After a summer of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26 to everyone last month. Now, attention has shifted to iOS 26.1. This update is available to developers and public beta testers now, and will likely be released to everyone later this month. Here’s everything you need to know about what’s new in iOS 26.1.
What’s new in iOS 26.1?
iOS 26 brought major new features to your iPhone, headlined by the new Liquid Glass design. iOS 26.1 is another significant update, bringing its own range of big changes.
Liquid Glass toggle
The biggest change in iOS 26.1 is a new toggle in the Settings app that lets you tone down the new Liquid Glass design.
- Open Settings
- Choose “Display & Brightness”
- Tap on “Liquid Glass”
Here, you’ll find two options: Clear and Tinted. The clear option is the same version of Liquid Glass that debuted with iOS 26 in September. Tinted, however, is a more opaque option that reduces the transparency of the Liquid Glass design.
“Choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass. Clear is more transparent, revealing the content beneath. Tinted increases opacity and adds more contrast,” Apple explains.
It’s a clear way for Apple to address some of the complaints around Liquid Glass, without changing the design for people who actually like it.
Turn off camera swipe on the Lock Screen
If you find yourself accidentally activating the Camera app from the Lock Screen, iOS 26.1 has a new toggle to address those concerns.
- Open Settings
- Choose “Camera”
- Look for the new “Lock Screen Swipe to Open Camera”
New alarm design
iOS 26.1 redesigns the alarm screen to make it harder to accidentally dismiss your alarms every morning and oversleep. Now, you’ll have to “slide to stop” your alarm every morning, instead of just tapping a large “dismiss” option.
New Apple TV app icon
Apple rebranded Apple TV+ to simply Apple TV, and iOS 26.1 includes a new app icon. The new icon is more colorful than before, and is part of what Apple calls a “vibrant new identity” for its streaming service.
Other small user interface tweaks
iOS 26.1 brings a handful of smaller user interface tweaks.
- In the Phone app, the numpad now uses a Liquid Glass design.
- In the Photos app, the video scrubber and navigation bar have frosted backgrounds with improved legibility.
- App folder titles are now left-aligned, as are headers inside the Settings app.
Music app improvements
One of the biggest redesigns in iOS 26 came to the Music app, which got a fresh coat of Liquid Glass paint as well as a broader restructuring of its navigation system.
In iOS 26.1, Apple has made a change that I’m thrilled about. Now, you swipe left and right on the Now Playing bar at the bottom of the app to easily switch between songs. Having quick access to this control is a great improvement upon the iOS 26 design.
Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence continues its global expansion with iOS 26.1. The update brings Apple Intelligence support to eight new languages:
- Chinese (traditional)
- Danish
- Dutch
- Norwegian
- Portuguese (Portugal)
- Swedish
- Turkish
- Vietnamese
Local Capture in Settings
iOS 26.1 and iPadOS 26.1 add the ability to adjust gain levels when recording local audio with a connected microphone. In the Settings app, you’ll also find new options to change where Local Capture files are saved. You can also now toggle Local Capture to only include audio.
AirPods Live Translation expansion
Live Translation launched last month for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4 with support for English (US and UK), French, German, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Spain). iOS 26.1 adds support for five new languages:
- Chinese (Mandarin, simplified)
- Chinese (Mandarin, traditional)
- Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
And more
iOS 26.1 code also references Apple’s work on two major changes to the iPhone:
Wrap up
As you can see, iOS 26.1 is a dramatic update for your iPhone. If you haven’t updated to iOS 26 yet, iOS 26.1 will be a great place to jump on board as it is generally more stable and refined than the initial iOS 26 release.
As my colleague Ryan outlined recently, iOS 26.1 will likely be released to everyone at the end of October.
Have you updated to iOS 26 yet? Are you waiting for iOS 26.1 or a later update? Let us know down in the comments.
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