Apple has just released public beta 2 for iOS and iPadOS 26.1. Here’s what’s new in the latest beta updates.
iOS and iPadOS 26.1 beta 2: Everything new
If you’re part of Apple’s public beta program, today you’ll find new updates ready to install on your devices.
iOS and iPadOS 26.1 are the most exciting of the bunch.
Beta 2 adds a bit of nostalgia for iPhone owners via a new ‘Slide to stop’ feature for alarms and timers.
Now, when an alarm or timer goes off, you can no longer just hit a button to dismiss it.
Instead, Apple is tapping into its classic ‘Slide to unlock’ gesture, but putting it to use as the new mechanism for stopping an alarm or timer.
On the iPad side, beta 2 brings the return of Slide Over for multitasking.
As part of its major windowing and multitasking overhaul in iPadOS 26, Apple removed Slide Over entirely. Now, a version of it has returned.
The new Slide Over isn’t nearly as powerful as the old, since it currently only lets you keep a single app in Slide Over mode.
Otherwise the feature works largely like it did before. It gives you a separate window that can float above other apps and be easily hidden away. For the first time, you can also now resize your Slide Over app.
Aside from these two main additions, beta 2 for iOS and iPadOS 26.1 also has:
- New audio controls for external mic use, such as specifying where files are saved and adjusting gain
- Design updates that include left-aligning app folders and Settings menu headings
- 3D model of your Vision Pro inside the Apple Vision Pro app
- and reversals of some beta 1 changes to Calendar and Safari
The update also, anecdotally at least, appears to run more smoothly than beta 1 across iPhone and iPad.
If you’re waiting for the public launch of iOS 26.1, it is currently expected for later this month.
What do you think of public beta 2’s iOS 26.1 changes? Let us know in the comments.
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