Apple launched iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3, more than a month after the company released iOS 26. One of the main changes that the update brought to your iPhone was Liquid glass redesign, and the iOS 26.1 update introduces a new way to customize this design. The update also brings several other changes to your device, including a new security setting that will help keep your device up to date and secure.
You can download iOS 26.1 right now by clicking on the link Settings and tapping General. Next select Software updatetap Update now and follow the onscreen instructions.
Here are the features the iOS update adds to your iPhone.
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Another way to adjust “Liquid Glass”.
In iOS 26.1, Apple allows you customize your iPhone's liquid glass design even more. If you go to Settings > Display and brightness > Liquid glassyou can choose a new design: transparent or tinted.
“Clear is more transparent, revealing the content underneath,” Apple writes for the setting. “Tinted increases the opacity and adds more contrast.”
Changing “Transparent” or “Tinted” only customizes certain Liquid Glass elements, such as Notification Center and some search bars on your iPhone. However, it doesn't seem to change the Liquid Glass elements on the main screen. But there is another way to set up Liquid Glass on your home screen.
To set up Liquid glass on the main screenpress and hold the screen, tap Edit in the top left corner of the screen, then tap Tune. From here, make your app icons transparent or tinted, then you can tap Light, Dark, or Auto at the bottom of the Settings menu to customize the Liquid Glass items on your Home screen.
You can also go to Settings > Accessibility > Display and text size and then tap the switch to Reduce Opacity adjust the new design.
People had mixed reactions to Liquid Glass's design. Some people on Reddit they note that the design may have readability issues, while other I like it, I call it modern and playful. If you don't like the way Liquid Glass looks, this iOS 26.1 tweak might change your mind.
No matter how you feel about Liquid Glass, you should always download iOS updates to implement the latest bug fixes and security patches. The digital security of your iPhone is more important than the visual interface of your device (which is quite customizable).
Automatically install security enhancements
Apple introduces a useful security tweak in iOS 26.1 that allows your iPhone download and install security enhancements on one's own. You can find this by going to Settings > Privacy and Security > Background Security Improvements.
“Background security improvements provide additional protection for your iPhone between software updates,” Apple says. “In rare cases of compatibility issues, these security improvements may be temporarily removed and then improved in future software updates.”
This feature reminds me of Apple Quick Security Measures. The company introduced RSR in 2023 as a way to quickly deploy security patches to devices. It's a good idea in theory, but Apple hasn't used RSR for iOS since release iOS 16.5.1 (c) in July 2023.
It's not a flashy tweak, but it's useful and allows you to stay up to date with small security updates without doing any extra work. Once enabled, this setting will take care of the rest, so you don't have to check your iPhone every day for new updates and potential security issues.
Avoid accidentally opening the camera with this new switch.
The iOS 26.1 update also introduces a switch that can prevent you from accidentally opening the camera from the lock screen. To find this switch, go to Settings > Camera and scroll to the bottom of the menu. There you will see a switch for Swipe the lock screen to open the camera.
“Swipe left on the lock screen to quickly access the camera,” Apple writes for the setting.
Tactile control of phone calls
iOS 26 introduces a new option to turn off haptics when your iPhone connects or drops a call. This way, your iPhone won't vibrate and make you think you've received another message or notification every time you enter or end a call.
To access this setting, go to Settings > Applications > Phone. and tap Haptics switch.
Local Capture Options
Local Capture is an easy way to record high-quality video and audio from video calls on your iPhone, and iOS 26.1 introduces a settings menu for the feature. To find the setting, go to Settings > General > Local Capture. The menu gives you the option to choose where to save your recordings, as well as a toggle that allows you to only record audio when using local capture.
“Add Local Capture to Control Center to record your own audio and video during a call so you can save and edit it later,” Apple writes on the Local Capture settings page.
New accessibility option
The iOS 26.1 update introduces the ability to prioritize tap actions over swipe actions on your iPhone screen. You can find this option by going to Settings > Accessibility > Touchscreen. and scroll down the page.
The alarm system has received another update
One of my favorite little updates in iOS 26 was the ability to change alarm snooze duration. In iOS 26.1, Apple is making it harder for people to accidentally turn off their alarms. After updating to iOS 26.1, you will now have to swipe the screen to turn off the alarm instead of pressing a button. This can be annoying if you're trying to turn off an alarm quickly, or it can help make sure you're actually awake before turning off the alarm.
Changing songs in Apple Music
Apple Music got a few new features in iOS 26, but iOS 26.1 doesn't change much about the app or service. Instead, the update allows you to change songs in new ways.
In iOS 26.1, instead of pressing the Next or Back buttons to change songs, you can swipe left or right on the title of a song in the music player in Apple Music. You can do this when the player takes up the entire screen or when you're browsing Apple Music and the player is small and at the bottom of the screen. The song title now even jumps left or right when you change songs.
Other live translation languages
iOS 26.1 update adds more languages to the new one Live translation peculiarity. Apple introduced this feature on iPhones and AirPods with iOS 26, and the iOS 26.1 update allows it to be used in those languages.
- Chinese (Mandarin, Simplified)
- Chinese (Mandarin, Traditional)
- Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
Apple Intelligence in other languages
If you have an iPhone with Apple Intelligence, iOS 26.1 adds artificial intelligence features to these languages.
- Chinese (traditional)
- Danish
- Dutch
- Norwegian
- Portuguese (Portugal)
- Swedish
- Turkish
- Vietnamese
New video cleaning panel
The iOS 26.1 update also brings minor changes to the video scroll bar in Photos. If you go into Photos and watch a video, you'll notice that the bar at the bottom of the screen is more compact and integrated than the previous scroll bar, which had play/pause and volume buttons above it.
This is another small change that you may not even notice.
iOS 26.1 Release Notes
Here are the full release notes for iOS 26.1.
This update adds new languages for Live Translation with AirPods, a new tint for Liquid Glass, as well as other features, bug fixes, and security updates for your iPhone.
This update includes the following features and improvements:
The Liquid Glass setting gives you the option to choose between a default transparent appearance or a new tinted appearance that increases the opacity of the material in apps and lock screen notifications.
Live translation with AirPods support for Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean and Italian.
Swipe Apple Music MiniPlayer to skip to the next or previous track.
Apple Music AutoMix support via AirPlay.
Gain control is available for external USB microphones when recording with local capture.
Local capture files can be saved to a specific location.
Manual workout recording is available directly from the Fitness app.
New camera setting to turn lock screen on or off. Swipe the screen to open the camera.
Improved FaceTime audio quality in low-bandwidth environments.
Communication security and web content filters to restrict adult websites are enabled by default for existing children's accounts between the ages of 13 and 17 (age varies by country or region).
For information about the security of Apple software updates, see: https://support.apple.com/100100.
Some features may not be available in all regions or on all iPhone models. To find out more, visit: https://apple.com/ios/feature-availability/.
Software updates like this add new features and improvements that may affect performance and/or battery life. To find out more, visit: https://support.apple.com/125039.
More iOS news can be found here. my review of iOS 26other ways to reduce Liquid glass on your iPhone and how viewing text works in update. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet.
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