Pick up your iPhone, folks, because it’s time to download iOS 26.1.
Apple launched the newest iOS version on Monday, which means you can download it right now by going to the iPhone Settings app, hitting “General,” then hitting “Software Update.” The update, referred to as iOS 26.1, follows up on iOS 26 with a bunch of minor bug fixes and adjustments. However, there are also a handful of larger new features worth talking about.
Apple expects record sales for the holidays with potentially new product launches this month
The biggest new iOS 26.1 features
Here are the most noteworthy changes in iOS 26.1.
Adjusting (but not turning off) Liquid Glass
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Perhaps the most requested feature in iOS 26.1 is the ability to change how the new Liquid Glass user interface looks. After it was introduced in iOS 26, some people found that they didn’t like Liquid Glass and wanted it turned off. Well, you can’t turn it off, but you can make a small adjustment to it.
Specifically, there’s a new Tinted Mode in the Settings app that might make Liquid Glass UI elements stand out a little better to your eyes. It’s not quite the same as just allowing users to revert to the way things used to look, but it’s a start.
Mashable Light Speed
No more accidental camera swipes
Another small but much needed change in iOS 26 is that you can go into the Settings app and turn off the ability to open the Camera app straight from the lock screen. You might read that and wonder why people would want to turn off something so eminently convenient. Well, the problem is that you activate the Camera app from the lock screen by swiping to the left, which is unfortunately very easy to do by accident.
I know I’ve opened my camera unintentionally this way far more times than I’ve ever done it on purpose. I’m probably not the only one.
Increased language support
Another nice thing is that Apple is adding more languages to various services that need them. First up is Live Translate via AirPods, which now supports the following languages:
Second, Apple Intelligence now supports a bunch of additional languages:
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danish
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Norwegian
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Dutch
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Chinese (traditional)
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Portuguese
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Swedish
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turkish
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Vietnamese
A new UI for alarms
When Apple launched iOS 26, one of the most noticeable changes for some of us came in the form of alarms. When an alarm goes off on iOS 26, you simply press a comically large button on-screen to dismiss it. This is simple to understand, but can sadly result in unintentionally dismissing an alarm. The new iOS 26.1 update changes this just a tiny bit.
By that, I mean you now have to swipe to the right to dismiss an alarm. Making it a more intentional action is probably for the best, but I’m going to miss the giant button.
Swipe to change songs in Music
Speaking of swiping, the last change we’ll cover here is that you can now skip songs in Apple Music by doing a swipe motion. This one is comparatively smaller than the other changes, but hey, someone will get a lot of use out of it.
