Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Apple Releases iOS 26.1 With On‑Device AI as Early Users Report Modest Battery Gains

Apple urges users of iPhone 11 or newer to update due to dozens of security fixes.

Overview

  • Hands-on coverage from IT Home citing Wccftech aggregates Reddit and X posts that describe roughly 30 extra minutes of real‑world battery life on iPhone 17 models and iPhone Air after installing iOS 26.1.
  • The update is unusually large at about 11.44 GB, which reports attribute to a bundled on‑device AI base model.
  • iOS 26.1 adds visible UX changes including a Liquid Glass opacity toggle, an option to disable the lock‑screen camera swipe, swipe gestures to change songs in Apple Music, new wallpapers, and a swipe-only alarm dismissal.
  • Related reporting notes nearly 50 security vulnerabilities are addressed in this release, including four credited to a ByteDance team, and Apple advises prompt installation.
  • Separately, the first iOS 26.2 beta reportedly expands the Liquid Glass slider to allow fine‑grained control of lock‑screen clock transparency, according to 9to5Mac via IT Home.