iOS 26.1
Juli Clover (release notes, security, enterprise, developer):
iOS 26.1 adds a toggle to increase the opacity of Liquid Glass for those who want less translucency. Alarms and Timers now require a swipe to turn them off, and there’s finally an option to turn off the Lock Screen Camera swipe.
Apple brings back transparent navigation buttons in Photos.
There are so many critical framework fixes in iOS/macOS 26.1 that if you were planning on debuting an app with a 26.0 deployment target, I would shift that to a minimum of 26.1. Even so, there’s yet not enough here to help me get Broadcasts (and other apps) out the door.
iOS 26.1 beta 4 now lets you disable the Camera swipe gesture entirely.
I’m admittedly a little bemused by the new setting to disable the swipe right to left gesture to open the camera from the lock screen. Clearly I’m not the norm. I’ve never known a time I mistakenly opened the camera this way. In fact, I replaced the lock screen button for the camera with a shortcut action to log water consumption. The swipe gesture is almost always how I intentionally get to the camera these days.
I always use the Action button now, so it would be nice to be able to configure the swipe to do something else.
Apple has also refined Local Capture for the iPhone and iPad, which is great. Local capture allows you to record high-quality audio and video from an iPhone or iPad, while simultaneously on a video call using a service like Zoom. It’s a feature that podcasters wanted for many years, and although I was excited to find that Apple had listened to our annual requests with iOS and iPadOS 26, the implementation fell a little short because it didn’t allow for gain control, making it difficult to get a properly balanced recording with some microphones. Likewise, there was no option in the first iteration of the feature to pick where your recording was saved.
With iOS and iPadOS 26.1, both issues have been addressed sooner than many of us expected, which is fantastic.
We’ve complied a list of all of the new features in iOS 26.1, down to the tiniest interface change.
If you’re already running version 26 of any of these operating systems, you should update soon. The new features, security improvements, and unspecified bug fixes feel worthwhile given that we’re coming from an initial release with just a handful of high-profile bug fixes in 26.0.1.
However, if you haven’t yet upgraded, I recommend holding off until version 26.2, due out in mid-December.
Previously:
- Liquid Glass Toggle in appleOS 26.1 Beta
- iOS 26.1 Alarm Buttons: Slide to Stop
- iOS 26.0.1 and iPadOS 26.0.1
5 Comments RSS · Twitter · Mastodon
I keep accidentally triggering the “swipe to open camera” shortcut when putting my phone in my pocket. A few minutes later I’ll notice the phone feels warm and have to close the camera. So I’m really glad they’ve finally added this feature to switch it off! With the action button, camera button, and Home Screen shortcuts, there are plenty of ways to open the camera quickly, so I won't miss it at all.
(The pre–iOS 7 version, where you had to swipe up on a specific button, was better in this regard)
It would be nice to replace the camera icon on the lock screen with something else. But I often find myself looking at the camera when I pick up my phone, so probably not in the cards. Glad they added this toggle.
I also find myself constantly accidentally changing the Standby screen when I take my phone off its Anker MagSafe Cube... when are they going to fix that??? It should not be possible to change the displayed screen so easily, especially for a use case that is designed mostly for when you are not going to be fully conscious.
My use of the swipe gesture began with my previous iPhone 15 Pro Max which did not have the camera control button. Now that I have a 17 Pro Max, I tried using the button for the camera. Unlike the swipe gesture, I kept accidentally opening the camera with the button, so I changed it to open with a double click. However I find that gesture a little awkward. I do love the button as a shutter, but that's about it. I still swipe right to left from the Lock Screen to open the camera.
Now fix the ridiculously huge and wonky looking corner curves on everything. Large parts of the OS still look designed by a kindergartner.
Having known a lot of people who waste shocking percentages of battery to their phones having a live camera view face down on a table, I am in favor of the toggle and long have been.
Camera control button is still awkward for me as well but now that they seem set on having that button, on a newer phone, one more reason to disable it. Currently I have Halide mapped to camera control and of course system camera on swipe which works well for now. Still figuring out what to do with the action button that I'll actually remember to use.
So many options and toggles now. Looking at the AOD on this 17 Pro Max, it looks and acts shockingly like my Android phone from the twenty teens. But far, far more reliable.
Except the damn keyboard!
Overall 26.1 is actually a good sign since they seem to be focused on stability and useful features, since this year they didn't overpromise on features. Liquid Glass basically was the feature so they can spend this whole year on bug fixes and refinements. I hope.
