This Monday, Apple seeded iOS 26.1 Beta 3 to iPhone users. After this point in a test cycle, the company usually focuses on improving the already-introduced functionalities. However, iOS 26.1 feels like it’s still full of surprises, as not only is Apple adding important changes to its system, but it’s also hinting at new products and other features coming in the near future. The two main visible changes are the new Apple TV app icon, reflecting the rebranding of Apple TV+ to Apple TV, and the ability for users to record their own audio while on a call.
The Local Capture feature was previously only available through the Control Center, but it’s now available in the Settings app if you navigate to General > Local Capture. Notably, iOS 26.1 Beta 3 also contains some features that may not be available to all users on the stable build of iOS 26.1, but will make their way sooner or later. Here’s what we know about them.
iOS 26.1 beta hides important details about upcoming features
According to AppleInsider, Apple continues to work on its Model Context Protocol, which will make it easier to integrate third-party LLMs with Apple Intelligence. For example, a sentence that would read “Report a concern related to ChatGPT” has been changed to “Report a concern related to a Third Party,” showing that we might get support for other LLMs in the near future. Another important discovery is that Apple continues to work on the notification forwarding feature, which will finally make third-party smartwatches properly work with the iPhone.
While this is a demand from the European Union, Apple may decide to roll out this feature globally. Of course, while the Apple Watch will continue to be Apple’s preferred smartwatch, at least users will be able to have a better integration with smartwatches from other brands like Fitbit, Garmin, etc. Besides these changes, Apple continues to polish the Liquid Glass experience, with slightly different animations in areas like the Control Center.
