iOS 26.1 release date: Here’s when to expect the next iPhone update

The next big iPhone update, iOS 26.1, is coming soon. It’s currently in beta testing, but a public launch isn’t far off. Here’s the expected iOS 26.1 release date.

iOS 26.1 expected to launch the last week of October

Apple is a secretive company, but it can also be highly predictable in certain ways.

For example, every September new iPhones launch at more or less the exact same time.

Software launches tend to be very cyclical too. So even though Apple hasn’t yet announced an iOS 26.1 release date, we can predict fairly confidently when it will arrive.

Here are release dates for the last few years of x.1 updates:

• iOS 18.1: Monday, October 28
• iOS 17.1: Wednesday, October 25
• iOS 16.1: Monday, October 24

As you can see, despite a little variability regarding the day of the week, general timing follows a clear pattern.

Based on Apple’s history, iOS 26.1 is expected to launch in late October, likely around October 27.

Monday, October 27 seems the best candidate for release day, but it could always be a little later.

If iOS 26.1 doesn’t launch some time next week, then very early November is likely when we’ll see it arrive.

New features coming in iOS 26.1

Apple recently released iOS 26.0.1 with a variety of bug fixes, but typically the company’s more substantial x.1 release eliminates a lot more of the bugs introduced in major new iOS versions.

So if you’re holding off upgrading to iOS 26 just yet, iOS 26.1 might be the release to wait for.

Outside of bug fixes though, Apple seems to have a heavy emphasis on Apple Intelligence features coming to more languages with the update.

Apple Intelligence features are enabled in eight new languages in iOS 26.1, a significant expansion.

One key AI feature—AirPods Live Translation—is similarly gaining support for five new languages with the update.

If you’re an Apple Music user, iOS 26.1 includes a new swipe gesture for quickly switching between songs.

Alarms and timers now use a new ‘Slide to stop’ gesture instead of the previous one-tap stop button.

Additionally, some UI updates are coming for the Photos app’s video playback scrubber and the Phone app.

Are you waiting until iOS 26.1 to upgrade your iPhone from iOS 18? Let us know in the comments.

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