Apple has officially released iOS 26.1 to all iPhone users. Here’s what changes are available to the iPhone in iOS 26.1.
Liquid Glass toggle
The biggest news from iOS 26.1 is the Liquid Glass toggle. Apple has added the option to choose between clear (the current design in iOS 26) and tinted. The tinted option changes the opacity level behind things like notifications and tab bars. Other Liquid Glass visual elements like optional clear app icons are still present.
The toggle is found in Settings > Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass on iPhone and iPad. The Mac also gains the toggle in Settings > Appearance > Liquid Glass, although the differences on macOS aren’t as apparent.
The new preference is in addition to accessibility settings that already exist like increase contrast, reduce transparency, and more.
Lock Screen Swipe
iOS 26.1 introduces a second toggle that may be welcomed by even more users. For the first time in years, it’s possible to disable the swipe to open Camera gesture on the iPhone lock screen.
The new toggle is found in Settings > Camera > Lock Screen Swipe to Open Camera.
The shortcut started as a swipe up gesture before later becoming a swipe from the right gesture in iOS 10. Starting with the iPhone X, Apple has included Lock Screen shortcuts for Flashlight and Camera by default.
Newer iPhones also include the Camera Control button, adding a third way to launch the Camera. Before that, the Action button introduced another method.
... continue reading