The first big update of the latest iPhone software, iOS 26, is about to be released. Called iOS 26.1, it appears to be only a few hours away. If it feels like it’s been a long time coming, I hear you, but this time it’s really on its way.
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
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There have been reports that it has been delayed, although this is unlikely, given the schedule of beta releases so far. There was something of a red herring in the form of rumors that an interim release, iOS 26.0.2, might arrive first, but that never came to fruition. If that had been the case, it would probably have been limited to bugfixing and security patches.
Apple iOS 26.1 release date
So, iOS 26.1 is about to land. Apple likes to release its software on a Monday or Tuesday, and I would expect this Monday, November 4th to be the favorite. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his latest To light up The newsletter also commented on iOS 26.1.
“Apple plans to roll it out to users this week, and I expect that to happen on Monday, barring any last-minute delays, which have occurred in the past for various reasons,” he said.
I haven’t heard of any delays, but if there are, Tuesday November 5th is a deadline I would say.
Apple iOS 26.1: what’s in it
The beta builds told us that Apple would implement a toggle to adjust the impact of Liquid Glass in certain parts of the interface, switching it between clear and tinted. There’s also an updated alarm interface, designed to make it harder to accidentally turn off the alarm when you just want to snooze it.
“Apple’s first notable update to iOS 26 doesn’t bring much new… 99.99% of users won’t notice much difference,” Gurman says. “What stands out the most is the stability. It’s more reliable, with fewer bugs,” he continues.
Stability is still good, of course, and many users will be happy if minor irritations and errors are fixed.
I’ll report back as soon as the new version is generally available, so please check back.
