1. Bolt Screen / “Liquid Glass” slider
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One of the most unmistakable changes is the upgraded customization of the Bolt Screen clock widget:
There’s presently a slider beneath the “Glass” choice that lets you fine-tune how translucent or iced the clock shows up.
9to5Mac
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MacRumors
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Business Standard
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If you favor a more strong appearance, the “Solid” flip impairs the glass-like impact totally.
Business Standard
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This slider underpins all clock text style styles (the ones you select when customizing Bolt Screen).
Beebom
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This change builds on the broader “Liquid Glass” plan dialect presented in iOS 26, which accentuates translucency, profundity, and glass-like materials over the UI.
Wikipedia
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In brief: if you felt the Bolt Screen was as well “fixed” in appearance some time recently, iOS 26.2 gives you more control over how “see-through” or misty you need the clock to be.
2. Rest Score overhaul
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Apple has made substantive changes to how Rest Score is calculated and named, especially for clients of the watchOS 26.2 / Health-app ecosystem:
The most noteworthy rating name has changed from “Excellent” to “Very High”.
9to5Mac
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MacRumors
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The edges for each category have moved to superior reflect client criticism and sleep-quality discernment. For example:
Very Moo: 0–40 (was 0–29)
Low: 41–60 (was 30–49)
OK: 61–80 (was 50–69)
High: 81–95 (was 70–89)
Very Tall: 96–100 (was 90–100)
MacRumors
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Sleep Score proceeds to figure in length (≈50 focuses), sleep time consistency (~30 focuses) and interferences (~20 focuses) as it did in earlier forms.
MacRumors
If you utilize your iPhone + Apple Observe to screen rest, you may take note your scores move (for the same evenings) essentially since of the unused scale. It’s less around your rest changing and more around the scoring being refined.
3. Updates app: Alerts for “Urgent” reminders
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The Updates app presently gets an critical overhaul pointed at making updates harder to ignore:
When making a update, you can presently flip “Urgent”, which triggers an real caution (or maybe than a inactive pennant or notice) when the update is due.
Business Standard
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The alert shows up on the Bolt Screen with alternatives such as Rest and Slide to Halt. On nap, the Bolt Screen appears a commencement until it re-alarms, and lets you total or reschedule the update specifically.
TechRadar
The caution colour is particular (in a few reports famous as blue) to recognize it from standard Updates cautions.
MacRumors
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This is valuable if you discover yourself routinely rejecting updates and need a more emphatic incite to act.
4. Podcasts app enhancements
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The Apple Podcasts app gets a set of refinements planned to progress route and enhance listening:
Automatically produced chapters: If a podcast maker hasn’t physically included chapter markers, the app may auto-create them to permit less demanding route inside an scene.
TechRadar
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Mentions of other podcasts: Inside transcript and playback screens, you can presently see which other podcasts were referenced amid the scene; this makes an interconnected tuning in involvement.
Beebom
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Access to outside joins: If a have notices a URL or reference in the sound, you may get coordinate joins on the episode’s depiction page for fast get to.
9to5Mac
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For podcast fans, these changes streamline the encounter of bouncing around in scenes, investigating related podcasts, and connection with joins without leaving the app.
5. Passwords app: Oversee prohibited websites
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In the Passwords (Settings) section:
There’s a modern alternative permitting you to oversee Websites where your passwords are not spared when you sign in — basically an excluded-list for watchword autofill.
MacRumors
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This gives clients extra control over where autofill is allowed — valuable for security-conscious clients or for certain websites you lean toward not to have naturally remembered.
6. Apple News refresh
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The Apple News app moreover sees a plan tweak:
The best of the app presently appears speedy get to buttons (alternate routes) to prevalent areas like Sports, Perplexes, Legislative issues, Trade, Nourishment.
Beebom
There’s a committed Taking after tab that’s been decoupled from the look interface, making it less demanding to oversee what you take after and explore appropriately.
MacRumors
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These are moderately humble advancements but point to upgrade lucidness and availability of key content.
7. AirPods Live Interpretation (EU rollout)
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A outstanding extension of the AirPods include set:
iOS 26.2 brings Live Interpretation back for AirPods in the European Union.
9to5Mac
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MacRumors
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Apple already postponed this highlight in the EU to meet regulatory/compliance prerequisites (particularly in the setting of the Computerized Markets Act).
MacRumors
Supported gadgets incorporate AirPods Professional (2nd gen), AirPods Professional (3rd gen), and AirPods 4 with ANC; bolstered dialects incorporate English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Streamlined Chinese, Conventional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
MacRumors
If you utilize your AirPods for interpretation whereas traveling or in multilingual settings, this is a important upgrade — particularly for EU users.
8. Freeform app: Tables support
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The Freeform app presently underpins Tables, empowering more organized format and collaboration:
You can include tables inside Freeform sheets — supportive for arranging, sorting out substance, venture following inside the app.
MacRumors
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Less garish than other changes, but a valuable efficiency update for clients who as of now depend on Freeform for inventive or collaborative work.
9. Upgraded Security Alarms & Streak for Alerts
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Apple has presented a couple of assist refinements in framework notices and alerts:
Enhanced Security Alarms: Beneath Notice settings you’ll discover a area to flip alternatives such as seismic tremor alarms, up and coming danger alarms, and made strides alert-delivery utilizing area.
TechRadar
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Flash for Cautions: In Settings → Openness you can presently set the screen itself to streak when a notice arrives (in expansion to or instep of the Driven back-flash). This builds on existing visual-alert alternatives.
MacRumors
These changes appear progressing consideration to availability and security, flagging Apple’s incremental consideration to these spaces past major feature features.
10. Other minor/refined features
There are a modest bunch of other littler changes and “under the hood” changes worth noting:
The Climate app contains code references for relative time expressing for cautions (e.g., “next Tuesday” or maybe than a date).
MacRumors
In Airdrop, there are references to a potential include permitting two individuals to send a Stick to one another, empowering an amplified time period (e.g., 30 days) for Airdrop sharing with somebody exterior your contacts.
MacRumors
Compatibility: iOS 26.2 is bolstered on all iPhones that as of now back iOS 26.
MacRumors
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How to Get iOS 26.2 Open Beta & Things to Know
If you’re as of now portion of the Apple Beta Program Program (open), you can select your iPhone, at that point in Settings → Common → Program Upgrade → Beta Upgrades, select “iOS 26.2 Open Beta”.
Business Standard
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Back-up your gadget some time recently introducing. Open betas still carry chance of bugs, battery deplete, app compatibility issues.
Paired Apple Observe will require to run watchOS 26.2 (or consistent adaptation) to coordinate with the iPhone for full highlight arrangement.
The Mac Observer
Because this is an early beta, anticipate a few highlights to be refined encourage, a few bugs to hold on, and execution or battery life to be less steady than last discharge. Numerous reports caution that betas are for bold clients or auxiliary gadgets.
The Mac Observer
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Why These Changes Matter
The Bolt Screen slider reflects a more profound commitment by Apple to let clients customize the see and feel of the UI, past settled presets — adjusting with the “Liquid Glass” plan ethos.
The Rest Score update appears Apple reacting to client input: that past “Excellent” name may have felt as well wide, and the unused buckets way better portion rest quality.
The Updates caution highlight fills a crevice: instep of detached updates, you can treat certain assignments more like cautions, which may superior provoke action.
Enhancements in Podcasts, Freeform, Passwords appear Apple centering on user-experience refinements, efficiency and utility — not fair garish modern features.
Expanded AirPods Live Interpretation in the EU appears administrative limitations are being tended to and more non-US usefulness is being unlocked.
Accessibility and security picks up (Streak for Cautions, Upgraded Security Cautions) reflect Apple’s proceeding work on all inclusive get to and crisis readiness.
What to Observe / Limitations
As with any beta, don’t anticipate everything to work flawlessly: foundation app conduct, battery life, third-party app compatibility might appear issues.
Some highlights may not however be completely rolled out universally or may be region-locked (e.g., Live Interpretation rollouts).
Some highlights are “in code” (e.g., AirDrop Stick highlight) and may not however be dynamic or obvious to all clients. Agreeing to reports the AirDrop Stick component is referenced but not however live.
MacRumors
Because this is a mid-cycle upgrade (26.2 taking after 26.1), numerous changes are incremental — if you’re trusting for enormous unused usefulness, you may incline toward holding up for a full form release.
If you depend on your iPhone for mission-critical workflows (work, wellbeing observing, etc.), consider holding up until the open full adaptation is discharged or maybe than introducing on your as it were gadget.
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