Apple releases Release Candidate 26.1 betas for iOS, iPadOS and macOS

Apple on Tuesday provided developers and public beta testers with Release Candidate builds of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1 and companion updates for tvOS, watchOS and visionOS, signaling the updates are likely to reach the public within days. The builds, distributed through the Settings app and Apple’s developer channels, consolidate months of beta changes and introduce new customization options, language expansions for Apple Intelligence, security tooling and a series of bug fixes.

The most visible change in iOS 26.1 and macOS Tahoe 26.1 is a new Liquid Glass preference that lets users choose between the current clear visual treatment and a more muted, tinted option that increases contrast. On iPhone and iPad the setting appears under Settings Display Brightness Liquid Glass; on Mac it is in Settings Appearance Liquid Glass. iOS 26.1 also adds a toggle to disable the lock screen swipe that opens the Camera, intended to reduce accidental launches.

Apple Intelligence is being expanded to eight additional languages, including Chinese Traditional, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese Portugal, Swedish, Turkish and Vietnamese. AirPods Live Translation gains support for...