- Apple has published the beta iOS 26.1 update
- It comes with a multitude of small but significant changes
- Which includes a new intelligent gesture for the Apple Music application
Apple has just launched iOS 26 and all its new features, but there is more on the table in the form of iOS 26.1, which Apple has just sent to beta testers. And this beta update is delivered with a bunch of small adjustments and features that could make a positive difference for your iPhone, especially if you regret the upgrade.
One of the most neat beta additions iOS 26.1 came to the Apple Music application. When you play something, you can now change pieces by sliding along the mini-vast. It is the small bar at the bottom of the Apple Music application that shows your music during the game. Run a finger on the left or right along it and you can jump your audio or transmit a track.
Apple Music is not the only application to benefit from changes in the beta iOS 26.1 version. The Apple calendar application has been updated to modify how the events of your calendars are displayed.
In some views, events will have a colorful background whose tone depends on the calendar in which it is from – in blue for your family calendar and in red for your social, for example – instead of a small colorful icon. This facilitates the distinction between your separate calendar events at a glance.
What else is new?
There is also an adjustment of the Apple liquid glass design in the Photos application. There, the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen has a more frosted appearance, which makes it easier to see on a light background. This is not the first time that Apple has changed liquid glass to make it more readable, and it will probably not be the last time either.
The beta iOS 26.1 update is delivered with a multitude of other smaller changes. This includes a redesigned cursor to clean your videos in the Photos application, new languages for Apple Intelligence and AirPods Live Translation, a wider tab bar in Safari, and more.
Overall, however, the most important changes – those of music, calendar and photos applications – are all the improvements in the quality of life that should make Apple applications easier and more satisfactory than before.
Although you can download and install the beta iOS 26.1 version, you shouldn’t do it on your main device. Things can go wrong with the developer’s beta, and you would not want to end up losing your important files because the beta version caused a problem with your phone. Make sure you save your iPhone before installation too, just to be safe.
