iOS 26.2 Beta 1 – All New Features, Changes & Performance Summary
Software Update
iOS 26.2 Beta 1 — What’s New & Noteworthy
- Liquid Glass Intensity Slider Lock-screen clock’s Liquid Glass effect gains a new intensity slider under Customize → Liquid Glass. Sliding up increases tint and blur; sliding down produces a clearer, glass-like look.
- Reminders Alarm Option You can now enable Urgent (Alarm) when creating a reminder — it plays an alarm even if Focus is active or the phone is muted. A global toggle and “Complete” shortcut are also available.
- Podcasts — Auto Chapters & Mentions Apple Podcasts now supports automatically generated chapters, podcast mentions, and a From this episode section showing links and topics referenced by the host.
- Apple News UI Redesign Navigation bar updated — Audio and Following now separate. Added horizontal “Discover” slider on the main feed for trending categories like Sports, Business, and Entertainment.
- Enhanced Safety Alerts New Enhanced Alerts section under Notifications includes earthquake alerts, imminent threat warnings, and an option to share approximate location to improve alert delivery.
- Sleep Tracking Changes Sleep Score levels updated: Very Low (0–40), Low (41–60), OK (61–80), High (81–95), Very High (96–100). Sleep Focus icon now purple instead of green.
- Live Translation Expansion AirPods Live Translation expands to the EU starting with iOS 26.2. Apple confirms rollout expected in December — likely timing for the final 26.2 release.
- Performance & Battery Performance remains consistent with 26.1. Early Geekbench results on iPhone 17 Pro Max ≈ 3856 single / 9767 multi. Battery drain minimal in short-term testing.
- Stability & Release Timeline First beta feels stable and fluid. Expect multiple betas before final — estimated release around mid–December 2025.
This summary covers iOS 26.2 Beta 1 (November 2025) based on developer testing and early beta feedback. All names and trademarks are property of their respective owners.
iOS 26.1 Beta 4 — Liquid Glass Toggle, Camera Fixes & More
Software Update
iOS 26.1 Beta 4 — What’s New & Noteworthy
- Liquid Glass Toggle New option under Display & Brightness → Liquid Glass lets you switch between Clear and Tinted modes for a custom transparency effect throughout iOS 26.
- Refined Glow Effect Tapping liquid glass elements no longer brightens the entire background — Apple subtly reduced the “blow-out” effect for cleaner visuals.
- Display Zoom Preview Update Now shows the new iOS 26 wallpapers inside Display Zoom settings (though the Messages app preview still shows the old layout — a known bug).
- Apple Intelligence UI Adjustment “Beta” badge removed and title now left-aligned to match other settings sections; may signal it’s nearing public release status.
- Lock-Screen Camera Toggle A long-requested switch in Camera settings lets you disable “Swipe left to open camera” on the lock screen — no more accidental launches.
- Bug Fixes & Known Issues Fixed: devices sleeping unexpectedly while using lock-screen apps. Known: Airdrop icon visual defect and Portuguese news queries fallback to web/chat search.
- Performance & Battery Stable and fluid experience reported on iPhone 17 Pro Max (Geekbench scores ≈ 3786 single / 9742 multi). Battery life appears unchanged from beta 3.
- Next Steps RC (build 23B5073A) expected around Oct 27 → public release week of Nov 3 → then 26.2 Beta 1 and 26.0.2 bug-fix update shortly after.
This summary covers iOS 26.1 Beta 4 (October 2025) based on developer testing and public beta observations. All names and trademarks are property of their respective owners.