iOS 26.1 Release Candidate is out (and brings these changes)

Apple has released iOS 26.1 Release Candidate ahead of the update’s official release. These are the upcoming changes.

iOS 26.1 Release Candidate is out

iOS 26.1 Release Candidate is the final version for beta testers before the official release of iOS 26.1 to the general public. We list the changes for you.

Liquid Glass switch

The biggest news of iOS 26.1 is the Liquid Glass switch. Apple is adding the option so you can choose between transparent (the current design in iOS 26) and tinted. The tinted option reduces the transparency behind notifications and tabs, among other things. Other visual elements of Liquid Glass, such as optional transparent app icons, are still present.

The switch can be found on iPhone and iPad in Settings > Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass. It is in addition to the existing ‘Increase contrast’ and ‘Make less opaque’ settings under Accessibility > Display and text size.

Open camera with swipe on lock screen

iOS 26.1 has a second new switch. For the first time in years, it’s possible to disable the swipe gesture that lets you open the camera from the lock screen. The new switch can be found in Settings > Camera.

The feature started as an upward swipe and later became a right-to-left swipe in iOS 10. Starting with the iPhone

Newer iPhones also have the camera control, which allows you to launch the camera in a third way. Before that it was also possible with the action button. The swipe option will remain, but disabling it in Settings will prevent you from accidentally swiping and opening the camera.

And further…

Other changes in iOS 26.1 Release Candidate include Apple Intelligence, AirPods Live Translations, Apple TV, and iPad Slide Over.

Apple Intelligence now supports Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish and Vietnamese.

AirPods Live Translations adds support for Chinese (Simplified and Traditional Mandarin), Italian, Japanese, and Korean. The feature launched with iOS 26 on the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 with support for US and UK English, French, German, Portuguese (Brazil) and Spanish (Spain).

Apple is changing the name of its streaming service Apple TV+ to regular AppleTV. According to Apple, this name change comes with a vibrant new identity. The first sign of vibrancy is the new icon for the Apple TV app.

The Settings app gets a new section ‘Local Capture‘ under ‘General’. This setting allows you to change where local recording files are saved.

iOS 26.1 also adds swipes to turn off an alarm and change songs in the Music app and much more.

iOS 26.1

Now that the iOS 26.1 Release Candidate has been released, we expect the official version for the general public in a week. If you don’t want to miss anything, sign up for our newsletter. We will then automatically keep you informed!