It seems like iOS 26 just dropped, but Apple is already back at it with another update. The company dropped the first beta for iOS 26.1 on Monday, Sept. 22, and ever since, developers and public testers have been able to try out Apple’s next update a little early. As of this article, iOS 26.1 is officially on its fourth beta version, which adds even more changes and features to the mix.
“Point updates” like iOS 26.1 are never as feature-filled as the main releases, though 26.1 seems particularly small in scope. Apple seems to have done most of what it planned to do with iOS 26, offering only minor revisions in this upcoming update. Still, there are some interesting new additions in this latest beta, and more could come in subsequent releases. Here’s what’s new.
Apple now lets you control how Liquid Glass looks
If you’re not a fan of Liquid Glass, Apple’s new design language across its various operating systems, you’re in luck: With iOS 26.1, you can choose how Liquid Glass looks.
This is an option some users have been asking Apple for, though not quite like this. As of the fourth 26.1 beta, Apple gives you two options to control Liquid Glass: “Clear,” which looks about the same as Liquid Glass has, and “Tinted,” which adds a “frosted” look to the glass effect. If you don’t like how difficult it can be to see certain elements when iOS gets busy, Tinted reduces transparency, and makes these elements easier to read.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
While it’s great to have an official option to adjust the look of Liquid Glass, some users had asked Apple to add a slider instead, to fine-tune the look. Still, it’s better than the previous workaround.
You can disable the Lock Screen camera shortcut
For the longest time, you’ve been able to swipe left on your Lock Screen to launch your iPhone’s Camera app. It’s convenient, but there are two downsides. One, you’ve also been able to launch the Camera app from the Camera shortcut tile in the bottom right, and, on newer iPhones, from either the Action button or the Camera Control button, making the swipe gesture a bit redundant. Two, it’s a bit easy to accidentally launch the camera with a swipe, meaning your iPhone might be burning through battery life with its camera activated while in your pocket.
With the fourth iOS 26.1 beta, Apple has added a new Settings toggle to disable this swipe gesture. If you want, you can simply rely on a software or hardware button instead of the gesture
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Alarms are harder to accidentally dismiss
This feature arrived with the second iOS 26.1 beta. With it, Apple is making it harder to dismiss a ringing alarm, lowering the risk you’d accidentally oversleep.
You still have the same “Snooze” button as you do on the official iOS 26 build, so if all you want is another nine minutes of sleep, the button is as easy to tap as ever. However, to dismiss the alarm entirely, you can’t simply tap a button anymore. Instead, you need to slide to stop the alarm—the same screen gesture you use to power it down after holding the power button.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Apple Music has new gestures
If you want to skip a song in Apple Music, you hit the forward button. If you want to get back to the previous song, or restart the current song, you hit the back button. With iOS 26.1, however, you’ll have the option to swipe to switch between songs.
As of the second beta, you can swipe right and left on the Now Playing bar to switch back and forth through your queue. With it, Apple has removed the skip forward button from the Now Playing bar. (The back button wasn’t present.) It’s a small but cool feature, but one that might take a little time to get used to.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Apple TV+ is now Apple TV
Apple TV+ is getting a rebrand, albeit a simple one. Apple quietly revealed in a press release about F1: The Movie that its streaming service will move from Apple TV+ to, simply, Apple TV. Did many of us call it Apple TV anyway? Sure. Will it be confusing having a streaming service and a streaming device with the same name? Most definitely.
While the company figures out these naming issues, the third iOS 26.1 beta is rolling with the changes. As of this beta version, the Apple TV app gets a redesigned icon: Now, the icon has a subtle array of colors running through it, as opposed to the muted gray look we’re used to.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Also new to the third iOS 26.1 beta is a new Settings menu for Local Capture. This feature is new to iOS 26, and lets users record audio and video from conference calls as you could on a computer—something podcasters haven’t been able to do on iPhones and iPads. From the Settings menu, you can choose where those local files are saved, as well as whether to only save the audio files. Previously, you could only make these calls from Control Center during a recording.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
There’s a new video playback bar
In the current version of iOS 26, the video playback bar in the Photos app is flush with the UI. You might love or hate it, but it can be a bit difficult to make it out, depending on the video in question. The play button and mute button, for example, can disappear when iOS can’t change their colors to stand out from the background.
iOS 26.1 beta 1, however, introduces a new video playback bar that is separate from the UI. It looks good, and is easy to see at all times. Again, a small change, but a smart one.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Live Translation is available in more languages
Live Translation for AirPods is a fantastic new feature that automatically translates conversations you’re having with someone who speaks a language you don’t understand. So long as you have an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, as well as AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, or AirPods 5 with Active Noise Cancellation, you’ve been able to try it out since iOS 26’s launch.
What do you think so far?
Apple initially rolled out support for French, German, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Spain), but plans to expand the list in the future. With iOS 26.1, it adds four new options, including:
-
Chinese (Mandarin, simplified)
-
Chinese (Mandarin, traditional)
-
Italian
-
Japanese
-
Korean
There are eight new languages for Apple Intelligence
Users with an iPhone 15 Pro and newer, listen up: Apple Intelligence supports eight new languages in iOS 26.1. As of this first beta, that includes the following:
-
Chinese (traditional)
-
Danish
-
Dutch
-
Norwegian
-
Portuguese (Portugal)
-
Swedish
-
Turkish
-
Vietnamese
Liquid Glass comes to the Phone’s keypad
Liquid Glass isn’t everywhere in iOS 26. While much of the UI now has a glassy look, some elements still look like iOS 18 and earlier. The Phone app’s keypad was one such example: While the app itself is very much changed with this update, switch to the keypad, and it looks the same as ever.
That changes with iOS 26.1. The beta brings Liquid Glass to the keypad, which, while consistent with most of iOS 26’s design, does reduce the visibility of the keys a bit, especially in light mode. I’d imagine the new “Tinted” setting would help with that.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Transparent navigation buttons in the Photos app
Similarly, with beta 2, Apple brought back transparent navigation buttons in the Photos app. These had been present earlier on in iOS 26’s beta testing, but Apple made the buttons more opaque for the official release. Now, you’ll be able to see what’s behind each button as you move around the app.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
A color-coded calendar list
Whenever you have Calendar in List view in iOS 26.1, you’ll see your daily events color-coded by their respective calendars, rather than simply listed against the same white background.
References to third-party smartwatch support
If you have an iPhone, you know the only smartwatch that really works well with it is the Apple Watch. Some watches offer notification support, but most simply don’t jive well with iOS.
That might be changing in the future. Code within the iOS 26.1 beta references a new “Notification Forwarding” feature, that might allow you to choose a third-party device to send your iPhone alerts to. In addition, an unfinished “AccessoryExtension” option might be the framework that lets you pair a third-party watch to your iPhone.
These are just references in code, not something that you can actively test out in the 26.1 beta, but it’s worth noting. Apple is experimenting with supporting third-party watches on iOS, though it could just be to appease the EU’s “Digital Markets Act.”
Apple brings back Slide Over multitasking (iPadOS)
If you’re running at least the second iPadOS 26.1 beta on your iPad, you’ll notice a familiar feature: Slide Over. Slide Over is a multitasking feature that lets you open and hide an iOS-like window on the side of your iPad. This window is overlaid on top of your other active windows, and is meant to offer an at-a-glance view of another app, without needing to take up a dedicated space on-screen.
This feature was especially useful when the iPad’s multitasking was in its infancy. It seems Apple thought Slide Over’s days were done, however, as the company removed the feature with iOS 26. Instead, you get an improved macOS-like windows management system. It’s not clear why Apple brought the feature back with beta 2, and it’s possible it could disappear again before iPadOS 26.1’s official release. But for now, you can take advantage of the new multitasking system and Slide Over with this newest beta.