How to use Hold Assist on iOS 26 (and why it’s my must-have iPhone feature)
What does iOS 26’s Hold Assist do on iPhone? Hold Assist monitors your call while you’re on hold, notifies you when a live person returns, and shows a transcript of what you missed. Meanwhile, Hold Assist Detection is a toggle in the Phone app settings that lets your iPhone automatically detect when you’ve been placed on hold by listening for background music. During these calls, a banner will prompt you to activate Hold Assist. Also: How to clear your iPhone cache (and why you should do it before the iOS 26 update)When I tried it with my partner, he said he heard a beep. After that, when he started speaking, he was told the message was being transcribed. I also tested Hold Assist while on hold with my insurance company and again with my power utility. Both times, I was prompted to enable Hold Assist, did so, and resumed the calls once I got a notification. Neither agent or caller mentioned knowing they’d been on hold, though in one instance I could see in the transcript that the agent was speaking to me to say they were back.Which iPhones support Hold Assist?Hold Assist is available on iPhone 12, iPhone SE (3rd generation), and later models running iOS 26. Is Hold Assist available everywhere? No. It’s available in the US, UK, and Canada in English, along with additional regions. See the full list of supported countries here More
