Apple has officially released iOS 26.1, bringing a host of refinements and new features designed to enhance the iPhone experience. While iOS 26 introduced a bold redesign and new capabilities, this latest update focuses on usability improvements, customization options, and expanded support across Apple’s ecosystem. Here’s a detailed look at everything that iOS 26.1 has to offer.
Liquid Glass Toggle
iOS 26 introduced the striking Liquid Glass design, which emphasizes transparency and depth in the interface. With iOS 26.1, users now have the choice between ‘Clear’ for full transparency or ‘Tinted’ for higher contrast. This new option improves readability and eases visual strain—something that clearly left a lot of users squinting and grumbling in the previous update. Going by this trend, if the readability issues persist, Apple might just revert to the old design and market it as the ‘Liquid Glass: Solid Edition.’
Lock Screen Swipe-to-Camera Disable Option
A subtle addition that will allow iOS 26.1 users to disable the left-swipe gesture that opens the Camera from the Lock Screen. This reduces accidental camera launches and gives users more control over how they interact with their devices. Apple said—no more ‘butt-dialed’ selfies!
Alarm Interface Change: Slide to Stop
The Clock app has been refined so that alarms are dismissed by sliding rather than tapping. This minor adjustment makes it less likely for you to accidentally stop an alarm, helping ensure that your morning routines stay on track. Tim Cook is famously punctual, so it could be that he wants the customers to match his punctuality… too bad he doesn’t insist we match his bank balance as well.
Expanded Language Support for Apple Intelligence and Live Translation
iOS 26.1 broadens Apple’s on-device intelligence and translation capabilities. Additional languages are now supported in both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation, improving usability for multilingual users and making real-time translation with AirPods more seamless. The new languages include—Chinese (Mandarin, simplified), Chinese (Mandarin, traditional), Italian, Japanese, and Korean. Hopefully, they can include a few Indian languages in there soon. Might solve some problems currently rampant in the country, if you know what I mean.
Apps and System Refinements
Beyond these headline features, iOS 26.1 includes meaningful improvements across Apple’s native apps and system functions:
- Apple Music: Swiping left or right on the minimized player now makes skipping tracks more fluid and intuitive.
- Photos: Scrubber improvements and UI tweaks enhance video navigation and library browsing.
- Calendar: Full-width colour highlighting and visual cues make events easier to read at a glance.
- Safari: Tab bar padding and layout adjustments improve browsing comfort and accessibility.
- Security: ‘Background Security Improvements’ provide better transparency over on-device protections, building on Apple’s ongoing commitment to user safety.
The upgrades in the iOS 26.1 don’t reinvent the iPhone but make it more intuitive, customizable, and functional. One swipe’s been added here, another’s been removed there to improve the user experience. Now we just wait to see how it fares out in the wild… and how long before 26.2 shows up to fix this update.
