iOS 26's New Phone App Will Remind You to Return Missed Calls

If you're like me, your phone is always on silent, which makes it easy to miss calls. That in itself isn't a problem, at least until you forget to return those missed calls. Luckily, the redesigned Phone app in iOS 26 comes with an unexpected new feature that might actually be more useful than either auto-hold or call screening: the ability to quickly set reminders for calling someone back. Here's how it works.

How to set up reminders for missed calls on iPhone

This is an iOS 26 feature, so, of course, you'll need to be running this version of iOS on your iPhone to access it. As of this article, iOS 26 is in beta testing, but Apple plans to release the update to all compatible iPhones in the fall. If you want to try it out early, you’ll have to install the public beta.

This new Reminders feature works in both the Classic layout, and the new Unified layout in the Phone app. (You can change layouts using the new Filter button in the top-right corner). Having said that, the experience is better if you use the Unified layout, since you get a separate Reminders section at the top.

You can create a reminder for any call on your Recents list. (This feature doesn’t work in the Favorites list, or the Contacts list.) Swipe left on a call entry in the Recents list to reveal the new blue Reminder button.

Tap on "Reminder" to reveal the time options. You can choose to be reminded in an hour, at night (9 p.m.), tomorrow, or a custom date and time.

Once you choose an option, your reminder will show up at the top of the Reminders section in the Phone app.

But this reminder isn't isolated to the Phone app. If you open the Reminders app, and go to the Today list, you’ll find the reminder for the call here as well. There’s even a useful button to place the call in the reminder itself.

If you want to delete a reminder, swipe left on the call entry, and hit Delete.