Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July.
Transparency
In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the transparency of the navigation bars. The look is more opaque to make the buttons more legible.
Beta 2 on left, beta 3 on rightWith some backgrounds, notifications have a darker tone to make the text more readable, and there Safari has the same transparency changes with certain colors.
There have been some complaints about the changes that Apple is continuing to make, with some users suggesting that Apple is eliminating too much of the transparency that makes iOS 26 unique.
Wallpaper
Apple added new color options for the default "iOS" wallpaper that it designed for iOS 26, so now we have Halo, Dusk, Sky, and Shadow. There are three different blue tone options, and one version that has shades of purple.
The wallpapers have more unique color differences when viewed in Dark Mode.
Control Center
Apple tweaked the blue and green colors for the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirDrop, and Cellular Toggles. The colors are brighter and more in line with the other colors in Control Center.
iPadOS 26 Mouse Cursor
In iPadOS 26, if you shake the cursor, it will get bigger so that it's easier to find on the display. It's the same behavior that's available in macOS.
Maps
The Maps app gains support for fog advisories when using offline maps, plus beta 3 fleshes out the feature that alerts you to commute delays.
Safari
The folders interface in Safari features some minor design tweaks.
Bug Fixes
Apple says it fixed an issue that could cause iPads connected to external displays to go into sleep mode while in active video calls.
Read More
We have additional info on all of the new features in iOS 26 in our roundup.
