The excitement round iOS 26 has been going since WWDC 2025. The main visible revamp, often known as Liquid Glass, is the spotlight, however Apple has stuffed all types of goodies in with it, and people goodies are being slowly filtered into the beta launch, which individuals can strive proper now.
The primary beta made its rounds the identical day iOS 26 was introduced, and Apple has formally launched beta 2 with some enhancements and enhancements. As with most beta releases, Apple is working totally on stability and bug fixes, however has tossed in a couple of modifications and extras right here and there that you simply may not discover until you understand the place to look.
So, with out burying the lede an excessive amount of, right here is every little thing that Apple included with the iOS 26 beta 2 launch. When you’ve got entry to the beta program already, it is best to be capable of replace your cellphone to the beta proper now.
Liquid Glass modifications
Apple’s major give attention to iOS 26 beta 2 was fixing some Liquid Glass complaints. The first one was the Management Heart. Within the first beta, the transparency precipitated the Management Heart’s varied buttons and sliders to mix in with the content material behind it, making it usually tough to see what you have been making an attempt to do. As we predicted, beta 2 fixes this drawback with a stronger blur impact.
This additionally applies to the notifications, because the glassy look may additionally make them tough to learn. The modifications listed here are refined and can probably require some further tweaking, particularly on mild backgrounds. Nonetheless, they’re a bit of clearer than earlier than.
There have been another minor modifications to the UI. Here’s a temporary record:
Dock – Apps are actually left-aligned as an alternative of center-aligned when fewer than 4 apps are current.
Parallax impact – This characteristic was introduced at WWDC 2025 however unnoticed of beta 1. It’s now out there in beta 2. Parallax impact is a 3D show characteristic that creates a refined sense of depth once you tilt the cellphone. It impacts your iPhone’s wallpaper, notifications, and app icons.
Excessive Distinction Mode – Provides a border to Liquid Glass components to make them simpler to see. You’ll be able to see what they appear to be on this Reddit submit.
New ringtone and notification badge
We’ll group these two collectively since they deal in the identical area. First, Apple included a brand new ringtone referred to as Alt 1. It’s a unique tackle the Reflection ringtone, and is filed below it within the ringtone menu. The default model nonetheless exists within the menu as nicely. You’ll be able to hearken to the new ringtone right here.
Mashable Mild Pace
Moreover, there’s a new blue notification badge. This badge solely reveals up when you get a notification from an unknown sender. Common notifications nonetheless ship crimson badges.
Credit score: Apple
Myriad app tweaks
For the iOS 26 beta 2, Apple made a whole lot of minor modifications to the iPhone’s core apps. Right here’s a short rundown:
Safari – Apple moved the brand new tab button to the underside left nook as an alternative of the highest left nook. The Extra Menu has been reorganized as nicely.
App Retailer – There’s a new Accessibility web page out there on product pages. Builders can present details about which accessibility options are appropriate with their apps.
Pockets – Apple introduced an order monitoring characteristic at WWDC 2025. It’s now current within the Pockets app in beta 2.
Apple Music – There’s a new Stay Radio widget out there when you simply wish to hearken to fast tunes and don’t thoughts letting Apple Music make the picks for you.
Save Name Transcripts – Apple modified the title of its Transcribe Calls characteristic to Save Name Transcripts. The outline can be up to date to let the consumer know that the opposite caller will likely be warned that they’re being recorded.
Siri – Siri now reveals ChatGPT utilization limits and presents a Plus subscription improve to take away these limits.
Low Energy Mode clarification
Beta 2 brings a brand new description for Apple’s Low Energy Mode. The characteristic is designed to make use of much less system sources to assist squeak out as a lot battery as doable with out dramatically impacting cellphone use. Since Apple is so adept at stuff like this, it leads to a reasonably large battery improve, nevertheless it does make the cellphone barely extra sluggish for extra intensive duties.
In any case, right here’s what the brand new description says.
“iPhone will briefly cut back some background actions, processing velocity, show refresh fee and brightness, and restrict sure options similar to 5G, iCloud syncing, mail fetch, and extra.”
Tons of bug fixes and new options for builders
Apple posted its changelog for iOS 26 beta, and it contains much more stuff. Some large points from beta 1 have been resolved, together with iPhone 15 and 16 gadgets displaying a low battery image and refusing to start out up. There are additionally loads of new issues added to Apple’s SDKs for builders to mess around with. Truthful warning, the changelog is relatively lengthy.
The iOS 26 beta 2 is certainly an enchancment over beta 1. It’s additionally good to see Cupertino listening to suggestions, like with the Management Heart transparency difficulty. If you happen to’re on beta 1 and are questioning when you ought to proceed to beta 2, the reply is a powerful sure. For everybody else, we nonetheless advocate ready for the total launch later this yr with the following iPhone launch.
