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It seems like iOS 26 just dropped, and yet, Apple is back at it with another update. As of Monday, iOS 26.1 is officially in beta testing, which means developers and public testers can try out Apple’s next update early.
“Point updates” like iOS 26.1 are never as feature-filled as the main releases, though 26.1 seems particularly small in scope. Apple seems to have done most of what it planned to do with iOS 26, saving just smaller changes for this upcoming update. Still, there are some interesting new additions in this latest beta, and more could come in subsequent releases. Here’s what’s new.
Apple Music gestures
If you want to skip a song in Apple Music, you hit the forward button. If you want to get back to the previous song, or restart the current song, you hit the back button. With iOS 26.1, however, you’ll have the option to swipe to switch between songs.
In the current beta, you can swipe right and left on the Now Playing bar to switch back and forth through your queue. With it, Apple has removed the skip forward button from the Now Playing bar. (The back button wasn’t present.) It’s a small but cool feature, but one that might take a little time to get used to.
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Video playback bar
In the current version of iOS 26, the video playback bar in the Photos app is flush with the UI. You might love or hate it, but it can be a bit difficult to make it out, depending on the video in question. The play button and mute button, for example, can disappear when iOS can’t change their colors to stand out from the background.
iOS 26.1 beta 1, however, introduces a new video playback bar that is separate from the UI. It looks good, and is easy to see at all times. Again, a small change, but a smart one.
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Live Translation languages
Live Translation for AirPods is a fantastic new feature that automatically translates conversations you’re having with someone who speaks a language you don’t understand. So long as you have an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, as well as AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, or AirPods 5 with Active Noise Cancellation, you’ve been able to try it out since iOS 26’s launch.
Apple initially rolled out support for French, German, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Spain), but plans to expand the list in the future. With iOS 26.1, it adds four new options, including:
Chinese (Mandarin, simplified)
Chinese (Mandarin, traditional)
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Eight new languages for Apple Intelligence
Users with an iPhone 15 Pro and newer, listen up: Apple Intelligence supports eight new languages in iOS 26.1. As of this first beta, that includes the following:
What do you think so far?
Chinese (traditional)
Danish
Dutch
Norwegian
Portuguese (Portugal)
Swedish
Turkish
Vietnamese
Liquid Glass comes to the Phone’s keypad
Liquid Glass, Apple’s new design language, isn’t everywhere in iOS 26. While much of the UI now has a glassy look, some elements still look like iOS 18 and earlier. The Phone app’s keypad was one such example: While the app itself is very much changed with this update, switch to the keypad, and it looks the same as ever.
That changes with iOS 26.1. The beta brings Liquid Glass to the keypad, which, while consistent with most of iOS 26’s design, does reduce the visibility of the keys a bit, especially in light mode. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple workshop this one a bit.
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Calendar
Whenever you have Calendar in List view in iOS 26.1, you’ll see your daily events color-coded by their respective calendars, rather than simply listed against the same white background.
References to third-party smartwatch support
If you have an iPhone, you know the only smartwatch that really works well with it is the Apple Watch. Some watches offer notification support, but most simply don’t jive well with iOS.
That might be changing in the future. Code within the iOS 26.1 beta references a new “Notification Forwarding” feature, that might allow you to choose a third-party device to send your iPhone alerts to. In addition, an unfinished “AccessoryExtension” option might be the framework that lets you pair a third-party watch to your iPhone.
These are just references in code, not something that you can actively test out in the 26.1 beta, but it’s worth noting. Apple is experimenting with supporting third-party watches on iOS, though it could just be to appease the EU’s “Digital Markets Act.”