TL; DR
- Apple released iOS 26.1 Beta 4 yesterday, giving you direct control over the new Liquid Glass interface with Clear and Tinted modes.
- You can now turn off swipe-to-launch Camera from the Lock Screen, and Apple removed the “Beta” label from Apple Intelligence as it nears full release.
- The update improves performance, adds new gestures, expands language support, and polishes existing features ahead of the stable release expected in late October or early November.
Apple rolled out iOS 26.1 Beta 4 on October 20, 2025, and it’s a major step toward refining the iPhone experience. This update builds on the bold Liquid Glass design from iOS 26, handing you more control over how your phone looks and works, while also addressing long-standing frustrations and expanding AI capabilities.
Take Control of Liquid Glass
After so much back and forth, you finally get a choice over how Liquid Glass looks. Head to Settings > Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass, and choose between:
- Clear: the original high-transparency design
- Tinted: a slightly more opaque version that adds a black/white background to the icons
The change is supposed to apply system-wide, but currently it’s only seen on the notifications and some other areas. Hopefully, Apple implements this across the system (and third-party apps as well) in the later builds.
Stop Accidental Camera Launches
After years of requests, you can finally turn off the swipe-right gesture for Camera on the Lock Screen. Go to Settings > Camera > Lock Screen Swipe to Launch and toggle it off.
Apple Intelligence Drops the Beta Label
In Settings, Apple Intelligence no longer carries the “Beta” tag, hinting that Apple is close to declaring it stable. The menu now aligns with system settings like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and icons and text are more consistent.
While Apple hasn’t officially confirmed full readiness, features like Writing Tools and image generation are more stable, and language support has expanded to include Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, and Vietnamese.
When Can We Expect iOS 26.1 Public Release
With both the developer and public versions of beta 4 now live, Apple is on track to release iOS 26.1’s stable version in late October or early November, with iOS 26.1 RC expected next week.
The current iOS 26.0 and 26.0.1 builds have been pretty buggy, and I’m really hoping 26.1 irons those issues out. My iPhone 17’s been dealing with plenty of glitches, so I’m really looking forward to the public release.
If you’re part of the Beta Software Program, you can update through Settings > General > Software Update. Remember to back up your device first just in case.
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