iOS 26 & 26.1: Full Breakdown: Release Date, New Features, and Compatible iPhones

iOS 26 Recap: When It Launched and What Changed

Apple released iOS 26 on September 15, 2025, alongside the iPhone 17 lineup.
The update delivered the Liquid Glass design language across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS — a shimmering, translucent aesthetic replacing the decade-old flat UI.

Other highlights included:

• Call Screening and Hold Assist in the Phone app.

• Messages with polls, filters for unknown senders, and custom thread backgrounds.

• Live Translation and smarter Visual Intelligence via Apple Intelligence.

• A redesigned Camera and minimalist Safari interface.

• A new Games app that centralizes titles and achievements.

• Upgraded Apple Music, Maps, Wallet, and CarPlay with AI-driven quality-of-life changes.

Supported devices: iPhone 11 and later (including SE 2nd gen +). iPhone XS/XS Max/XR are not supported.

iOS 26.1 Arrives November 3 — What’s New

After six weeks of beta testing, iOS 26.1 is rolling out on November 3, 2025, bringing refinements to Liquid Glass and a handful of new everyday features.

1) Liquid Glass Toggle

At Settings › Display & Brightness › Liquid Glass, users can now choose between two styles:

• Clear – high transparency for a brighter, glass-like look.

• Tinted – more opaque for better contrast and readability.
  This option answers early feedback that the original design could feel too translucent.

2) Lock Screen Camera Toggle

You can finally disable the swipe-left gesture that opens the Camera from the Lock Screen — a welcome privacy and pocket-tap prevention feature.

3) Slide to Stop Alarms and Timers

The Clock app now uses a slide gesture to stop alarms or timers instead of a large tap button, reducing accidental dismissals.

4) Song Swiping in Apple Music

A simple but useful change — swipe left or right on the Now Playing screen to switch tracks without tapping controls.

5) Apple TV+ Becomes Apple TV

Apple’s streaming service gets a rebrand and a new vibrant icon as the system apps adopt the unified “Apple TV” identity.

6) More Apple Intelligence Languages

Apple Intelligence now understands and speaks Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese, expanding AI availability worldwide.

7) Expanded AirPods Live Translation

AirPods 4 with ANC and AirPods Pro 2 or 3 gain support for Japanese, Korean, Italian, and both Traditional and Simplified Chinese in Live Translation.

8) Background Security Improvements

Found under Settings › Privacy & Security, this new switch automatically downloads and installs small security patches between major updates — a streamlined successor to Rapid Security Responses.

How iOS 26.1 Builds on iOS 26

Together, iOS 26 and 26.1 solidify Apple’s vision for a visually unified ecosystem while quietly polishing usability and privacy.

Should You Update?

If you already installed iOS 26, 26.1 is a must-have incremental release:

• It improves visibility and readability for Liquid Glass.

• Tightens security with auto-patch delivery.

• Enhances daily interactions like alarms, music playback, and language translation.

Make sure your device has at least 50 percent battery and back up to iCloud or Finder before upgrading.

Apple’s 2025–2026 software cycle is about cohesion and comfort: the radical visual change came with iOS 26; iOS 26.1 adds the fine controls and quality-of-life details that make the design truly usable.

Whether you love the glass aesthetic or miss the old flat look, this pair of updates marks Apple’s most ambitious UI overhaul since iOS 7 — and the foundation for the AI-heavy era that iOS 27 is expected to embrace next year.