Which iPhones support call screening?
Any iPhone that can update to iOS 26 has this feature. It’s not limited to the newest models and doesn’t require Apple Intelligence.
How does call screening work in practice?
Before I let iOS 26’s call screening feature handle all incoming calls I haven’t saved in my contacts, I decided to test it.
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I had my husband call me from an unknown number (he used his friend’s phone, which I hadn’t saved). He said an automated voice came on and told him, “Hi, if you record your name and reason for calling, I’ll see if this person is available.” My phone stayed silent as the call rang, and I watched it transcribe his response on my screen.
Meanwhile, my husband said he waited less than 30 seconds for me to pick up.
With call screening, do important calls get silenced by mistake?
Possibly. For example, when I tried testing Silence, I had an unknown call from my health insurance company silenced and routed to voicemail. Not a big deal to me, but you should experiment with the feature for a while to see if it’s even something you find useful.
Are there other call filtering features I can try?
Yes. Your iPhone can also help verify incoming calls from businesses. It uses information from Apple Business Connect or supported carriers to identify and display the caller.
- Go to the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap Apps, tap Phone, then tap Call Blocking and Identification.
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Turn on Business Call Identification.