iOS 26.1 Developer beta launched: New features, eligible devices, how to download and more
Soon after releasing the iOS 26 update to iPhone users, Apple has released the new iOS 26.1 developer beta which brings support for even more languages for Apple’s AI features along with refinements across the new UI.
How to download iOS 26.1 developer beta?
In order to become eligible for downloading iOS 26.1 developer beta, you will first have to become an Apple Developer by enrolling in the company’s Developer programme. To become a developer, just visit the enrollment page or open the Apple Developer app and sign in with your Apple ID.
Finish the enrollment process by entering your name and address. Choose your ‘entity type’ as individual and accept the ageeement and you will be enrolled in the free tier of the developer programme. Notably, there will be a link to make payment for the developer programme but even if you don’t pay for that the free tier of the programme will still work.
To get a first glimpse at iOS 26.1, open your iPhone and go to Settings > General > Software Update. After this, click on ‘Beta Updates’ and then on ‘iOS 26.1 Developer Beta’. You should now be able to download the latest iOS version. Your iPhone will restart to update to the iOS version.
Pro tip: It’s usually recommended to keep your iPhone’s battery above 50 percent while performing an update. Moreover, you may also want to backup your data to iCloud or a physical device to protect yourself just in case anything goes wrong with the update.
iOS 26.1 features:
Apple added support for Apple Intelligence with last year’s iOS 18.1 update and in the beta version this year, Cupertino based tech giant is expanding its premium feature in even more languages.
After iOS 26.1 Apple Intelligenge will be available in eight new languages:
Moreover, Apple is also expanding support for more languages to its AI powered Live Translation.
The new languages now supported are:
Chinese (Mandarin, simplified)
Chinese (Mandarin, traditional)
The Live Translation feature was first showcased at Apple’s WWDC 2025 event earlier in the year and made its debut with the iOS 26 update. The new feature allows users to get real-time translation across various apps like Messages, FaceTime, Phone and more.
The feature is compatible with AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3.
The new update also brings some UI changes like adding Liquid Glass to the keypad in Phone app, the Calendar app showing full-widtch color highlights for all events and the Photos app coming with an improved playback scrubber.
Moreover, a report by 9to5Mac found references to a code that reveals that Apple is working to add support for Model Context Protocol (MCP). MCP which was developed by Anthropic allows AI agents to securely and privately.
This is how Anthropic explains MCP:
“The Model Context Protocol is an open standard that enables developers to build secure, two-way connections between their data sources and AI-powered tools… It provides a universal, open standard for connecting AI systems with data sources, replacing fragmented integrations with a single protocol.”
iPhone SE
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