iOS 26 and iOS 26.1 have brought a lot of new ways to customize your iPhone in the Settings app. Here are the new iOS 26 settings I changed on my iPhone right away.
Always On Display’s wallpaper photo blur
The iPhone’s Always On Display got an unusual change in iOS 26.
By default, iOS now blurs your wallpaper photo in Always On mode, presumably so the new Liquid Glass clock can pop more—or perhaps to conserve battery?
Seeing photos on my Lock Screen has long been one of my favorite features of the Always On Display. The blurred look might work for some, but I’m pretty surprised that Apple changed the default behavior.
Fortunately, there’s an easy fix. You can go to Settings ⇾ Display & Brightness ⇾ Always On Display and switch off the ‘Blur Wallpaper Photo’ toggle.
This reverts the Always On Display’s behavior to exactly what it was in iOS 18.
Camera swipe from the Lock Screen
For years, the iPhone has let users quickly open the Camera app by swiping left on the Lock Screen.
I suspect for many users, this is still their preferred way to open Camera. But in recent years, Apple has continually expanded the number of options available. You can now open Camera via the dedicated Camera Control button, or the Action button, or the control in the bottom-right of the screen.
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