iOS 26.1 beta is live — here's all the new features for your iPhone

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Improvements abound

ios 26 logo on an iphone
(Image credit: Tom's Guide / Shutterstock / Apple)

iOS 26 might only be a week old at this point, but that doesn’t mean Apple is resting on its laurels. In fact, it has just released the first developer beta for iOS 26.1.

So far, it looks like iOS 26.1 is going to tweak and improve some aspects of the phone to offer a better experience. In a recent report, 9to5 Mac detailed some of the biggest changes that have been spotted so far.

iOS 26.1 (left), iOS 26 version (right)

(Image credit: 9to5 Mac)

The first has to do with the keypad in the Phone app, which itself underwent a significant design change in the original iOS 26 release. However, the new beta brings Apple’s new Liquid Glass design to the Phone app's keypad. Much like Liquid Glass itself, the new look is an acquired taste, but there’s something to be said for uniformity.

iOS 26.1 also introduces a new video scrubber for the Photos app that was shown off on X by Beta Profiles. The updated version appears in a small, greyed-out pill box. This would replace the current version, which takes up the bottom of the screen with a shadowed area behind the time stamps, which can be a bit hard to read.

Meanwhile, the Calendar app now shows color highlights that take up the full width of the screen for events in the list view.

It’s not just the UI that’s changing, as Apple Music users will be able to swipe left and right on the mini player to switch between songs. On top of that, the Live Translate feature for Apple AirPods, when used in conjunction with Apple Intelligence, is getting support for five new languages:

  • Chinese (Mandarin, Simplified)
  • Chinese (Mandarin, Traditional)
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean

On top of that, the update also includes Apple Intelligence support for eight new languages:

  • Chinese (traditional)
  • Danish
  • Dutch
  • Norwegian
  • Portugese (Portugal)
  • Swedish
  • Turkish
  • Vietnamese

Siri on iPhone

(Image credit: Future)

Unfortunately, iOS 26.1 doesn’t include the long-awaited updates for Siri, including features like understanding your personal context, on-screen awareness and in-app actions. However, Apple has made it clear that we likely won’t see these additions until some point in 2026.

Overall, the new beta offers some minor improvements, but it is worth noting that this is the initial developer beta. As such, we'd recommend most users avoid downloading it for the time being. If you do choose to do so, make sure you have a backup of your iPhone, as developer betas can be buggy and affect how certain apps and features work.

If you have already downloaded the update, let us know if there are any other new features you've found that have piqued your interest.

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Josh Render
Josh Render
Staff Writer

Josh is a staff writer for Tom's Guide and is based in the UK. He has worked for several publications but now works primarily on mobile phones. Outside of phones, he has a passion for video games, novels, and Warhammer. 

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