iOS 26.1 Beta 1: New Features, Languages, and App Tweaks

Key Takeaways:

Apple Intelligence adds new languages: Support now covers Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese, making the assistant more practical outside English regions.
AirPods Pro 3 expands Live Translation: iOS 26.1 enables real-time translation for Japanese, Korean, Italian, and both Mandarin versions, helping smoother conversations without pulling out your phone.
Phone app keypad redesign: Numbers now use a Liquid Glass style, creating a cleaner, modernized look when dialing and aligning the design with recent iOS updates.
Apple Music gesture navigation: Swiping the song title in the player lets you skip tracks left or right, offering quicker and more fluid track control.
Photos app refinements: A smoother video scrubber and frosted navigation bar improve visibility, especially on light backgrounds, while keeping playback controls easier to use.

It’s been just a week since the stable iOS 26 release, and Apple has already seeded the first beta of iOS 26.1. The latest beta update primarily focuses on adding new languages to Apple Intelligence, while also introducing some neat changes across apps and system features. Here’s everything you need to know.

Apple Intelligence Gets More Languages

After almost 1.5 years of its debut, Apple Intelligence is finally available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese, making the assistant more versatile for global users.

AirPods Live Translation

The highlight feature of the AirPods Pro 3 launch event, Live Translation on AirPods, also gains support for more languages in iOS 26.1, including Japanese, Korean, Italian, and Chinese (both Mandarin Traditional and Simplified), allowing for smoother real-time conversations.

Phone App

The Phone app’s keypad now features Liquid Glass design for the numbers, providing a cleaner and more modern look.

Phone App in iOS 261

Apple Music

Swiping on the song title in Apple Music’s player now switches tracks. Just slide your finger over the song title to skip forward or backward.

Photos App

The video scrubber has been improved for smoother navigation, and the navigation bar now has a frosted look that’s easier to see on light backgrounds.

Photos App in iOS 261

Calendar

Calendar shows events from different calendars with full-color backgrounds, helping you quickly spot which events belong where.

Safari

The tab bar at the bottom is now wider with less padding, offering a cleaner browsing experience.

Safari in iOS 261

Background Security Improvement

Rapid Security Updates have been renamed Background Security Improvement. This feature installs security fixes and system files ahead of regular iOS updates to keep your iPhone more secure.

Final Thoughts on iOS 26.1 Beta 1

iOS 26.1 may look like a minor update, but these refinements across system apps and Apple Intelligence improve usability and security for everyday iPhone users.

Do you know of any other hidden features in iOS 26.1? Share them in the comments below.