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Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 2

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Apple provided developers with the second beta of iOS 26, introducing the first changes and refinements to the new operating system since it debuted after the WWDC keynote. Because we're early in the beta testing process, there are quite a few tweaks to iOS 26, which we've rounded up below.


Control Center

The background behind the Liquid Glass Control Center buttons has more blur, allowing for a more opaque look that makes everything easier to see than before.

ios-26-control-center-b2.jpg
iOS 26 beta 1 on left, iOS 26 beta 2 on right​


Reduce Transparency

The Reduce Transparency option under Accessibility in the Settings app now cuts down on the Liquid Glass transparency even more.

ios-26-reduce-transparency.jpg
iOS 26 beta 1 on left, iOS 26 beta 2 on right​


Safari

In Safari, Apple changed the location of the new tab button in the tab management view. The "+" button for adding a new tab is now located in the bottom left as it is in iOS 18, rather than the upper left as it was in iOS 26 beta 1.

safari-design-changes-ios-26-b2.jpg
Safari in beta 2 on left, Safari in beta 1 on right​

With the Compact tab bar, there are also now both back and forward options.

App Store

In the App Store, Apple added an Accessibility section to product pages. Developers will need to provide details listing the accessibility features they support for this section in the App Store to be populated.

app-store-accessibility-ios-26-b2.jpg

Wallet

iOS 26 beta 2 adds full support for the order tracking feature that Apple announced at WWDC. In the Wallet app, there is an option to let Siri to scan your Mail app to find all orders and emails from merchants, even if those orders weren't made with Apple Pay.

ios-26-order-tracking-wallet.jpg

New Ringtone

There's a new "Alt 1" ringtone option for the Reflection ringtone. You can choose it as your ringtone by going to the Settings app, tapping on Sounds and Haptics, tapping on Ringtone, and then choosing Alt 1 under Reflection.

ringtone-alt-1-ios-26.jpg

Radio Widget

There is a new Live Radio Apple Music widget.

ios-26-live-radio.jpg

Low Power Mode

Apple has improved the description for Low Power Mode, making it clearer what it does.
iPhone will temporarily reduce some background activities, processing speed, display refresh rate and brightness, and limit certain features such as 5G, iCloud syncing, mail fetch, and more.
Click to expand...
Before now, the setting only mentioned reducing background activity like downloads and mail fetch.

Live Captions

For Live Captions, the Transcribe Calls option is now Save Call Transcripts, and the feature makes it clear that it will inform call participants with a sound before transcribing begins.

ios-26-live-captions.jpg

Passkeys

The Passkey sign-in window has a new design.

ios-26-b2-passkey.jpg

Lock Screen Widgets

Widgets on the Lock Screen can now be moved to the bottom of the display, and aren't limited to the top.

ios-26-b2-widgets.jpg

Wallpaper

The default wallpaper that's new in iOS 26 now animates with the spatial scene functionality in the update.

ios-26-home-screen.jpg

Read More

For an overview of the features in iOS 26, make sure to check out our iOS 26 roundup. We also have a roundup of iPadOS 26 features.

Article Link: Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 2
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/06/23/ios-26-beta-2-everything-new/
Last edited:
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Kylo83 said:
So they are going back to iOS 18 style. Apple needs a new design team. They can’t get it right. This isn’t a major re design we were promised, just a theme pack skin
Click to expand...
But where do you see the return to iOS 18? It is the normal process of evolving a beta operating system, since users have not yet understood the difference between a beta and a public one!
 
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wasn't a fan at first when I downloaded beta 1, but its grown on me a lot, and beta 2 is much more polished looking.

Now when I use my ios 18 work phone it just looks… bland?

Same thing happens when i ship major UI changes on my apps… its the circle of life 😂
 
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small changes in CarPlay:
widgets only have two columns now instead of three in the previous release and maps adds in a detail to the route with the street names visible on the blue route line

EDIT:
This is huge, the garage door control from homekit that pops up as you arrive home now has three dots that allows you to scroll thru all available garage doors!!

one more addition, with the multiple garage doors...if you hold your finger on one door for a few seconds a pop-up appears that offers to "Clear for this drive"
 
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digitalfx said:
small changes in CarPlay:
widgets only have two columns now instead of three in the previous release and maps adds in a detail to the route with the street names visible on the blue route line
Click to expand...
I was just about to chime in that I can only have 1 column of widgets instead of 2. They must have reduced the amount of widgets on CarPlay across all screen sizes. I hope they give us an option to toggle this - two widgets fit perfectly fine on my 2021 Nissan Rogue’s infotainment screen.
 
Ethan.Albano said:
I was just about to chime in that I can only have 1 column of widgets instead of 2. They must have reduced the amount of widgets on CarPlay across all screen sizes. I hope they give us an option to toggle this - two widgets fit perfectly fine on my 2021 Nissan Rogue’s infotainment screen.
Click to expand...
yes, I preferred the three columns..but two looks very nice

They also added:
Also garage door control from homekit that pops up as you arrive home now has three dots that allows you to scroll thru all available garage doors...this is huge!!
 
digitalfx said:
yes, I preferred the three columns..but two looks very nice

They also added:
Also garage door control from homekit that pops up as you arrive home now has three dots that allows you to scroll thru all available garage doors...this is huge!!
Click to expand...
It’s great to see they’re finally addressing some QOL updates with CarPlay. Long overdue.

I’ve also noticed (I think it’s new to this beta) that in the queue in the Music app, there are now toggles for AutoPlay and AutoMix, mirroring the iPhone app.

Unfortunately, seems like the map in Split View still does not follow the direction the car is facing when not navigating 😕 I hope they bring that functionality back soon.
 
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Wait, is there still no “currently playing” widget for Apple Music or other audio??
 
The Reduce Transparency option under Accessibility in the Settings app now cuts down on the Liquid Glass transparency even more.
1750730012131.jpeg
Click to expand...
...but also reduces text contrast.
 
I like where we are going. I am one of those Apple users who are a bit “bored” of Apple products lately.

I have been testing switching my daily driver to my work Samsung S24, but it’s not for me. It’s like dying from thousand paper cuts.

So I am glad to see that the iOS26 and iPadOS26 seems to be just what the doctor ordered.
 
Good to see all the changes. The transparency levels are better for the control center. Like the new ringtone. Cannot wait to update and try out the new features.
 
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