Apple has now publicly released its next batch of software upgrades for a large segment of its hardware ecosystem, bringing battery life improvements, new features, and UI upgrades.
iOS 26.1 goes live with anecdotes claiming of huge battery life improvements, especially for the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Max
We noted on Sunday that Apple was likely to release iOS 26.1 to the public today. Well, that prediction has now panned out.
And, right on cue, anecdotal claims of huge battery life improvements, especially for the iPhone Air and the iPhone 17 Pro Max, have already started populating social media.
The update itself is quite hefty at 11.44 GB, likely due to the bundling of Apple's on-device foundational AI models.
As for its contents, Apple's iOS 26.1 update brings:
- A toggle for the Liquid Glass effect, which allows you to tinker with the opacity of major UI elements such as notifications and the tab bars.
- You can now disable the swipe gesture on the lock screen that would open the camera app in previous versions, preventing accidental launches of the camera app.
- Apple Intelligence now supports Chinese (traditional), Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, and Vietnamese languages.
- AirPods Live Translation feature adds support for Chinese (Mandarin simplified and traditional), Italian, Japanese, and Korean languages.
- Apple TV+ rebranded to Apple TV, replete with a refreshed app icon.
- An expansion of the Local Capture feature from iPadOS to iOS that allows users to record their own audio and video during a video call, including an option to choose where the recorded files are saved.
- You can now swipe to change tracks in Apple Music.
- Settings that enable a feature to forward notifications.
- New wallpapers.
- Alarms can now only be dismissed with a sliding gesture.
- A dedicated scrubber for photos and videos.
macOS 26.1 publicly released
The macOS 26.1 brings iterative improvements that include:
- A dedicated toggle for the Liquid Glass effect.
- Apple Music AutoMix support over AirPlay.
- Improved FaceTime audio quality, particularly for low-bandwidth connections.
- Communication Safety and Web content filters to limit adult websites are now enabled by default for existing child accounts for ages 13-17 (Age varies by country or region).
Apple has also released iPadOS 26.1
Key features include:
- Brings back 'Slide Over' functionality, a multitasking feature that opens a secondary, frequently used app in a smaller, floating window over your main app.
- The Slide Over function, however, will no longer let you add multiple apps to a stack for easy switching.
- Liquid Glass effect toggle.
- You can now swipe to change tracks in Apple Music.
- Apple Intelligence now supports 8 languages.
- Local Capture now lets you choose where to save recorded audio and video files.
- A dedicated scrubber for photos and videos.
Other updates
- Apple has released tvOS 26.1 with no major front-end changes.
- VisionOS 26.1 brings the Vision Pro app to the iPad as well as updates to the spatial gallery.
- HomePod Software 26.1 released with performance and stability improvements.
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
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