credit: Future)

I'll be honest: Preview wouldn't be my first choice for an image editor on my iPhone — not when there's the built-in Photos app or any one of a number of third-party options. But among the simple tools at your disposal — rotating or flipping images and adjusting their sizes — Preview does something very well. It can remove the background from images, if you want to highlight one particular object in a photo or graphic.

From within that file, tap the More button in the right corner and select Remove Background. You'll be left with the main subject of the photo placed on a white background.

Don't like the finished effect? There's an Undo option in the More menu.

Mark-up text in your documents

using markup tools in preview on the iPhone — (Image credit: Future)

As you might expect, Preview offers a pretty complete selection of tools for marking up documents. Pen, pencil and highlighter tools give you the ability to scribble all sorts of things on a document in a color of your choosing. You can insert notes into a document as well.

highlighting, underlining and striking through text with the iPhone's preview app — (Image credit: Future)

There's also a dedicated highlighter feature, that you access by selecting text and then tapping on Highlight in the pop-up menu. From there, you can select a highlight color or scroll even further to the right to find dedicated tools for underlining and striking through text.

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Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.

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