iOS 26.1 Beta 3 Released: What's New?

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Key Takeaways:

Slide to Stop Alarm revives classic gesture: iOS 26.1 Beta 3 adds a new Lock Screen gesture that lets you stop alarms by sliding, echoing the iPhone’s early “Slide to Unlock” charm.
Custom Workouts arrive in Fitness app: You can now design workouts with set durations, calorie goals, and effort levels for more flexible tracking and goal-based training.
Liquid Glass UI gets subtle polish: Apple’s interface sees refined wallpapers, smoother light reflections, and better icon alignment, with the Photos app also getting a soft visual refresh.
Apple Music gains swipe playback control: You can swipe the mini Now Playing icon to skip songs, adding a quicker, thumb-friendly way to manage music on the go.
Apple Intelligence expands across iOS and iPadOS: The update adds more language options and Live Translation features while restoring Slide Over for smoother multitasking on iPads.

Apple has released iOS 26.1 Beta 3, continuing its rollout of the iOS 26 updates. Alongside iOS, Apple also pushed out the third betas of iPadOS 26.1, macOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, tvOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1.

This update introduces several new features and refinements, especially for iPhone users running iOS 26.1. Here’s a full look at what’s new in iOS 26.1 Beta 3.

Slide to Stop Alarm

Users can now simply slide their finger across the Lock Screen to stop an alarm. This is a shout-out to the original iPhone’s Slide to Unlock feature and adds a fresh interaction for handling alarms.

Custom Workouts in Fitness App

The Fitness app now allows developers to create custom workouts, including options for workout type, estimated calories, effort, duration, and start time.

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Liquid Glass Interface Improvements

Starting with the first iOS 26 beta, Apple has continuously refined the Liquid Glass interface with each new beta update, and this update follows the same pattern. Updates include a new iOS 26 wallpaper in Display & Brightness settings, a Liquid Glass sheen on the Phone app keypad, and improved icon and text alignment in Settings. The latest beta also brings enhanced light refraction effects on darker app icons and a refreshed Photos app interface for managing multiple images.

Apple Music Mini Player Updates

Users can now swipe on the miniature Apple Music Now Playing icon to play the next or previous song.

Expanded Apple Intelligence Support

iOS 26.1 beta 3 also expands Apple Intelligence language support and improves the Live Translation feature.

Slide Over Returns for iPad

iPad users will notice the return of Slide Over, improving multitasking and workflow on larger screens.

How to Download iOS 26.1 Beta 3

Developers and beta testers can download the beta update by heading to Settings → General → Software Update, to explore these updates ahead of the official release.

Try out the new beta and share your favorite iOS 26.1 features in the comments.

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