A lot has changed with Apple’s iOS 26 system update for your iPhone, from a brand-new interface to the introduction of two Apple apps that you may have overlooked. One of these apps is Preview, a file viewing app that can do more than just open and view PDFs and image files.
Preview has some hidden capabilities that you may not be aware of, and can eliminate the need for third-party websites or apps that you may currently be using. Here’s what Preview can do, how you can optimize it, and why you need to give it a shot.
What Can Preview Do For You?
Preview is not a new app to the Apple ecosystem. This built-in image and PDF viewer is a staple for opening files on a Mac, but beyond viewing a file, Preview also allows you to perform a few additional tasks. This includes signing or filling out PDF forms, autofilling some information, removing the background from an image, converting files, and protecting sensitive documents by adding passwords.
Recently, Apple introduced Preview for iPhone and iPad, provided your device is capable of running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26, respectively. Once you install iOS 26 on your iPhone, you will be able to use Preview to view PDFs and image files that you have downloaded.
To launch the Preview app, you can either search for it in the App Library or click on a downloaded PDF or image file from the Files app. This will open the file in Preview, from where you can view, annotate, and edit it. On your iPhone, you can perform a few functions using Preview, such as:
- Filling out a PDF form
- Scanning a physical document and save it as a PDF file
- Adding password protection to any downloaded file through a lock
- Stripping the background from an image
- Annotating text in a PDF file (highlight, strike, underline, add text)
- Rotating the file to change orientation
- Adding, deleting, rotating, moving, or cropping PDF pages
- Selecting an area within a long document for easy annotation
How Is It Different From Files?
While your iPhone has a built-in file management app called Files, it is not the same as Preview. Many users have been confused about Preview since its release, asking what it does better than Files. However, it’s essential to note that this Apple app has distinct capabilities.
For starters, Files—which was introduced with iOS 11—performs basic file management functions like organizing files into folders, tagging and renaming them, sharing them, and saving them to and from your iCloud drive. Files can be downloaded from the internet, apps, and email. You can also use the Quick Look function to view a file, duplicate and move saved files, scan documents, use some basic markup tools (the same tools you would see when you take a screenshot on your iPhone), and use a form-filling function for eligible documents.
With the introduction of Preview, any document on Files can be automatically opened using this new file viewer, where you will be able to do more than what Files lets you do. Preview has basically the same options for markup and annotation as Files (this also includes text, shapes, stickers, and signatures), but if you want to modify pages in a document, then you may prefer Preview. Alternatively, you can opt for the “Quick Look” option for a saved Files document to open it in the app instead of through Preview.
Plus, for image files, Preview supports background removal as well, which is something you cannot perform on Files. Preview also has better export capabilities in terms of file format and file compression. The best use I get out of Preview for file conversion is changing an image file from HEIC to JPEG or PNG, which is super handy for screenshots you take on your iPhone. This conversion is also much more direct than using the Files app to do the conversion.
The main distinction between the two apps, however, is that Preview is simply better for opening, viewing, and editing larger files, especially multipage PDFs, with many users of the iPhone app praising how smooth it feels to view a larger file as compared to Files. In my experience, Files has been a little inconsistent when handling larger files, especially for annotation, often crashing when I’ve tried to make edits or add text, so Preview comes in handy.
Export Capabilities
Beyond editing, filling, and annotating PDF and image files, Preview also lets you convert them into different formats. Once you are ready to export your document, you can change the file format to HEIC, JPEG, JPEG-2000, PDF, PNG, or TIFF.
Preview also comes in handy when exporting larger files, as you can compress them. Before exporting, you can customize the size using a scroll bar and change the resolution of the file.
To export a file on Preview, tap the drop-down icon next to the file name and click “Export.” You can then change the format, file size, and resolution, and then click the check mark in the upper right corner. Once the file is ready, you can save it in a Files folder. Saving it to iCloud will make it easy to access it from the Mac Preview app if you need to make more edits.
Is It Easy to Use on Your iPhone?
Using Preview on your Mac versus on your iPhone can feel fundamentally different, for many reasons. Firstly, Preview on Mac is different in terms of opening a supported file, since you have to click on a downloaded file to automatically open up the viewer. On your iPhone, however, the process can be slightly easier.
Just opening the Preview app will show all downloaded and saved files and folders from the Files app, so it’s easier to navigate recent documents and manage them in one place.
The interface for opening recently opened documents in Preview is actually pretty neat. You can view saved documents in any way you wish, from a grid to a list. It took me a good week to get used to Preview on my iPhone, but it is a powerful file viewer that works well on a smaller screen, as it does on a larger screen like a Mac. The markup tools are smooth to use if you’re comfortable editing text and pages on your iPhone, and if you’ve already used Files for quick editing, then getting familiar with all the tools available on Preview won’t take up too much time.
If you also own an iPad, then Preview is even better for syncing and editing, since it supports the Apple Pencil. This will make the annotation possibilities for longer PDFs get more fleshed out. Arguably, the iPad may even be the best device out of the lot to use Preview on if you have an Apple Pencil.
The Confusion Remains
Despite Preview’s merits, using Files and Preview side-by-side makes it clear that using Preview makes the file manager feel pretty redundant. Since Preview even has some of Files’ organization capabilities, there’s basically no reason to use Files. The exception here is the critical task of downloading and saving files from the internet. Preview lets you do more than what Files offers, such as better markup and image editing options, cropping, file compression, and better export capabilities.
Many users, including me, are a little confused by the introduction of Preview when Files exists, with many iOS 26 users questioning why the file viewer has been made available for the iPhone.
If Preview can absorb Files (or vice versa) to create one streamlined app where iPhone owners can download and manage files, view supported files, use markup tools, and convert or compress files, maybe some of this confusion can be done away with. For now, you can simply uninstall Preview if you don’t find yourself using the file conversion or compression and markup tools to save yourself the annoyance of your iPhone automatically opening files in Preview every time you click something in Files.
