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Apple Rolls out iOS 26.1 Release Candidate for Developers and Public Beta Testers

This could be the last update for developers and testers before the official release

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by Ajaay Srinivasan
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illustration of iOS 26.1 with a colourful background

Image Credit: Beebom Gadgets

Summary

  • Apple is now seeding iOS 26.1 Release Candidates to developers and public beta testers on eligible iPhones.
  • The latest build brings all the major features from recent beta updates including the new Liquid Glass toggle, lock screen Camera swipe, Slide to Unlock for alarms and more.
  • With this release, the official rollout of iOS 26.1 is expected to happen in a week.

A week after releasing the fourth public beta, Apple is now rolling out the iOS 26.1 Release Candidate on iPhones. It's the final beta update for developers and public beta testers before iOS 26.1 is released for everyone as a stable update. 

The release candidate is 7.92 GB in size, and it shifts the build number to version 23B82. The latest build keeps all the significant new features from recent betas, the most significant of them being a new Liquid Glass toggle that lets users adjust transparency between Clear and Tinted. 

iPhone screenshot previewing the iOS 26.1 Release Candidate
iPhone screenshot previewing the iOS 26.1 Release Candidate

It also brings a new toggle inside Settings that allows users to choose whether to open the Camera with a lock screen swipe. The Release Candidate continues to feature the Local Capture menu, which was added in the iOS 26.1 Public Beta 3. This gives users an option to choose where they want to save their audio and video recordings. 

Since the latest build includes the Slide to Stop option for Alarms and Timers from iOS 26.1 Public Beta 2, we can expect the same to show up in the official release. Other than that, Apple is expanding support for Apple Intelligence to several new languages including Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish and Vietnamese. With the release candidate now out, the official release of iOS 26.1 is just around the corner.

Eligible developers and public beta testers can now install the latest iOS 26.1 Release Candidate by going to Settings > General > Software Update > Update Now. Besides iOS 26.1, Apple has also rolled out release candidate versions of iPadOS 26.1, macOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, tvOS 26.1 and visionOS 26.1.  

Ajaay Srinivasan profile picture
Ajaay Srinivasan

Guides Editor

Expertise :

Ajaay's love affair with technology started young, with the Nokia N-Gage piquing his interest. Since 2016, he's channeled his passion for tech into crafting explainers and guides on iOS, macOS, Android, social media, privacy & cybersecurity, and AI. When it's time to unplug, Ajaay enjoys playing EAFC, unwinding to music on a pair of open-backs, building his dream audiophile gear, or watching Arsenal struggle to keep a clean sheet.

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