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iOS 26.1 and macOS Tahoe 26.1, released November 3, 2025, add a Clear or Tinted Liquid Glass choice and deliver broad security fixes. On iPhone, choose Settings > Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass and select Tinted to increase opacity in apps and Lock Screen notifications. The updates also include platform-specific features and support for Background Security Improvements.
What changed in iOS 26.1 and macOS Tahoe 26.1?
The most visible change is a control over Liquid Glass’s appearance. The two releases also add audio, communication and accessibility-related improvements, but several features differ by platform.
| Area | iOS 26.1 | macOS Tahoe 26.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Liquid Glass | Clear or Tinted appearance in apps and Lock Screen notifications. | Clear or Tinted appearance in apps and Lock Screen notifications. |
| Music and audio | Swipe through songs in the Apple Music MiniPlayer; control external USB microphone gain; improved FaceTime audio on low-bandwidth connections. | Apple Music AutoMix over AirPlay; improved FaceTime audio on low-bandwidth connections. |
| Translation and capture | Live Translation with AirPods adds Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Italian. Local-capture files can be saved to a chosen location. | These iPhone-specific additions are not listed in Apple’s macOS Tahoe 26.1 release-note summary. |
| Other changes | Manually log Fitness workouts; turn off the Lock Screen Camera swipe; expand Communication Safety and Web content filters. | Communication Safety and Web content filters are enabled by default for existing child accounts ages 13–17, subject to country or region age rules. |
For the full feature lists, consult Apple’s iOS 26.1 release notes and macOS Tahoe 26.1 release notes. Availability can depend on device, country or region, account age, and the feature involved.
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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →How to make Liquid Glass less transparent
On iPhone
- Open Settings.
- Tap Display & Brightness, then Liquid Glass.
- Select Tinted. This increases the material’s opacity in apps and Lock Screen notifications; choose Clear to return to the default, more transparent look.
On Mac
macOS Tahoe 26.1 includes the same Clear and Tinted choice for Liquid Glass in apps and Lock Screen notifications. The exact controls are in macOS System Settings; Apple’s release-note summary does not specify a navigation path. Tinted favors opacity over the clearer default.
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What security issues did Apple fix?
Apple’s security bulletins for both releases are dated November 3, 2025. They describe issues across operating-system components rather than a single vulnerability class. Apple says it uses CVE identifiers where possible and does not disclose or confirm security issues until an investigation is complete and patches or releases are available. The examples below illustrate the kinds of problems addressed; they are not a complete list.
iOS 26.1
Apple’s iOS 26.1 security content covers iPhone 11 and later, as well as specified iPad generations. Examples include:
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- Privacy and information exposure: an app could identify other installed apps, sensitive screenshots could be exposed in embedded Apple Account views, and information could be disclosed from the Lock Screen.
- System protection: fixes address sandbox escapes, symlink-validation problems, kernel memory corruption and a way to disable Stolen Device Protection.
- Web and interface security: Safari address-bar or interface spoofing, cross-origin WebKit data exfiltration, malicious web content that could cause crashes, and an app monitoring keystrokes without permission.
macOS Tahoe 26.1
The macOS Tahoe 26.1 bulletin covers many components, including Admin Framework, Apple Account, Apple Neural Engine, AppleMobileFileIntegrity, Assets, Kernel, Safari, Sandbox, Software Update and Spotlight. Reported impacts include sensitive-data access, sandbox escape, root privilege gain, Gatekeeper bypass, kernel-memory corruption, denial of service and privacy leakage.
Apple does not publish one authoritative combined vulnerability count across these bulletins. The component and impact examples are a more reliable guide than an estimated total.
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Should you install 26.1 for security?
If your device is eligible and still runs an earlier release, the breadth of fixes makes installing 26.1 a sensible security step. Apple’s bulletins describe fixes for privacy exposure, privilege escalation, sandboxing, kernel, Safari and WebKit issues, among others. The bulletins do not establish that every listed issue was exploited in the wild, so the recommendation is based on the value of applying the available fixes—not a claim that a particular attack is underway.
Check Apple’s software-update controls for the version offered to your device. The iOS 26.1 bulletin applies to iPhone 11 and later and specified iPad generations; this does not mean every feature is available on every supported device. The cited macOS bulletin is for Tahoe 26.1, and the release information here does not enumerate the compatible Mac models.
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- FOUR STUNNING COLORS. ONE DURABLE DESIGN — Choose from four beautiful colors — Silver, Blush, Citrus, or Indigo — each with a color-coordinated keyboard. And MacBook Neo is made with a durable recycled aluminum enclosure that helps it reach 60 percent recycled content by weight — the most ever in any Apple product.*
- FLY THROUGH EVERYDAY ASSIGNMENTS — Whether you’re cramming for finals, using Apple Intelligence* to summarize class notes, creating presentations, or even playing the latest Apple Arcade game,* MacBook Neo delivers the performance and AI capabilities you need to get things done.
- UP TO 16 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Neo delivers all day battery life, so you can power through from early morning classes to late night study sessions without worrying about plugging in.
- A VIBRANT 13-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Neo supports 1 billion colors, so photos and videos pop and text is crisp for easy reading.
What Background Security Improvements do
Apple Platform Security says Background Security Improvements are supported and enabled for future releases starting with iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1 and macOS 26.1. These lightweight updates can deliver security improvements between full operating-system releases, including for Safari, the WebKit framework stack and other system libraries.
On macOS, Safari improvements take effect when Safari is relaunched; they do not require restarting the entire operating system. Apple also documents that a Background Security Improvement can be removed and reapplied.
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