Apple’s latest iOS update is now available for eligible devices. While it does not introduce any major new features, it does include one highly-requested change: the ability to adjust the transparency of the translucent liquid glass design.
Previously, if you did not like the look of iOS 26, your only option was to reduce transparency through the accessibility settings, which effectively turned off the liquid glass overlay. With iOS 26.1, a new menu allows you to retain the look while increasing its opacity. You can navigate to Settings, then Display & Brightness, and then Liquid Glass to choose between the original Clear option or a more opaque Tinted option. A preview of each option is displayed as you make your selection.
Liquid glass was the company’s most significant design overhaul since its move to a flat design in 2013. As with most changes of this scale, not everyone has been on board. Some users found the more translucent design made parts of the interface harder to read, including notifications and app navigation controls. Others expressed their appreciation for the attention to detail and the fresh look, feeling it was a much-needed update for an interface that had grown stale over the years.
Beyond the transparency settings, iOS 26.1 also lets you adjust gestures on the home screen. You now have an option to open the camera app by swiping to the left on the lock screen. This can be changed by going to Settings, then Camera, and then Lock Screen Swipe to Open Camera.
iOS 26.1 also provides users the ability to locally capture audio and video while recording a video call. This can be useful for recording calls or podcasts while on the move. The company had initially announced this feature for iPadOS in June during the Worldwide Developer Conference.
The update also brings support for eight new languages for Apple Intelligence: Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Portuguese (Portugal), Vietnamese, and Turkish. Live translation support is being added for five new languages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Italian, Japanese, and Korean.
Several quality of life improvements are included as well. These include new gestures to change songs in Apple Music, a slider to stop alarms instead of a button to prevent accidentally turning them off, and an option to automatically install security updates.
You can update your device by going to Settings, then General, and then Software Update.