Apple Releases First iOS 26.1 Beta With Some Subtle iPhone Changes
Apple published on Tuesday the first public beta version of iOS 26.1, a little more than a week after having published a major iPhone overhaul in iOS 26. Although this update has introduced liquid glass, calls for calls and more to your device, iOS 26.1 does not make many notable modifications to the devices of developers and beta testers.
As this is a beta version, I recommend downloading it only to something other than your main device. This is not the final version of iOS 26.1, so the update can be buggy and the battery life can be short, so it is preferable to keep these problems on a secondary device.
In addition, since this is not the final version, there could be more features to land on your iPhone when 26.1 is published. There is no word on when Apple publishes iOS 26.1 to the general public.
Here are the features that beta developers and testers can try now, and what could land on your iPhone when Apple publishes iOS 26.1.
Do not miss any of our impartial technological content and laboratory criticism. Add CNET Like a favorite Google source.
Change songs in Apple Music
Apple Music has obtained a handful of new features in iOS 26, but the first beta version iOS 26.1 does not change much in the application or service. Instead, the update allows you to change songs in a new way.
Instead of operating the following buttons or back to change songs, with the beta iOS 26.1 version, you can slide on the left or right on the title of the song of the music player within Apple Music. You can do it when the reader takes your whole screen or when you look through Apple Music and the reader is small and close to the bottom of your screen. The title of the song even seems to jump to the left or right when you also change songs.
More languages of live translation
The beta iOS 26.1 version brings more languages to the new Live translation functionality. Apple presented this functionality to iPhones and AirPods with iOS 26, and the beta version allows developers and beta testers use this functionality with these languages.
- Chinese (Mandarin, simplified)
- Chinese (Mandarin, Traditional)
- Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
Apple intelligence in more languages
If you have an Apple Intelligence compatible iPhone, iOS 26.1 BETA 1 provides AI features to these languages.
- Chinese (traditional)
- Danish
- Dutch
- Norwegian
- Portuguese (Portugal)
- Swedish
- Turkish
- Vietnamese
Calendar update
Not a major change, but the first beta iOS 26 updates the calendar interface. If you visualize your calendar for the list, the calendar events that you have a specific day will be colored throughout the lower part of your screen.
New video bar
The first beta iOS 26.1 version also brings a small change in the video washing bar in the photos. If you enter photos and watch a video, you will notice that the bar at the bottom of your screen is more compact and online compared to the past washing bar which had the play / break buttons and volume above the bar.
This is another small change that you may not even have noticed.
These are some of the new features that public beta developers and testers can try with the first public beta version of iOS 26.1. There will probably be more beta before the operating system is released to the public, so there is a lot of time for Apple to change these features.
To find out more about iOS 26, here is my operating system exam, how to reduce the effects of liquid glass in the update and how to allow calls for calls to your iPhone. You can also consult our iOS 26 cheat sheet.
Look at this: The “scratchgate” controversy of the iPhone 17, the sale of Tiktok seems imminent and Gemini allows you to speak to your TV | Tech today
