After the official release of iOS 26.1, we already have the first beta of iOS 26.2and Apple does not stop working, it wants its users to continue seeing significant changes in the system that the iPhone has, thus getting closer to a more intelligent version that we would see by 2026.
Today, we will see the changes that this first beta brings, although we do not recommend installing it, unless you have a secondary iPhone, since, like any version in this state, it may contain bugs and errors that leave a negative experience.
iOS 26.2 beta 1: what it brings
There are quite a few changes that we will see, at least for the first of the betas, so you may like them, although they will be refined throughout the following ones, as well as adding new ones. Let's see them, point by point, in summary:
- New “Liquid Glass” control on the lock screen: You can now adjust the level of transparency of the watch using a slider, from an almost opaque effect to a completely translucent finish. A switch is also included to completely disable the glass effect if you prefer a more solid look.
- Sleep score recalibration: “Sleep Score” ranges change to more realistically reflect the quality of rest. The new categories are: Very Low (0-40), Low (41-60), OK (61-80), High (81-95) and Very High (96-100).
- Management of Excluded Sites in Passwords: From Settings – Passwords you can view and edit a list of pages where the system will not automatically save the password.
- Live Translation on AirPods arrives in the European Union: Compatible AirPods can now translate conversations in multiple languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese and Korean) in real time.
- Tables in the Freeform app: Tables can be inserted to organize ideas, projects or schemes more clearly.
- New “Urgent” alarm in Reminders: Urgent reminders display an alert on the lock screen with snooze or complete buttons, and a counter until the next notification.
- Podcast Update: Automatic chapters, mentions of other programs in the transcripts and direct links are added to the episode page.
- New AirDrop feature (in development): The code suggests an option to share a PIN and keep AirDrop active between two people for up to 30 days.
- Weather alerts with relative times: The Weather app could show “next Friday” notifications instead of fixed dates.
- Redesign in Apple News: Quick access to sections such as sports, politics or food appears, and the “Following” tab is separated from the search.
- “Flash for Alerts” in Accessibility: Allows the screen to flash when receiving notifications, in addition to or instead of the rear LED flash.
- “Enhanced Safety Alerts” in Notifications: new section for security alerts such as earthquakes or threats, with the option to activate them based on location.
If you have decided to try any of them, and install the beta, leave us a comment with your opinion, as well as your first impressions of battery consumption and other factors, such as possible bugs. We will wait for the second beta to see what changes it brings.
