Apple has unveiled iOS 26.1 RC to beta testers prior to the official rollout of the software update. Here’s what modifications are on the way for the iPhone in iOS 26.1.
### Liquid Glass Toggle
The standout feature in iOS 26.1 is the Liquid Glass toggle. Apple is incorporating the choice to alternate between transparent (the existing design in iOS 26) and tinted. The tinted variant alters the opacity level behind elements such as notifications and tab bars. Other Liquid Glass visual components like optional clear app icons remain unchanged.
The toggle can be located in Settings > Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass on both iPhone and iPad. The Mac also acquires the toggle in Settings > Appearance > Liquid Glass, although the variations in macOS are less noticeable.
This newly added option complements existing accessibility features like increase contrast, reduce transparency, and others.
### Lock Screen Swipe
iOS 26.1 brings a new toggle that may be appreciated by a broader audience. For the first time in several years, users can now disable the gesture to swipe open the Camera from the iPhone lock screen.
The new toggle is accessible via Settings > Camera > Lock Screen Swipe to Open Camera.
This shortcut originated as a swipe-up gesture before evolving into a right-side swipe gesture in iOS 10. From the iPhone X onwards, Apple included Lock Screen shortcuts for Flashlight and Camera by default.
Recent iPhones also come equipped with the Camera Control button, introducing a third method to access the Camera. Prior to that, the Action button provided another way.
While the swipe function persists, the option to disable it in Settings can prevent unintentional swipes that accidentally launch the Camera app.
### More
Additional changes found in earlier iterations of iOS 26.1 pertain to Apple Intelligence, AirPods Live Translation, Apple TV, and iPad Slide Over.
Apple Intelligence now supports Chinese (traditional), Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, and Vietnamese.
AirPods Live Translation enhances its support to include Chinese (Mandarin simplified and traditional), Italian, Japanese, and Korean. This feature debuted with iOS 26 on AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4, supporting US and UK English, French, German, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Spain).
Apple is changing its streaming video service name from Apple TV+ to just Apple TV. The rebranding will feature “a vibrant new identity,” according to Apple. The first indication of this vibrancy is the new icon for the Apple TV app.
The Settings app has also introduced a Local Capture section under General. This setting allows users to modify where Local Capture files are stored. There’s an option to set Local Capture to only include audio as well.
iOS 26.1 further enhances the way alarms are dismissed with a Slide to Unlock interface, incorporates a swipe gesture for switching songs in the Music app, and offers many other improvements.
### Availability
iOS 26.1 RC is currently accessible for developer beta testers. The official release version is expected to be available in about a week.
